6-letter words with K as the 1st letter and A as the 3rd letter

The pattern is K?A???, with K fixed at the start and A in the third spot. None of these entries falls within the common-word frequency cutoff, so familiar anchors such as KRAKEN, KOALAS, and KRATOM sit alongside less familiar KHANUM and KHAYAL. Use the pattern to narrow a clue, then check the ending before testing an unfamiliar term.

The K-and-A pattern at a glance

• Exactly 49 tournament-dictionary entries fit K?A???.
• Collins includes 47 matches; NWL2023 includes 29, and ENABLE includes 25.
• Twenty-four entries end in S; KOALAS and KHAKIS show the plural pattern.
• KWANZA, KHAZIS, and KHAZEN tie for the top Scrabble score at 22.
• The average score is 14.2, while the common-word count is zero.

Why do so many matches end in S?

Twenty-four of the 49 words end in S, far ahead of A and Y, with four matches each. KOALAS, KHAKIS, KNACKS, and KRAUTS make that ending concrete: several recognizable forms are plurals. When a puzzle fixes K first and A third, test S at the end before spending guesses on less familiar endings.

That lopsided ending count gives you a practical solving order: check whether the answer needs a plural, then use the remaining letters to sort the candidates. The zero common-word count is a warning against relying on everyday vocabulary alone. KRAKEN and KOALAS are approachable anchors, but many other matches belong to specialist or less familiar vocabulary.

6-letter words with K as the 1st letter and A as the 3rd letter

Scrabble scores put some unusual spellings at the top. KWANZA, KHAZIS, and KHAZEN each score 22; KRANTZ, KNACKY, and KYACKS score 19. KWACHA reaches 18, while KHAKIS and KLAXON score 17.

Dictionary coverage differs across the tournament lists: Collins has 47 matches, compared with 29 in NWL2023 and 25 in ENABLE. A match in the combined set is not guaranteed to be accepted in every game. Some games may exclude specialist spellings such as KWACHA or KHAYAL.