6-letter words with D as the 1st letter and A as the 5th letter

The pattern leaves four open slots, so the words range from familiar choices like DOLLAR and DEFEAT to specialist entries such as DUKKAH. Only 9 are common by English frequency, and 66 have definitions. For a quick scan, check the final letter first: S is the most frequent ending by a clear margin.

The D-and-A pattern at a glance

• 84 entries begin with D and place A in the fifth position.
• S is the leading final letter, appearing in 27 words; N follows with 11.
• DOLLAR, DEFEAT, DENTAL, and DENIAL are recognizable examples.
• DUKKAH leads the Scrabble scores at 18 points.

Which words fit this letter pattern?

DOLLAR and DEFEAT show how different the open positions can be: the first has a doubled L, while the second uses a common verb ending. DENTAL, DENIAL, and DORSAL offer other familiar routes through the pattern. When solving, keep the fixed frame D _ _ _ A _ intact and test the remaining letters against crossings.

The final S appears in 27 entries, including DRAMAS, DELTAS, and DOGMAS. By contrast, only 11 end in N and 10 end in L. That makes an S crossing especially productive, but it does not prove a candidate is valid in your game; the S-first version of this pattern has 194 matches, compared with 84 here.

How can you use the less familiar entries?

For a Scrabble score target, DUKKAH scores 18, DEEJAY scores 17, and DIQUAT scores 16. Those leaders are less everyday than DOLLAR or DEFEAT, so learn them as board plays rather than assuming they belong in every game. The average score across the pattern is 9.7 points before board bonuses.

Dictionary coverage varies: Collins includes 79 of these words, NWL2023 includes 64, and ENABLE includes 53. Only 9 qualify as common English words, so most entries are not everyday vocabulary. Check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar option; the three tournament dictionaries do not accept identical sets.