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

The pattern _AV___ has a recognizable core: HAVING, SAVING, WAVING and SAVIOR, but only 17 matches rank among the top 25,000 English words, so many entries are less familiar. Starts and endings help narrow the field: S leads both positions, and the final S is especially common. That makes this pattern a mix of everyday words and specialist finds.

S dominates the pattern at a glance

• The pattern contains 97 six-letter words across the tournament dictionaries.
• S begins 14 matches, ahead of C with 12 and P with 11.
• S ends 45 matches; E is next with 12.
• JAVELS is the top scorer at 16 points, while CAVITY scores 14.
• HAVING, SAVING and WAVING are familiar examples.

Which letters and endings are most common?

S is the strongest opening letter, but the distribution is not lopsided: C starts 12 words, P starts 11, and L and R each start 9. Those alternatives make the pattern easier to search when the first tile is unknown. Examples include CAVITY, PAVING and RAVENS.

The final letter is a sharper clue. Forty-five entries end in S, nearly half of all 97 matches, while E closes 12 and R closes 10. Plurals such as FAVORS and HAVENS illustrate the S-heavy group; CAVEAT and CAVERN show two other endings.

If your clue rules out S, start with E or R.

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

This exact letter pair is far less productive than nearby patterns. Six-letter words with A second and R third number 570, while A second and N third number 452. The V combination has 97, so use the constrained pattern rather than searching broad A-starting lists.

Length changes the size of the search too: the same A-V pair has 73 five-letter matches and 115 seven-letter matches. For a rack or crossword clue, try common forms such as SAVORY, TAVERN and RAVINE before testing obscure candidates. The list spans different tournament dictionaries, so check your game's word list when a rare entry decides the play.