6-letter words with A as the 1st letter and M as the 5th letter

The fifth tile is M, so the list splits by what follows it. Eleven matches add S, seven add E, and three add A. Only five words are everyday vocabulary, and Collins keeps all 23 while ENABLE and NWL2023 each hold 15.

At a glance for the A???M? list

• 23 six-letter words put A first and M fifth, and 11 of them continue with S.
• AXIOMS leads on 15 points, with ABOHMS and ABYSMS next on 13.
• Five words are common: ALARMS, ALBUMS, ASSUME, ASTHMA and AUTUMN.
• Collins lists all 23, while ENABLE and NWL2023 each carry 15.
• Seven matches end in E, including AFLAME, ASSUME and ATHAME.

Why do so many of these end in -MS?

Eleven matches close on S, and every one is an -MS form whose base ends in M: ABOHM, ABYSM, ADEEM, AGISM, ALARM, ALBUM, ALGUM, AURUM, AXIOM, APISM and ASSAM. That makes the final letter predictable once the M is placed.

The other endings are less mechanical. Seven matches finish in E (AFLAME, ASSUME, AGNAME, ANCOME, ASHAME, ATHAME, AWSOME) and three in A (ASRAMA, ASTHMA, ALISMA). APLOMB and AUTUMN close the set on B and N.

Where do the points come from?

AXIOMS reaches 15 through its X, and ABOHMS and ABYSMS reach 13 with an H and a Y. APLOMB adds 12 from its B and P, and AFLAME, ASTHMA, ASHAME, ATHAME and AWSOME all land on 11.

Five matches rank inside the 25,000 most frequent words: ALARMS, ALBUMS, ASSUME, ASTHMA and AUTUMN. ASSUME, ASTHMA and AUTUMN are the three that are not plurals.

Eight matches sit in Collins but not NWL2023: AGNAME, ALISMA, ANCOME, APISMS, ASHAME, ASSAMS, ATHAME and AWSOME. Look them up in your game's dictionary before you play one.