6-letter words with A as the 4th letter and W as the 5th letter
29 six-letter words take A as the 4th letter and W as the 5th, from STRAWS and SPRAWL to SQUAWK and MOHAWK.
2 of 29 are everyday words (7%). Mostly rare words: great for Scrabble, tough for daily puzzles.
With A in 4th place, N is the most common 5th letter (271 words). The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.
Best words to play first
- STRAWS9
- MOHAWK18
- BYLAWS14
- SPRAWL11
- SQUAWK22
- SCRAWL11
- MACAWS13
- THRAWN12
- STRAWN9
- MANAWA11
- PAPAWS13
- IMPAWN13
- PAWAWS14
- PSHAWS14
- STRAWY12
- ACRAWL11
- MIGAWD13
- PILAWS11
- RESAWN9
- RESAWS9
- SCRAWB13
- SCRAWM13
- SCRAWP13
- SCRAWS11
- SUPAWN11
- THRAWS12
- UNLAWS9
- UNSAWN9
All valid words 29
- ACRAWL11
- BYLAWS14
- IMPAWN13
- MACAWS13
- MANAWA11
- MIGAWD13
- MOHAWK18
- PAPAWS13
- PAWAWS14
- PILAWS11
- PSHAWS14
- RESAWN9
- RESAWS9
- SCRAWB13
- SCRAWL11
- SCRAWM13
- SCRAWP13
- SCRAWS11
- SPRAWL11
- SQUAWK22
- SQUAWS18
- STRAWN9
- STRAWS9
- STRAWY12
- SUPAWN11
- THRAWN12
- THRAWS12
- UNLAWS9
- UNSAWN9
Highest-scoring words
| Word | Scrabble | Words With Friends | Dictionaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| SQUAWK | 22 | 23 | All three |
| MOHAWK | 18 | 18 | Collins · NWL |
| BYLAWS | 14 | 15 | All three |
| PAWAWS | 14 | 15 | Collins only |
| PSHAWS | 14 | 14 | All three |
| MACAWS | 13 | 15 | All three |
| PAPAWS | 13 | 15 | All three |
| IMPAWN | 13 | 16 | All three |
| SCRAWM | 13 | 15 | Collins only |
| SCRAWP | 13 | 15 | Collins only |
| MIGAWD | 13 | 15 | NWL only |
| SCRAWB | 13 | 15 | NWL only |
The frame _ _ _ A W _ treats the -AW- block as a single unit, and that narrows everything: 12 matches end in S, 6 in N and 3 in L. Five begin with the cluster SCRAW-, and SQUAWK scores 22. Only two matches rank as common words, so expect deep-cut material with an average of 12.3 points.
What the _ _ _ A W _ frame holds
- 29 matches; 12 end in S and 6 in N.
- Five start SCRAW-: SCRAWL, SCRAWB, SCRAWM, SCRAWP and SCRAWS.
- SQUAWK scores 22 and MOHAWK 18, the only matches above 14.
- S opens 12 matches, the busiest initial by a wide margin.
- Only two matches rank as common words.
- Nine matches are Collins-only, including ACRAWL, SCRAWM and SUPAWN.
Start with the SCRAW- family
When four tiles show A and W in the middle, try SCRAW- first. SCRAWL, SCRAWM, SCRAWP and SCRAWS share their first five letters, so a single guess either solves the word or narrows it to four.
Four ways to tackle 6-letter words with A fourth and W fifth
- Start with S. It opens 12 of the 29 matches and closes 12 as well.
- Chase points with K. SQUAWK 22 and MOHAWK 18 are the only matches above 14.
- Try the -AWL family for longer answers: SPRAWL, SCRAWL and ACRAWL all end that way.
- Treat -AWS plurals as one group: BYLAWS, MACAWS, PAPAWS and PILAWS share the ending.
- Expect Collins-only spellings. Nine matches need it, among them ACRAWL, MANAWA and SUPAWN.
- Cover the -AWN group next: THRAWN, STRAWN and RESAWN all share that ending.
Which matches survive a North American list?
Collins carries 27 of these 6-letter words with A fourth and W fifth, but NWL2023 keeps 19 and ENABLE 17, so the coverage gap is wide. ACRAWL, SCRAWM and SUPAWN sit inside it, while BYLAWS, MACAWS, PAPAWS and SQUAWK appear on every list.
The -AWS plurals are the safest family to learn, since they need no rare letter and no dialect spelling. SQUAWK and MOHAWK are the reversed case: both score heavily, neither needs a dialect spelling, and no other match in the list reaches 15 points.
Questions people ask
How many six-letter words have A fourth and W fifth?
Which of these scores highest?
What does the SCRAW- cluster tell me?
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