7-letter words with L as the 1st letter and A as the 3rd letter

The pattern fixes the opening as L?A????, leaving four letters to complete each word. LEADING, LEAVING, LEARNED, and LEATHER are among the recognizable options. Only 15 matches rank among common English words, so the full set also includes less familiar entries. Dictionary coverage differs: Collins includes 69, NWL2023 includes 61, and ENABLE includes 56.

The pattern at a glance

• There are 72 tournament-dictionary words with L first and A third.
• LEADING, LEAVING, and LEARNED are familiar examples.
• The most frequent final letter is S, appearing in 23 matches.
• G ends 14 words, while R ends 11.
• LEADOFF and LEAKILY score 14 points each in the listed letter-score ranking.

Which endings appear most often?

S is the clear leader: 23 words end in S, including LEADERS, LEAGUES, and LEASHES. G comes next with 14, as in LEADING, LEAKING, and LOAFING. These endings make the pattern easier to scan when your final tile is known.

R accounts for 11 matches, including LEARNER and LEAGUER. D appears at the end of 8, with LEARNED among the familiar examples. The remaining endings are less frequent: E, N, T, and Y each finish 3 or 4 words.

7-letter words with L as the 1st and A as the 3rd letter

Most entries are not equally familiar: just 15 of the 72 are common by the frequency measure. Start with words such as LEATHER, LEAKING, and LEAPING, then check less everyday options against your game’s dictionary. The total spans multiple tournament lists, but no single list contains all 72.

For a rack with all seven letters, a valid seven-letter play earns the Scrabble bingo bonus. LEADOFF and LEAKILY top the scores at 14 points before any board premiums; LEACHED, LOATHLY, and LEAFBUD each score 13. Don’t confuse a strong listed score with a guaranteed premium-square play.