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

The AU pair runs through every match: CAUGHT, CAUSED, LAUNCH, TAUGHT and LAUGHS are the familiar ones. C starts 24 of the 195, G starts 18 and S 16, so the list leans on hard consonants before the vowel team. Twenty matches count as common English, and the average score sits at 9.7.

The AU pair at a glance

• 195 matches carry the AU pair.
• Collins takes 193 of the 195; NWL2023 takes 122 and ENABLE 118.
• JAUKED leads on 18 points.
• S closes 59 matches, twice the next ending.
• C opens 24 matches, the widest first-letter group.

Which AU words score best?

JAUKED tops the frame on 18, and JAUNTY, CAUDEX, GAUZES and JAUPED all reach 16. JAUNCE, BAULKY and WAUFFS land on 15. Notice how many of the leaders begin with JA, where a J meets the AU pair for a strong opening tile.

The common words here are steadier than they are spectacular: CAUGHT, LAUNCH, PAUSED and HAULED sit mid-range, so the frame rewards a little bravery over a safe past tense. AU is a true vowel team, which means the letter in front of it decides the score: J and Z lift the leaders, while H and C keep the familiar words cheap.

Endings and dictionary spread

A final S closes 59 matches, nearly a third of the list, while D, E and R follow on 29, 23 and 23. Y adds 13 and T 12. When the fifth letter is open, plug in S before anything else.

Only 193 of the 195 sit in Collins, but NWL2023 keeps 122 and ENABLE 118, so 73 matches drop out of North American play. Definitions cover 137 of the group, which means an entry such as WAUFFS is worth checking against your game's word list first.