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7-letter words with K as the 1st letter and S as the 3rd letter

18 7-letter words with K as the 1st letter and S as the 3rd letter fit this clue.

18 wordsTop pick KISSINGHighest score KISHKES 18

2 of 18 are everyday words (11%). A mix of familiar words and game-only finds.

With K in 1st place, N is the most common 3rd letter (65 words). The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.

  • Length
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Best words to play first 18 · most-used first

  • KISSING12
  • KASHMIR16
  • KESTREL11
  • KISSERS11
  • KASHRUT14
  • KASHRUS14
  • KASBAHS16
  • KISHKES18
  • KISHKAS18
  • KOSHERS14
  • KASHERS14
  • KESTING12
  • KISMATS13
  • KISMETS13
  • KISSELS11
  • KISSIER11
  • KISTFUL14
  • KISTING12
All valid words 18

A to Z. Includes rare and Collins-only words. Linked tiles open the word's meaning, score and rhymes.

  • KASBAHS16
  • KASHERS14
  • KASHMIR16
  • KASHRUS14
  • KASHRUT14
  • KESTING12
  • KESTREL11
  • KISHKAS18
  • KISHKES18
  • KISMATS13
  • KISMETS13
  • KISSELS11
  • KISSERS11
  • KISSIER11
  • KISSING12
  • KISTFUL14
  • KISTING12
  • KOSHERS14
Letters by positionIn 56% of these words the 2nd letter is I.
2nd letter
  1. I56%
  2. A28%
  3. E11%
4th letter
  1. H39%
  2. T22%
  3. S22%
5th letter
  1. E28%
  2. I22%
  3. R17%
6th letter
  1. R17%
  2. U17%
  3. E17%
7th letter
  1. S56%
  2. G17%
  3. R11%

Highest-scoring words

Scrabble and Words With Friends points, before board bonuses
WordScrabbleWords With FriendsDictionaries
KISHKES1817All three
KISHKAS1817All three
KASHMIR1616All three
KASBAHS1616All three
KASHRUT1414All three
KASHRUS1414Collins only
KOSHERS1413All three
KASHERS1413All three
KISTFUL1416All three
KISMATS1314All three
KISMETS1314All three
KISSING1214All three

An exact-position clue narrows this set to 18 entries: K opens every word, and S sits in the third slot. Familiar-looking KISSING and KESTREL share space with KASHRUT and KISHKES, so the pattern ranges from recognizable forms to specialist vocabulary. Just 2 entries fall within the top 25,000 English words by wordfreq frequency.

7-letter words with K first and S third

  • All 18 matches have seven letters, K in slot one, and S in slot three.
  • Only 2 rank among the top 25,000 English words by wordfreq frequency.
  • Ten finish in S; G is next, with 3 entries.
  • KISHKES and KISHKAS tie for the top score at 18 points each.

Which endings and dictionaries stand out?

The final-letter split is unusually concentrated: 10 words end in S, while 3 end in G. L and R each close 2 matches, and T closes the remaining one. KISHKES and KISHKAS share the S ending, while KISSING belongs to the smaller G group; KESTREL, KASHMIR, and KASHRUT illustrate the L, R, and T endings.

Dictionary coverage is broad but not complete: Collins contains 17 of these entries, NWL2023 has 14, and ENABLE has 13. Those totals overlap, so they do not add up to the 18 distinct words. Specialist forms account for much of the gap between the tiny common-word count and the tournament lists; check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar entry.

How should you work through this pattern?

Keep the fixed letters in place and vary only the other five slots. KISSING and KESTREL are recognizable anchors, but the top scorers, KISHKES and KISHKAS, are less familiar; memorizing one without checking its sibling is an easy miss.

For 7-letter words with K as the 1st letter and S as the 3rd letter, score and familiarity pull in different directions: KISHKES and KISHKAS each score 18, while only 2 entries count as common. Start with the clue fit, then verify spelling and game-list status.

This is a narrow fit, not a general K-word search. The M-first sibling pattern has 288 matches, compared with 18 here, so loosen a fixed position only when the exact clue yields no playable option.

Questions people ask

Why are there only 18 seven-letter words with K first and S third?
The fixed letters leave just 18 matching entries in the tournament dictionaries. The contrast is sharp: the same seven-letter pattern with M first has 288 matches. Keeping both positions fixed makes this a much narrower search than browsing all words beginning with K.
Which K-first, S-third words score the most?
KISHKES and KISHKAS tie for the highest score at 18 points each. Both fit the same letter pattern and finish in S, but their endings differ: one has E before the final S, and the other has A.
Are all 18 words accepted in NWL2023?
No. NWL2023 includes 14 of the 18 matches, while Collins includes 17 and ENABLE includes 13. The dictionary totals overlap, so compare the exact word against the list used by your game before you play it.

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