7-letter words with D as the 3rd letter and X as the 5th letter

Lock D into position three and X into position five for a compact set of 12 tournament-list entries. INDEXES, INDEXED, and INDEXER share the familiar INDEX stem; FEDEXED and FEDEXES have a different shape. Only two matches are common by word frequency, so a crossing clue often matters more than everyday vocabulary.

The shape of the matches at a glance

• 12 tournament-list words place D third and X fifth.
• Seven end in S; INDEXES, CODEXES, and FEDEXES are examples.
• Five begin with I; F and R each start two matches.
• FEDEXED leads the scoring list at 19 points; Collins includes 11 matches.

How many 7-letter words with D third and X fifth are there?

12 words fit. The opening letters are unusually concentrated: five start with I, two each with F and R, and one each with A, C, and P. That makes the INDEX family the quickest place to check, but it accounts for only part of the set.

FEDEXED scores 19 points, ahead of FEDEXES and INDOXYL at 18 each. CODEXES and PODEXES score 17; INDEXED and ADDAXES score 16. Those high tile totals come from the X, so look for a premium square before committing one.

The dictionary counts overlap: 11 matches appear in Collins, 10 in NWL2023, and 7 in ENABLE. Eleven entries have definitions. A match in one tournament list is not a promise that every game accepts it, so check your game’s word list when rules matter.

Use the fixed letters before guessing endings

For a crossing clue, secure the third and fifth slots before chasing the final letter. Seven of these words end in S, including INDEXES, CODEXES, and FEDEXES; the other endings are D twice, L twice, and R once.

A common trap is treating INDEXES, INDEXED, and INDEXER as interchangeable because their first six letters match. The final letters separate three distinct entries: INDEXES scores 15 points, while INDEXED scores 16.

The 7-letter words with D third and X fifth pattern is narrow beside nearby fifth-letter choices: changing X to I gives 258 matches, while E gives 156. If the crossing letter is uncertain, test that slot first; it cuts the search sharply.