7-letter words with C as the 1st letter and E as the 3rd letter

The pattern C?E???? fixes two positions while leaving four letters open, so CREATED, CREATOR, CLEARLY, and CHEAPER all fit very different word shapes. Of 190 qualifying entries, 28 sit among the 25,000 most common English words by frequency. That mix makes the pattern practical for familiar vocabulary but still broad enough to surface less everyday tournament words.

At a glance: the C?E???? pattern

• 190 seven-letter entries match C?E???? in at least one tournament dictionary.
• CREATED, CLEARLY, and CHECKED are recognizable examples; CHEAPER and CREATOR bring different middle-letter sequences.
• 28 entries fall within the top 25,000 English words by word frequency.
• Ending S leads with 59 words; D follows at 32, then R at 17.
• CHEQUES and CHEQUER share the highest Scrabble tile score at 21 points.

How do the middle letters and endings vary?

The same opening does not narrow the list to one word family. CREATED, CREATES, and CREATOR share CRE; CLEARLY, CLEANED, and CLEANER switch to CLE; CHEAPER, CHEATED, and CHEERED use CHE. Those clusters give you concrete candidates when a crossing letter reveals the fourth position, instead of forcing guesses from C and E alone.

Ending letters offer another sorting shortcut. S accounts for 59 matches, almost twice the 32 ending in D; that contrast makes final-letter sorting especially quick. If your final square is fixed, start with that ending group and test known middle letters before scanning every option.

Which words stand out for tile games?

For board play, compare high scorers CHEQUES and CHEQUER with CHECKUP at 20 points and CHECKED at 19. Their C-H-E opening gives you a reliable place to check the rack, but a premium-square placement matters more than the printed face-value total; calculate the board before committing a word.

A limitation: 159 of the 190 entries have definitions, so don't assume every dictionary-valid option will be familiar or accepted in your game. Check your game's word list when a move depends on a less familiar form; the pattern itself does not promise that all dictionaries share all 190 words.

For 7-letter words with C as the 1st letter and E as the 3rd letter, filter by the final letter first, then check the remaining squares.