6-letter words with K as the 1st letter and K as the 4th letter

The repeated K creates a narrow pattern: K _ _ K _ _. Familiar-looking matches include KICKED, KICKER, and KRAKEN, while KUMKUM and KOLKOZ are less everyday choices. Dictionary coverage differs, too: the set has 12 ENABLE words, 24 in Collins, and 14 in NWL2023.

At a glance: the K-K pattern

• There are 26 six-letter matches with K in the 1st and 4th positions.
• KOLKOZ leads the scoring list at 23 points; KECKSY follows at 19.
• Only two matches count as common by our frequency measure.
• A definition is available for 23 of the 26 words.

Which 6-letter words put K in positions 1 and 4?

KICKED, KINKED, KONKED, KIRKED, KARKED, KECKED, KEEKED, and KOOKED all end in D. The final-letter count confirms D is the leading ending, with eight matches; R comes next with five.

That ending pattern gives you a practical deduction: when the last tile is D, test an -ed form before reaching for a rare entry. KICKED and KINKED are recognizable examples, while the repeated K still fixes the first and fourth slots. Four matches end in E, and two each end in M or S.

Which matches score most, and what is the catch?

KOLKOZ tops the Scrabble score list at 23, ahead of KECKSY at 19. KUMKUM and KICKUP each score 18, while KICKED and KHAKIS score 17 apiece. The average score across the pattern is 15.7, so the set is not built only from low-value, familiar plays.

The trade-off is vocabulary: only two words meet the common-word frequency cutoff, despite 23 having definitions. Treat the high scorers as options to check, not guaranteed plays; Collins, NWL2023, and ENABLE do not contain identical sets. For 6-letter words with K as the 1st and 4th letters, verify the word in your game's dictionary before playing.