6-letter words with A as the 4th letter and T as the 6th letter

This frame is _ _ _ A _ T, and all 117 matches end in T. The -ANT suffix takes 53 of them, from INFANT and VACANT to TENANT and MUTANT, with -ART and -AST taking another 35, and D opens 13 matches as the busiest initial. Scores average only 9.2, but BYZANT shows what one Z tile can do.

What the _ _ _ A _ T frame contains

• All 117 matches end in T; 53 close -ANT, 18 -ART and 17 -AST.
• BYZANT leads at 20 points, HEXACT follows on 18 and BEZANT on 17.
• D opens 13 matches, while A opens 10 and T opens 9.
• Fifteen matches are common words, including IMPACT, BREAST and INFANT.
• 46 matches appear in Collins alone, among them HEXACT, GYRANT and PESANT.

Why do 6-letter words with A fourth and T sixth end in T?

The -ANT ending does most of the work: 53 of the 117 matches follow INFANT, VACANT and TENANT, a suffix English borrowed from French and Latin. -ART adds 18 more, such as DEPART, IMPART and THWART, and -AST adds 17, from AGHAST to RECAST.

The remaining 29 matches scatter. Fifteen close -ACT, as IMPACT and INTACT do, four close -ALT, such as COBALT and BASALT, and three close -AIT, with STRAIT the familiar one. The last seven spread across shapes that each hold one or two words.

Where do the points come from?

BYZANT reaches 20 from the two tiles that outrank everything else here: Z at 10 points and Y at 4. HEXACT hits 18 on an X worth 8, and BEZANT and PEZANT share 17 with a Z each.

Familiarity is uneven. Just 15 matches are common words, and 46 are Collins-only, so NWL2023 keeps 71 of the 117 and ENABLE 65. PEZANT, GYRANT and TEWART are the sort of entry that fails outside a British word list.

IMPACT and BREAST repay the attention for most players. Both are accepted everywhere, both carry a B or C for stability, and neither needs a rare tile to be worth playing.

Putting the -ANT group to work

1. All 117 of these 6-letter words with A fourth and T sixth end in T, and 53 of them close -ANT.
2. Reach for D as the opening letter: it begins 13 matches, against 10 for A.
3. The remaining 29 matches split across -ACT, -ALT and -AIT, with IMPACT, COBALT and STRAIT the familiar ones.