7-letter words with L as the 3rd letter and K as the 5th letter

Only 18 tournament-dictionary words fit this fixed pattern. None ranks among the 25,000 most frequent English words, so expect specialist vocabulary rather than everyday guesses. The endings offer a sharper clue: six matches finish in S, while Kylikes leads the listed Scrabble scores at 18 points.

7-letter words with L as the 3rd letter and K as the 5th letter: at a glance

• All 18 matches have the form _ _ L _ K _ _.
• Collins includes 18 matches; NWL2023 includes 11, and ENABLE includes 10.
• No match falls within the 25,000 most frequent English words.
• Six matches end in S; D and N each appear as the final letter four times.
• Kylikes tops the listed Scrabble scores at 18 points.

Which pattern matches are worth checking first?

Start with unliked and oilskin if you want familiar-looking entries; salukis is another recognizable option. Each places L third and K fifth, but the surrounding letters vary, so confirm every slot rather than relying on the word’s general shape.

For a score-first play, kylikes leads at 18 points. Halakha, halakah, and wolfkin each score 17, while halakic scores 16. Those values make the less familiar entries worth examining when the board opens a scoring lane, but a high listed score alone does not guarantee the best move.

The dictionary split is a real constraint: Collins has all 18, compared with 11 in NWL2023 and 10 in ENABLE. The union does not mean every match is accepted in every game, so check your game's word list before committing.

How can you narrow this letter pattern?

Treat the third and fifth letters as fixed anchors, then test the remaining positions against your rack or clue. This small set is especially selective: with L third and I fifth, the matching list has 443 entries, while the K version has just 18. For a different third letter with K held fifth, A has 125 matches and I has 122.