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6-letter words with I as the 1st letter and L as the 2nd letter

11 6-letter words with I as the 1st letter and L as the 2nd letter fit this pattern.

11 wordsTop pick ILLESTHighest score ILEXES 13

With I in 1st place, N is the most common 2nd letter (192 words). The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.

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Best words to play first 11 · most-used first

  • ILLEST6
  • ILLIAD7
  • ILLITE6
  • ILLUME8
  • ILLUDE7
  • ILEXES13
  • ILIADS7
  • ILICES8
  • ILLIPE8
  • ILLTHS9
  • ILLUPI8
All valid words 11

A to Z. Includes rare and Collins-only words. Linked tiles open the word's meaning, score and rhymes.

  • ILEXES13
  • ILIADS7
  • ILICES8
  • ILLEST6
  • ILLIAD7
  • ILLIPE8
  • ILLITE6
  • ILLTHS9
  • ILLUDE7
  • ILLUME8
  • ILLUPI8

Highest-scoring words

Scrabble and Words With Friends points, before board bonuses
WordScrabbleWords With FriendsDictionaries
ILEXES1314All three
ILLTHS910Collins only
ILLUME812All three
ILICES810Collins only
ILLIPE811Collins only
ILLUPI812Collins only
ILLIAD79Collins only
ILLUDE710Collins · NWL
ILIADS78All three
ILLEST68All three
ILLITE68All three

An I-L opening leaves a compact set: only 11 six-letter entries qualify, and none belongs to the common-word band. Eight words repeat L, while the other three use a single L. That makes the pattern easy to spot in a rack, but the spellings are much less familiar than the opening suggests.

The I-L pattern at a glance

  • All 11 matches appear in Collins.
  • NWL2023 includes 6 matches; ENABLE includes 5.
  • Four words end in E and four end in S; D, I, and T each appear once.
  • Eight entries have recorded definitions, and none is in the common-word band.

Which 6-letter words have I first and L second?

Eight entries begin ILL: ILLIAD, ILLITE, ILLUME, ILLUDE, ILLIPE, ILLTHS, ILLUPI, and ILLEST. The other three are ILEXES, ILIADS, and ILICES, each with just one L. That split is a quick way to narrow the choices when you already know the first two letters.

Changing only the second letter opens a much larger set: 192 six-letter words start IN, compared with 60 starting IM. The 11-word IL group is unusually small beside both neighboring patterns, so checking the exact second tile matters.

What scores highest in the I-L group?

For 6-letter words with I as the 1st letter and L as the 2nd letter, ILEXES leads at 13 points. ILLTHS scores 9; ILLUME, ILICES, ILLIPE, and ILLUPI each score 8. ILLIAD, ILLUDE, and ILIADS are listed at 7 points, making ILEXES the clear scoring standout.

The main catch is dictionary coverage, not the opening: Collins accepts all 11, while NWL2023 and ENABLE cover 6 and 5 respectively. Those counts are not interchangeable, so check your game's word list before committing an unfamiliar entry. The same I-L opening matches 10 five-letter words and 19 seven-letter words, so the six-letter set sits between those neighboring sizes; length narrows a search further.

Questions people ask

Are all 11 I-L words accepted in every word game?
No, the dictionaries differ. Collins includes all 11 words, while NWL2023 lists 6 and ENABLE lists 5. An entry accepted in one tournament list may not work in another, so confirm the word list your game uses before playing an unfamiliar spelling.
Which I-L word scores the most points?
ILEXES is the top scorer at 13 points. ILLTHS follows at 9, and ILLUME, ILICES, ILLIPE, and ILLUPI each score 8. The less familiar ILEXES is the strongest scoring option among these six-letter matches.
How many of these words end in E or S?
Four words end in E, and four end in S. The remaining three endings are D, I, and T, one word for each letter. That even split between E and S is the most common ending pattern in this small group.

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