6-letter words with S as the 4th letter and U as the 5th letter

The fixed pattern is _ _ _ S U _, so the first three letters and the final letter do the distinguishing. TISSUE, VERSUS, PURSUE, and CENSUS are recognizable examples among the 29 matches. Only five fall within the top 25,000 English words by frequency, so many entries are less familiar.

At a glance: the S-U pattern

• There are 29 six-letter matches across tournament dictionaries, all with S fourth and U fifth.
• The pattern is _ _ _ S U _, leaving four positions to identify.
• GYPSUM leads the score table at 14 points; WASSUP, BYSSUS, and YESSUM score 11 each.
• Twelve matches end in S and eight end in M, the two most frequent final letters.
• Collins includes 28 matches, compared with 20 in NWL2023 and 19 in ENABLE.

Which match scores highest?

GYPSUM is the top scorer at 14 points, ahead of WASSUP, BYSSUS, and YESSUM at 11 each. The group averages 8.6 points, so GYPSUM stands well above its typical score.

Only five matches rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency, and the most recognizable examples include TISSUE, VERSUS, PURSUE, CENSUS, and CONSUL. Dictionary coverage differs: Collins has 28 matches, NWL2023 has 20, and ENABLE has 19. Check the word list your game uses.

How can you narrow the remaining letters?

S and M are the strongest endings to test: 12 matches finish with S and eight with M. Together those endings cover 20 of the 29 words, a useful shortlist when the final tile is still unknown.

For 6-letter words with S as the 4th letter and U as the 5th letter, the 29-match set is far smaller than the 534 matches with E in position five. That sharp contrast makes the U clue especially restrictive; compare the E pattern when your clue is uncertain.