6-letter words with C as the 3rd letter and U as the 4th letter

The frame is _ _ C U _ _, so the C and U sit side by side through the middle. SECURE, EXCUSE, OCCURS, and OCCUPY are the entries players meet first, and a cluster built on the same -CUS and -CUR root threads the whole set. Two spellings tie at 16, while the group average is 9.9.

The _ _ C U _ _ frame

• 49 tournament words fit the frame _ _ C U _ _.
• L opens 8 of them, the most of any first letter.
• E closes 14 words, A closes 10, and S closes 6 of them.
• JOCUND and MOCUCK share the top score of 16.
• Every word clears Collins; NWL2023 and ENABLE each carry 40.
• Seven words count as common.

One root, many spellings

The -CUS and -CUR stem repeats all over this list. OCCURS, INCURS, and RECURS share one form, and so do the prefixed verbs ACCUSE, RECUSE, EXCUSE, and SECURE. LOCUST, LOCUMS, LOCULE, and LOCULI carry a second, equally tidy Latin family.

Borrowed vocabulary takes over from there, running through MACULA, LACUNA, CICUTA, and BACULA. Only seven words count as common, which is the price of a pattern built on Latin roots. Even so, SECURE and EXCUSE turn up often enough that most players never blink at them.

Scores and how the length changes

JOCUND and MOCUCK share the top mark of 16, then EXCUSE and OCCUPY reach 15. UNCUFF takes 14 on its pair of Fs, and VACUUM, FECUND, and DECURY follow on 13, 12, and 12. Those 49 words average 9.9.

Length changes the pool sharply. Five-letter words with C third and U fourth give 21 options and seven-letter ones give 107, so the pattern opens up fast as words grow. Six letters is the tight middle of that span.