6-letter words with Y as the 3rd letter and S as the 5th letter

That fixed pattern leaves 27 tournament-dictionary entries, but none falls within the top 25,000 English words by frequency. S is the most common first letter, with six matches, while G starts four. Dictionary coverage varies: Collins includes 24, NWL2023 accepts 20, and ENABLE includes 17.

6-letter words with Y as the 3rd letter and S as the 5th letter

• All 27 matches appear in at least one of Collins, NWL2023, or ENABLE.
• Six begin with S, the most common first letter; G follows with four.
• Fourteen end in T and eight in H; just one ends in S.
• SKYISH leads scoring at 16 points, ahead of SHYISH at 15 and BOYISH at 14.

Which final letters dominate this pattern?

T and H account for 22 of the 27 matches: 14 finish in T, and eight finish in H. Only two end in E; I, S, and Y appear once each. The fixed S in fifth position rarely lands at the end—the sixth letter is usually T or H.

That distribution appears in GAYEST, SHYEST, and DRYEST, all ending in T, beside BOYISH, DRYISH, and SKYISH, which end in H. When solving, test the final slot before swapping the required fifth-position S.

The starting-letter spread adds another clue: S-starters lead with six, followed by G with four; C, F, and T each contribute three. An initial S is a stronger first test than any one of those three-letter groups.

Which matches score highest, and what is the catch?

SKYISH scores 16 points, the strongest listed result, while SHYISH scores 15 and BOYISH and COYISH each score 14. The average across this group is 11.9 points, so the top score stands out rather than representing a typical result.

The catch is everyday play: zero matches meet our common-word cutoff of the top 25,000 English words. GAYEST, MAYEST, and SAYEST are examples of less familiar forms, so check your game's accepted dictionary before committing one on a rack.