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6-letter words with A as the 2nd letter and O as the 3rd letter

12 6-letter words with A second and O third match this pattern, and none are common-frequency words.

12 wordsTop pick KAOLINHighest score BAOBAB 12

With A in 2nd place, R is the most common 3rd letter (570 words). The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.

  • Length
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Best words to play first 12 · most-used first

  • KAOLIN10
  • BAOBAB12
  • GAOLER7
  • LAOGAI7
  • TAONGA7
  • HAOLES9
  • GAOLED8
  • MAOMAO10
  • YAOURT9
  • HAOMAS11
  • KAONIC12
  • NAOSES6
All valid words 12

A to Z. Includes rare and Collins-only words. Linked tiles open the word's meaning, score and rhymes.

  • BAOBAB12
  • GAOLED8
  • GAOLER7
  • HAOLES9
  • HAOMAS11
  • KAOLIN10
  • KAONIC12
  • LAOGAI7
  • MAOMAO10
  • NAOSES6
  • TAONGA7
  • YAOURT9
Letters by positionIn 33% of these words the 4th letter is L.
1st letter
  1. G17%
  2. H17%
  3. K17%
4th letter
  1. L33%
  2. M17%
  3. N17%
5th letter
  1. A33%
  2. E33%
  3. I17%
6th letter
  1. S25%
  2. B8%
  3. D8%

Highest-scoring words

Scrabble and Words With Friends points, before board bonuses
WordScrabbleWords With FriendsDictionaries
BAOBAB1215All three
KAONIC1214Collins · NWL
HAOMAS1111Collins only
KAOLIN1012All three
MAOMAO1012Collins only
HAOLES99All three
YAOURT99Collins only
GAOLED810All three
GAOLER79All three
LAOGAI79Collins · NWL
TAONGA79Collins only
NAOSES67Collins only

The pattern fixes the middle pair as AO, leaving the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth letters open. That still produces just 12 tournament-dictionary words, and every one is uncommon by frequency. Their opening letters are scattered: G, H, and K each lead two, while five other letters lead one apiece.

The pattern at a glance

  • The complete set contains 12 six-letter words with A second and O third.
  • Collins recognizes all 12; NWL2023 includes 7, and ENABLE includes 5.
  • No match falls in the common-frequency group; every entry is specialist vocabulary.
  • GAOLER and GAOLED share a first-letter pair; KAOLIN and KAONIC share another.
  • Three words end in S: HAOMAS, HAoles, and NAOSES.

How many matches appear in each dictionary?

Collins has 12 matches, compared with 7 in NWL2023 and 5 in ENABLE. The dictionary counts overlap, so they should not be added together as separate words. Check the word list for your game before playing an unfamiliar entry.

The opening letters show how narrow this pattern is: G, H, and K each account for two words, while B, L, M, N, and T account for one each. Compare KAOLIN and KAONIC, or GAOLER and GAOLED, when you need to test more than one ending without changing the fixed AO pair.

6-letter words with A second and O third

For 6-letter words with A second and O third, BAOBAB and KAONIC top the score list at 12 points each. HAOMAS follows at 11, while KAOLIN and MAOMAO score 10. Those are the strongest scoring options in this compact set.

The scoring surprise is that the two leaders reach the same total through different letters: BAOBAB repeats B, while KAONIC uses K and C. With no common-frequency matches, these words suit dictionary-based word games rather than everyday guessing. The rarer entries deserve a quick validity check before you commit them.

Questions people ask

Which six-letter words have A second and O third?
The 12 matches are KAOLIN, BAOBAB, GAOLER, LAOGAI, TAONGA, HAoles, GAOLED, MAOMAO, YAOURT, HAOMAS, KAONIC, and NAOSES. They all place A in the second position and O in the third; the other four letters vary.
Which A-O pattern words score the most?
BAOBAB and KAONIC tie for the highest score at 12 points. HAOMAS scores 11, and KAOLIN and MAOMAO score 10. The top pair reach the same total with different letter combinations, so compare both against the board and your available tiles.
Why is this A-and-O list so short?
Only 12 six-letter words place A second and O third, because the fixed AO pair leaves little room. Nearby patterns are far larger: R second gives 323 words and O second gives 317. Dictionary coverage is also narrow, with just 7 matches in NWL2023 and 5 in ENABLE.

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