6-letter words with A as the 1st letter and L as the 2nd letter

Every match begins AL, so the first two tiles never change. The third tile is where the list divides: ALL- takes 20 matches, ALI- 16 and ALA- 15, while both ALE- and ALM- take 12. Twenty words are common, and the average score is 8.6.

At a glance for the AL- words

• 137 six-letter words begin AL, and 20 of them are common English words.
• ALL- opens 20 matches, ALI- 16 and ALA- 15, while ALE- and ALM- take 12 each.
• ALKOXY scores 20 points, the only match that clears 16.
• S closes 53 matches and E another 24, so over half the list ends on one of two letters.
• Collins lists 135 matches, NWL2023 106 and ENABLE 102.

Where do the 137 matches end?

S is the dominant final tile with 53 matches, and most are plurals or third-person verbs such as ALARMS, ALERTS and ALLOWS. E follows on 24, carrying words like ALLEGE, ALPINE, ALLUDE and ALLURE.

A and N each close 11 matches, with ALASKA, ALPACA and ALUMNA in the first group and ALEXIN, ALISON and ALTERN in the second. Nine matches end in D, including ALLIED and ALMOND, and just four close on O.

Why does ALKOXY stand out?

ALKOXY reaches 20 because X pays 8 and Y pays 4 on top of its flat vowels. Most of the ALK- run leans scientific, with ALKALI, ALKANE, ALKENE, ALKYDS, ALKYLS and ALKYNE as chemistry terms and ALKIES and ALKINE as the odd ones out.

Twenty matches rank inside the 25,000 most frequent words, unusually high for such a narrow pattern. ALWAYS, ALMOST, ALLOWS, ALLIES, ALARMS, ALMOND, ALUMNI and ALPINE are the ones most players already recognise.

Thirty-one matches appear in Collins but not NWL2023, and ALLIAK and ALVARS run the other way. Check your game's word list before you trust an unfamiliar AL- entry.