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

The pattern is E _ _ _ P _, a narrow slice of six-letter words. Its 11 matches include familiar choices such as EXCEPT and ESCAPE alongside rarer entries such as EURIPI and ELLOPS. For comparison, 87 words start with S and put P in the fifth spot, so this E-pattern is unusually small even within the same length and letter position.

At a glance: the E _ _ _ P _ pattern

• There are 11 tournament-dictionary matches for E in position one and P in position five.
• EXCEPT, EXEMPT, EQUIPS and EQUIPE tie for the top Scrabble score: 17 points.
• Only 3 entries rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency.
• The final letters split evenly among E, S and T, with 3 words ending in each.
• Collins includes all 11 matches; ENABLE and NWL2023 each include 8.

Which matches are easiest to recognise?

EXCEPT and ESCAPE are the most familiar entries in this pattern, while EXEMPT and EQUIPS are also recognizable in everyday play. Those examples sit beside less common words such as ECTOPY, ECTYPE and ENRAPT, so the pattern's small count does not mean every answer will feel familiar.

Nine of the 11 matches have definitions available, but only 3 are common by the frequency cutoff. That contrast matters when solving from a clue: a plausible-looking arrangement may be valid in a word game without being a word you use often.

The dictionary split is worth checking before a tournament challenge. Collins has 11 matches, while ENABLE and NWL2023 have 8 each; the source counts do not identify which individual entries differ, so verify a disputed word in your game's list.

Which E-first, P-fifth words score most?

EXCEPT, EXEMPT, EQUIPS and EQUIPE lead at 17 Scrabble points apiece. Their Q and P make them stand out from ESCAPE, which scores 10, and ENRAPT, which scores 8.

ECTOPY and ECTYPE are the next scoring pair at 13 points each. The useful distinction is the word itself, not just the letters: a premium square can raise any of these totals, but the scores provide the face-value comparison.

For a quick ending clue, check the final letter: E, S and T each finish 3 matches. EURIPI ends in I and ECTOPY ends in Y, leaving those endings as less common branches of the pattern.