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

The fixed pattern is E _ _ A _ _ _: the first letter is E, the fourth is A, and five slots remain open. ENGAGED, ESCAPED and ENHANCE show how different these words can look. Only 20 entries rank as common in the frequency data, so familiar examples sit alongside tournament vocabulary.

At a glance: pattern, count and familiar examples

• 133 words match E _ _ A _ _ _ across the covered tournament dictionaries.
• Collins includes 132 matches; NWL2023 includes 86.
• ENGAGED, EQUALLY, ESCAPED and EMBASSY are recognizable examples.
• Only 20 entries rank as common in the frequency data.

How do the endings divide?

Ending letters are lopsided: 62 words finish in S, compared with 22 in D and 20 in E. R appears at the end of 6 words, and Y ends 5. The S ending is the clear pattern to try when a crossing letter leaves the final slot open.

Examples include ENGAGES or ESTATES for S, ENRAGED for D, and EQUABLE for E. Each keeps E at the start and A in position four, but their endings give you different options for fitting a rack to the board.

The E-first/A-fourth pattern has far fewer matches than S-first/A-fourth, which has 265. Keeping E first but changing the fourth letter to R or I gives 120 and 119 matches, so A in fourth place runs a little ahead of both.

Which E-first, A-fourth words score highest?

EQUABLY leads at 21 points, ahead of EXCAMBS at 20 and EQUALLY at 19. EXHALED, EQUABLE and ENJAMBS each score 18; EXHAUST, EMPATHY, EXPANDS and EQUATED each score 17.

Those totals reward the Q and X tiles: EQUABLY uses Q, while EXCAMBS and EXHALED use X. Check the board before chasing a raw total, since a premium square can change which play earns more.

One limitation: only 20 entries rank as common, and a match in one tournament dictionary does not guarantee acceptance in another. Check the word list used in your game before playing an unfamiliar entry.