6-letter words with L as the 2nd letter and D as the 4th letter

Locking L into position two and D into position four leaves 39 six-letter matches across tournament word lists. PLEDGE, BLADES, SLIDES and SLUDGE show how recognizable some entries are, but only six qualify as common by our frequency measure. The starting and ending letters also cluster sharply, giving you useful pattern clues beyond the fixed pair.

The pattern at a glance

• The pattern has 39 matches across Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE.
• S starts 8 words, G starts 7, and B and E each start 6.
• S ends 10 words, E ends 9, and D ends 7.
• Only 6 entries count as common by frequency; PLEDGE and SLIDES are familiar examples.
• Collins includes all 39; NWL2023 includes 31 and ENABLE includes 28.

How many 6-letter words have L second and D fourth?

There are 39. The opening letters narrow quickly: S leads with 8, followed by G with 7, while B and E tie at 6 each. If you know the first letter is S, try SLUDGE or SLIDES; for G, GLIDER and GLIDED fit the pattern.

The endings have their own cluster. S is the final letter in 10 matches, E in 9, and D in 7. That makes forms such as BLADES, GLIDES and ELUDED worth checking when the last tile is known.

The sequence around the fixed L and D stays constant, but the word endings vary.

Which matches score highest, and where are they accepted?

KLUDGY leads the score list at 15 points, with FLEDGY at 14 and CLODDY at 13. KLUDGE and CLODDY each bring different letter combinations, while PLEDGE scores 10. These are word scores before any board-square bonuses.

Dictionary coverage is not identical: Collins has all 39 matches, compared with 31 in NWL2023 and 28 in ENABLE. Thirty entries have definitions, yet only six count as common by frequency. That gap is the catch: a pattern match can be valid in one game and unfamiliar in another, so check your game's word list before relying on an obscure entry.

For a more familiar starting point, test PLEDGE, BLADES, SLIDES or GLIDER first. Save KLUDGY for a rack where its score justifies choosing a less common word.