6-letter words with D as the 1st letter and R as the 3rd letter

That vowel-only gap is the pattern's signature: A opens 26 matches, O 21, U 18, E 17 and I 15, with no consonant second letters at all. During, direct, darker and daring sit in the familiar core, but just 7 of the 97 are common words. Collins accepts 96, NWL2023 59 and ENABLE 58.

The D-and-R pattern at a glance

• 97 matches; Collins keeps 96, NWL2023 59 and ENABLE 58.
• Every second letter is a vowel: A 26, O 21, U 18, E 17, I 15.
• 31 matches end in S, then E 13, D 11 and R nine.
• Darzis, dorize and durzis share the top score of 16.
• Only 7 matches rank as common words, though 72 carry a definition.

Which vowel should you try after D?

A is the safest bet with 26 matches, covering darker, daring, darted, darned and darbar. O follows with 21 (dorsal, dorado, dormer), U 18 (during, duress, durian), E 17 (derive, derail, dermal) and I 15 (direct, dermis, dirham).

Because no consonant ever fills that slot, holding D and R with a vowel between them narrows the board quickly. It also explains why the D-B version of this pattern, with a consonant second, stops at 46.

Which D-R words are worth the tiles?

The three leaders all carry a Z: darzis, dorize and durzis score 16, well clear of darkly and darkey on 14. Dirham, derham, darcys, darked and dirked follow on 12.

Those top scorers are specialist spellings, and with just 7 common words the list rewards vocabulary rather than spelling luck. NWL2023 keeps 59 of the 97 and ENABLE 58, so a word that looks fine in Collins may not be legal elsewhere.

Watch the second tile