7-letter words with M as the 1st letter and A as the 5th letter

The pattern is M _ _ _ A _ _: keep the A fixed in slot five and vary the other five tiles. Only 22 matches rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency, so the set mixes everyday entries such as MESSAGE with less familiar tournament vocabulary. Counts include words found in at least one tournament dictionary.

7-letter words with M first and A fifth: quick facts

• There are 172 tournament-listed matches for the M _ _ _ A _ _ pattern.
• Only 22 matches rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency.
• Words ending in S lead with 66; words ending in E follow with 44.
• The average tile score is 12; MIZMAZE leads the high-score list at 29.
• Collins includes 164 matches, compared with 131 in NWL2023.

Which endings and familiar words fit this pattern?

The ending pattern is lopsided: S leads with 66 words, while E follows at 44. A, the fixed fifth letter, appears again at the end in 12 matches; D closes 9 and T closes 8. For a crossword-style clue, test S and E endings first, then narrow the middle letters.

MESSAGE, MISTAKE, MASSAGE, MANDATE, and MIGRANT show several familiar ways to fill M___A__. Just 22 matches rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency, so most of the accepted set is less familiar. That makes obscure vocabulary a real limitation when you need an everyday answer.

Which matches score well, and where are they accepted?

MIZMAZE scores 29, MAZZARD scores 28, and MANJACK scores 22 on the listed tile-score ranking. By contrast, the recognizable MIXTAPE scores 18. MIZMAZE and MAZZARD both use a Z, so checking the less familiar high scorers is a different task from spotting common pattern matches.

Dictionary coverage differs: Collins lists 164 matches, NWL2023 lists 131, and ENABLE lists 115. The total of 172 counts words found in any tournament list, so those dictionary counts overlap rather than add up. Check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar entry.