6-letter words with E as the 1st letter and O as the 5th letter

E opens every match and O takes the fifth slot, leaving four letters free. Only EDITOR and EMPLOY make the 25,000 most common English words, so the list leans on game vocabulary such as EPIZOA, EXOPOD and EJIDOS. Nine entries are Collins-only, which shrinks the usable set further in other dictionaries.

What the 29 matches offer

• Twenty-nine entries place E first and O fifth; seven close in N and five in S.
• EPIZOA leads the scoring at 17 points, ahead of EXOPOD on 16.
• Nine entries are Collins-only, and ENABLE rejects ten of the 29.
• Only EDITOR and EMPLOY rank among the 25,000 most common English words.
• Collins holds 28 of the 29, NWL2023 20 and ENABLE 19.

Why are so few of these words familiar?

The fifth slot is the unusual one. O rarely sits four letters from the end of a six-letter word, and the shape that fits is narrow, with ELEVON, EPIGON, ETALON, ETHION, ETYMON, EARCON and EUPHON all closing on a plain -ON.

Only EDITOR and EMPLOY break through as everyday words, and both are ordinary six-letter entries with no rare letters. Between them they cover the whole familiar side of the list.

Collins accepts 28 of the 29, but NWL2023 lists 20 and ENABLE 19. Nine entries are Collins-only, among them EARBOB, EARCON, ELUTOR, ENGAOL and ESCROC, so check your game's word list before you commit to one.

Which of the 29 scores best?

EPIZOA is the standout at 17 points, with EXOPOD next on 16 and EJIDOS, EXODOI and EXODOS on 14. EMPLOY reaches 13, and ETYMON and EUPHON sit on 11.

Rare letters explain the order, with a Z in EPIZOA, an X in EXOPOD and a J in EJIDOS. EDITOR, the most common word in the group, scores only 7, which sums up the trade-off here.