6-letter words with P as the 1st letter and S as the 5th letter

The pattern is P _ _ _ S _, with the S fixed just before the final letter. Familiar choices include PRAISE, POLISH, PARISH, and PUNISH, while PHOSSY and PHRASY lead the scoring list. Only 9 entries rank among common English words, so expect a mix of everyday vocabulary and specialist plays.

The pattern at a glance

• 37 tournament-dictionary entries match P _ _ _ S _.
• PLEASE, PRIEST, PRAISE, and PHRASE are recognizable options.
• PHOSSY and PHRASY score 14 points each in the scoring values.
• Nine entries are common; 27 have definitions.
• Collins includes 36 matches, compared with 22 in NWL2023.

Which matches are familiar or high-scoring?

PLEASE, PRIEST, PRAISE, and PHRASE are strong first checks when you can see several letters already. Their everyday forms make them easier to spot than specialist entries such as PHOSSY, PHRASY, PAPISM, or PANISK.

For points, PHOSSY and PHRASY top the list at 14 each. POPISH and PAPISH score 13, while PHRASE, POLISH, PARISH, and PUNISH each score 11. The counterintuitive catch: the top-scoring options are much less familiar than the 11-point words.

Use both fixed letters to narrow the search

Keep the S in position five; a word ending in S does not fit this clue. The final letter varies: E appears most often, followed by H and T, so test those endings after confirming the P _ _ _ S _ frame.

The 37-word set is notably smaller than the 66 matches with S in both the first and fifth places. Changing the fifth letter to E expands the P-first group to 510 matches, making that position especially useful for narrowing a broad search.

Collins takes 36 of the 37 matches while NWL2023 takes only 22, so the dictionary behind your game decides many plays. Check its word list before committing to an unfamiliar one such as PANISK. Dictionary definitions exist for 27 of the 37, so most oddities can be looked up.