6-letter words with L as the 3rd letter and A as the 4th letter

The fixed pattern is _ _ L A _ _: the first two and last two letters stay open. Familiar hits include island, palace, salary, galaxy and relate, but the set also has less familiar options such as palais, salaam and solano. Just 13 entries are classed as common, so a pattern match is not automatically an everyday word.

6-letter words with L as the 3rd letter and A as the 4th letter

• 162 six-letter entries match the fixed third-and-fourth-letter pattern across tournament dictionaries.
• Collins contains 159 matches, NWL2023 has 117, and ENABLE has 105; those dictionary counts overlap.
• Only 13 matches are classed as common, so expect plenty of less familiar choices.
• Galaxy and ablaze lead the scoring list at 17 points apiece.
• Final S (59) and E (40) are the most frequent endings; D follows with 14.

Which endings should you try first?

S is the strongest finish: 59 words end in S, followed by 40 ending in E. D reaches 14, while T appears in 11. When the final square is open, test S and E before spending turns on thinner endings.

At the other end, S also leads as an opening letter with 25 matches; P is next at 16. Once L-A are fixed in positions three and four, trying S at the front and S or E at the back quickly narrows the search. Island, splash and salads show three different shapes.

Which matching words score the most?

Galaxy and ablaze both score 17, the top figure in this set. Xylans follows at 16; jalaps, jelabs, talaqs, and zelant each reach 15.

For a more recognizable option, bylaws and pilaff score 14. These are tile-value comparisons, not guaranteed board totals: premium squares change the result.

The count shifts sharply when either fixed letter changes: 162 matches have L-A in the middle, compared with 292 for L-L. The five-letter pattern has 98 matches, while the seven-letter version has 235. Check the exact length before accepting a near-fit.

This is a union across tournament dictionaries, not a promise that every game accepts every entry. Check your game’s word list when an unfamiliar candidate matters.