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

The pattern leaves four letters open, but the matches are far from evenly spread. Thirteen end in S, while four end in L. Familiar options such as ALWAYS and ALLEYS sit alongside less common plays like ALPHYL, so the right choice depends on both your rack and your game’s dictionary.

How many 6-letter words have A first and Y fifth?

• There are 20 tournament-dictionary matches for the A _ _ _ Y _ pattern.
• Thirteen matches end in S; four end in L.
• ALPHYL and APPAYD lead the listed Scrabble scores at 14 points each.
• Four matches fall within the top 25,000 English words by frequency.
• Collins includes all 20 matches; ENABLE and NWL2023 include 14 apiece.

Why do most matches end in S?

The final letter is the clearest narrowing clue: 13 of the 20 words end in S. That makes ALWAYS, ANNOYS, ARRAYS, ALLOYS, and ALLEYS useful candidates when the last tile is known. Only four end in L, including ACETYL and ANONYM.

The remaining endings are scattered: one word ends in D, one in M, and one in O. Compare that lopsided spread with six-letter A-words that place E fifth, which have 223 matches. A fifth-letter Y is a much tighter filter than a fifth-letter E.

Which matches score well, and where are they accepted?

ALPHYL and APPAYD each score 14 points before board bonuses. ABBEYS, ACCOYS, APPAYS, and APPUYS score 13 apiece; ALWAYS scores 12. The standout scores come from less familiar words, so check the exact spelling before spending a turn on one.

The dictionary split matters: Collins has 20 matches, while ENABLE and NWL2023 each have 14. The average tile score across the set is 10.9, and 18 of the 20 matches carry a definition, so scoring value often tracks rarity. For word games, use the list your game accepts rather than assuming every Collins entry will count.