5-letter words with U as the 2nd letter and K as the 3rd letter

The pattern fixes U in position two and K in position three, leaving the first and final letters open. Its 28 entries make a smaller group than the U-A, U-O, and U-I patterns. Dukes, nukes, puked, and jukes are the more familiar faces; many of the remaining choices are specialized or less common.

The U-K pattern at a glance

• There are 28 entries across tournament dictionaries; the source counts overlap rather than adding up to 28.
• Collins includes 26, NWL2023 includes 20, and ENABLE includes 11 of these words.
• Fifteen end in S, while six end in D; those two endings account for most of the set.
• P starts six entries; D and Y each start four, making P the leading first letter.
• Yukky scores 19 points, the highest base score here; the group averages 12.6 points.

Which endings dominate this U-K pattern?

S is the standout ending: 15 of the 28 words finish with it. Dukes, nukes, jukes, and pukes show how often a plural or verb form supplies that final S.

D is the next most common ending, with six entries. Puked, nuked, juked, and duked make that cluster easy to spot, while the remaining words end in A, Y, I, R, or U. If your final tile is fixed, start with S or D before testing the rarer endings.

How do scores and dictionary coverage shape this pattern?

For 5-letter words with U as the 2nd letter and K as the 3rd letter, the top score is not one of the familiar plurals: yukky reaches 19 points. Zukes scores 18, juked scores 17, and jukes and jukus each score 16 before board bonuses.

Dictionary coverage is uneven: Collins has 26 entries, compared with 20 in NWL2023 and 11 in ENABLE. Those sets overlap, so a word appearing in one does not guarantee acceptance in another. Check your game's word list before banking on less familiar options such as yukky or zukes.