7-letter words with A as the 1st letter and U as the 4th letter

A fourth-position U leaves three letters after it, producing a large mix of familiar forms: ACCUSED, AMOUNTS, ASSUMED, ARGUING, and ACQUIRE. The ending S dominates with 51 words, far ahead of D at 16 and R at 14. The scoring leader, ADZUKIS at 21, is less obvious than the everyday examples.

At a glance, U at spot 4

• 126 seven-letter words begin with A and put U fourth.
• S is the ending for 51 matches; D and R follow with 16 and 14.
• ADZUKIS leads at 21 points; ACQUIRE, ACQUITS, ACQUEST, and ACQUIST score 18.
• ACC words such as ACCUSED and ACCUSES provide a familiar anchor.

How the pattern narrows the word choices

This frame has a strong S-ending cluster: ACCUSES, AMOUNTS, ASSUMES, ADJUSTS, and ADZUKIS all finish that way. Still, S accounts for only 51 of 126, so do not treat the pattern as a plural-only group.

D endings total 16, including ACCUSED and ASSUMED, while R endings total 14. E closes 13 words and T closes 9.

A practical board-reading tip

Which words with U fourth score highest?

ADZUKIS is the top scorer at 21 points. ACQUIRE, ACQUITS, ACQUEST, and ACQUIST each score 18, with ADJUNCT and ABJURED at 17.

The ACQU- run is useful to remember, but each spelling differs after the opening letters and deserves a quick rack check. The average score is 10.6, so ADZUKIS earns about double a typical match.

Eighteen matches rank among the top 25,000 English words, and 104 have dictionary definitions. Collins has 124 entries compared with 100 for NWL2023. The seven-letter frame fits crosswords and board games, where crossing letters narrow the candidates.

Compare the last three letters carefully, especially among ACQUIRE, ACQUITS, and ACQUEST, whose openings are nearly identical.