6-letter words with A as the 1st letter and N as the 3rd letter

Read the shape as A _ N _ _ _: the first and third letters are fixed, while the other four positions remain open. Recognizable examples include annual, annals, annoys, auntie and awning, but only 4 of the 36 matches meet the common-word cutoff. That is a narrow pool beside 121 six-letter words with A first and O third, so exact positions matter more than a broad A-start search.

6-letter words with A as the 1st letter and N as the 3rd letter

• All 36 entries begin with A, with N fixed in position three.
• Only 4 meet the common-word cutoff, leaving many matches as specialist vocabulary.
• Endings cluster around S (10 words) and E (9 words); A and L each account for 4.
• AGNIZE leads the Scrabble scores at 16, ahead of ADNEXA at 14 and ANNEXE at 13.
• Dictionary coverage overlaps: Collins has 36 matches, NWL2023 has 27 and ENABLE has 25.

Which endings narrow the search?

S and E are the strongest ending clues: 10 matches end in S and 9 end in E. A and L each account for 4, while only 2 end in N. If the final square is unknown, test S and E early; those endings cover more of this 36-word group than any others.

Same-position alternatives show how much the third letter changes the pool: 121 six-letter words start with A and have O in third place, against 36 with N. Among the examples, annual and annals keep the AN opening visible; auntie changes course after N, while awning finishes in G. The fixed letters do not determine the rest of the word.

Scoring and dictionary fit

AGNIZE is the highest-scoring match at 16 Scrabble points. ADNEXA follows at 14, then ANNEXE at 13; AWNING and APNEIC each score 10. AGNIZE beats AWNING by 6 points on base tile value, so a premium letter square can make that unusual Z especially tempting.

The average score across these words is 8, but a word's base total is not its final board score. Collins recognizes all 36 matches, compared with 27 in NWL2023 and 25 in ENABLE. Those dictionaries overlap rather than add together, so check your game's word list before playing.