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

The fixed pattern is H?E????: H stays in the first slot, E in the third, and five letters remain open. Only 19 tournament-list entries fit, and none meets our common-word cutoff. Familiar-looking anchors such as HEELING and HOEDOWN sit beside less obvious forms, so letter placement is a stronger clue than everyday vocabulary.

Pattern snapshot

• Collins lists 19 matches; ENABLE and NWL2023 each list 16.
• HEEZING tops the scoring table at 20 points, ahead of HEEZIES at 19.
• Six entries end in S; D, E, and G each close three words.
• The common-word count is zero, making this a specialist pattern rather than a casual vocabulary set.

Which matching words score highest?

HEEZING is the top scorer at 20 Scrabble points, with HEEZIES second at 19. HOECAKE and HEEHAWS tie at 16, and HAEMONY is next at 15. The Z-bearing pair creates the scoring gap: when one is playable, look for a premium-letter square before settling for a familiar-looking choice.

HEEDING and HEELING are the easiest entries to recognize by sight, while HEEZIES, HAEMINS, and HYENINE are less likely to come to mind from a clue alone. The zero common-word count makes a pattern-first scan practical: mark H and E, then test the remaining slots against exact spellings instead of guessing broad vocabulary.

For board play, keep the rack shape in view: repeated E letters appear in HEE-prefixed options, while HOEDOWN and HOECAKE use a different sequence after the fixed H and E. That contrast gives you two search branches from the same start and helps prevent overlooking a fit after your first candidate fails.

How many 7-letter words with H first and E third are there?

There are 19 matches. S is the most frequent final letter, appearing six times; D, E, and G appear three times each. L, N, P, and Y occur once apiece.

If you know the final tile, test S first, then the D/E/G group, rather than cycling evenly through every ending.

The six-letter counterpart has 20 matches, while the five-letter counterpart has 11. Dictionary coverage also differs: Collins accepts all 19 entries, compared with 16 in ENABLE and NWL2023. A Collins-legal word can fail in a North American tournament game, so check the active word list before challenging or playing an unfamiliar form.