7-letter words with K as the 2nd letter and E as the 3rd letter

The pattern is _KE____: only the second and third positions are fixed, so the remaining five letters still do the work. SKETCHY, SKEPTIC, and SKEWERS are recognizable examples, but rarity is the bigger story: just one entry reaches the top 25,000 English words by frequency. This is a narrow clue, not a list of everyday vocabulary.

How many 7-letter words fit the K-E pattern?

• 32 entries match the pattern across at least one tournament dictionary.
• SKETCHY scores 19 points, ahead of SKEPFUL and SKEPPED at 16 each.
• 26 entries begin with S; A starts four, while I and U start one each.
• D is the most common final letter, appearing in nine entries; S follows with seven.
• Only one entry ranks among the top 25,000 English words by frequency.

Which K-E words are familiar or high-scoring?

Start by testing the familiar S- words: SKETCHY, SKEPTIC, SKEWERS, and SKEWING all show the fixed K-E pair in an easy-to-scan form. S words account for 26 entries, while A contributes four and I and U one apiece. That strong S concentration makes the first letter a useful next filter when your rack or clue supplies it.

Scoring changes the shortlist. SKETCHY reaches 19 points; SKEPFUL and SKEPPED score 16 each, followed by SKEPTIC, SKEWING, AKEAKES, and AKEDAHS at 15. The top score is a better reason to keep SKETCHY in mind than familiarity alone: most entries are not common vocabulary.

For a constrained rack, confirm that K and E are fixed in those positions before weighing a score. This pattern narrows the search, but it does not point to one obvious everyday answer.

7-letter words with K as the 2nd letter and E as the 3rd letter

Ending letters offer another quick cut: D closes nine entries, S closes seven, and R closes four. E, G, L, and T each close two; A appears once. If your clue gives the final letter, start with that split rather than cycling through every match.

Dictionary reach is uneven: Collins contains 30 matches, NWL2023 has 17, and ENABLE has 15, against 32 entries appearing in at least one of the three. A word accepted in one game's list may fail in another, so check your game's word list before banking a play. Most of this set is obscure, and only one entry meets the common-word cutoff.