5-letter words with Z as the 3rd letter and O as the 4th letter

The pattern _ _ Z O _ leaves just two open positions, and those openings produce a notably small group. Only one match ranks among the 25,000 most common English words, so familiar entries such as RAZOR stand out among rarer forms. Collins includes all 13 words; NWL2023 includes 10, while ENABLE includes eight.

How many 5-letter words have Z third and O fourth?

• Exactly 13 tournament-dictionary words match the _ _ Z O _ pattern.
• Collins accepts all 13; NWL2023 accepts 10 and ENABLE accepts eight.
• Only one match is among the 25,000 most common English words.
• Five end in O, five in S; the other three end in R or N.
• KAZOO leads the listed Scrabble scores at 18 points.

Can you use these Z-and-O words in Wordle?

All 13 matches are allowed guesses, but only one is a Wordle answer. The answer’s identity is not included here, so use the pattern to filter your board rather than treating every dictionary match as a likely solution. The single common word is a reminder that a valid guess can still be an unlikely answer.

The small count is unusual even beside nearby letter patterns: putting B in the third position with O fourth produces 40 matches, compared with 13 for Z. RAZOR and KAZOO are memorable examples, but most of this group is obscure. Check your game’s word list before relying on a less familiar entry.

Which Z-third, O-fourth words score highest?

For 5-letter words with Z third and O fourth, KAZOO is the top listed Scrabble scorer at 18 points. WAZOO and VIZOR follow at 17 each; BOZOS, BAZOO, and MOZOS score 16. Those are tile scores, not guaranteed board totals, so square placement still matters.

The endings split evenly between O and S, with R appearing twice and N once. That makes the final letter a useful narrowing clue: when the pattern is fixed, test O and S first, then consider R or N.