7-letter words with E as the 1st letter and A as the 5th letter

The pattern fixes two positions: E opens the word, and A sits in the fifth slot. That leaves three letters between the start and A, then two more to finish. EXPLAIN, EMBRACE, and EXTRACT are familiar examples; just 13 of the 118 matches rank among common English words.

At a glance: what stands out

• There are 118 tournament-dictionary matches for this seven-letter pattern.
• Only 13 matches are common English words; 84 have definitions.
• EXOGAMY and EMBLAZE lead the Scrabble scores at 20 points each.
• The average score is 11.4 points.
• The most frequent final letter is E, with 40 matches ending that way.

7-letter words with E as the 1st letter and A as the 5th letter

The matches include EXPLAIN, EMBRACE, EXTRACT, ELEGANT, EDUCATE, and EMERALD. Each keeps E in the opening position and A in the fifth, while the other letters create very different word shapes.

Only 13 entries are common, so familiar answers are a small slice of the full set. EXPLAIN and EMBRACE are easy to spot; rarer choices such as EXOGAMY add breadth when a game accepts them.

The final letter narrows the pattern further: E closes 40 matches, while S closes 23. If your last tile is known, check those endings before testing every possible middle letter.

Which matches score most in Scrabble?

EXOGAMY and EMBLAZE score 20 points apiece before board premiums. EPITAXY and EXCLAVE follow at 19, while EXCLAIM scores 18. Those high values come from less common letters, not from a longer word.

Dictionary coverage varies: Collins includes 116 matches, NWL2023 includes 73, and ENABLE includes 67. Those sets overlap, so their counts do not add up to the 118-word total. Check your game's word list when an unfamiliar entry matters.

A rack-score reality check