6-letter words with N as the 3rd letter and R as the 5th letter

The pattern fixes N in the third position and R in the fifth, leaving four other slots to narrow down. Among the examples, CENTRE and TENURE end in E, while OWNERS and MINERS end in S. Only 20 of the 89 matches rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency, so expect plenty of unfamiliar choices.

Pattern facts at a glance

• The pattern has 89 six-letter matches across the tournament dictionaries.
• S is the most frequent first letter, with 11 matches; C follows with 9.
• S and Y are the leading final letters, appearing 29 and 27 times.
• ZONARY leads the high-score examples at 18 points.

6-letter words with N as the 3rd letter and R as the 5th letter

The ending often gives you a quick route through the candidates: 29 words finish in S and 27 finish in Y. OWNERS, DONORS and MINERS show the S ending; HUNGRY, BINARY and WINERY show the Y ending.

A and E each finish 12 matches, with MANTRA and TUNDRA among the A-ending examples, and CENTRE and TENURE among those ending in E. That makes the final tile a useful filter when a puzzle already confirms the middle N-R pattern.

The first letter offers another strong split. S begins 11 matches, while C begins 9; D and M each begin 8. Think CENTRE, CANARY, DONORS and MANURE when you need familiar examples from those groups.

Which matches score well, and where do they count?

ZONARY scores 18 points, ahead of ZONERS and ZONURE at 15 each. PANFRY reaches 14, while HUNGRY and HANGRY score 13 apiece. The average score across the matches is 8.8, so the unusual Z words stand well above the typical play.

Dictionary coverage is not identical: Collins includes 86 matches, NWL2023 includes 68, and ENABLE includes 59. The full count includes words appearing in at least one of those tournament lists, not just familiar everyday vocabulary. Check your game's word list before playing an obscure entry.