5-letter words with W as the 1st letter and I as the 2nd letter

Fixing W first and I second leaves 76 words, but the third letter shapes almost all of them. WIN- alone fills 15 slots through WINC, WIND, WINE, WING and WINK forms, and WIL- takes 10 more. Twenty-one matches count as common English words, so plenty of everyday answers sit in this group.

W-I words at a glance

• Seventy-six words open with W-I; 21 of them count as common and 15 are Wordle answers.
• Fifteen take N in the third slot, ahead of L with 10.
• S closes 26 of the words, Y closes 13 and D closes 9.
• Collins takes 75 of them; NWL2023 reaches 64 and ENABLE 61.
• Four entries hit 17 points, and each holds a Z: WICKY, WIZEN, WINZE, WIZES.

Which letters follow W and I most often?

The third letter decides most of the shape here. WINC, WIND, WINE, WING, WINK and WINZ all come off the same WIN- opening, which accounts for 15 words on its own; WIL- adds 10 more, with WILCO, WILDS, WILES, WILLS and WILTS among them.

Beyond those two stems the list thins out fast. S and T each take 8 words, D takes 6, and every remaining letter lands on 5 or fewer. So a guessed N in the third slot is worth far more than any other letter.

Where the W-I words earn their points

WICKY, WIZEN, WINZE and WIZES share the top score of 17, and the Z is doing the work in all four. Below them WIMPY and WILJA reach 15, while WICKS, WIFEY, WITHY and WIFTY touch 14. The average across the group is a modest 10.7.

Collins carries 75 of the 76; NWL2023 reaches 64 and ENABLE 61. Twelve words hang on Collins alone, among them WICKY, WILJA, WILIS and WISHT, so those plays fall apart on a North American list.