7-letter words with O as the 1st letter and U as the 6th letter

A U in the sixth square leaves just one letter after it, producing 38 matches. OBVIOUS, OPTIMUM, OCTOPUS, and OVERDUE are the friendliest anchors. Fifteen entries end in S, but this is not simply a plural pattern: words such as OBLOQUY and OXONIUM take very different routes to the fixed tile.

At a glance

• 38 tournament-list words fit O _ _ _ _ U _.
• Eight entries meet the common-word measure.
• Fifteen end in S; ten end in M.
• OBLOQUY and OBSEQUY score 21 each.
• OBVIOUS, OCTOPUS, and OVERDUE are familiar examples.

What stands out in this pattern

The everyday group spans several endings: OBVIOUS, OPTIMUM, OCTOPUS, OMINOUS, and OVERDUE. OBLique is another recognizable shape, while OMNIBUS and OPOSSUM keep the sixth-position U without an S ending. This variety makes the final tile a better filter than guessing from the first few letters.

The scoring leaders are unusual: OBLOQUY and OBSEQUY each score 21, followed by OBLIQUE at 18 and OFFSCUM at 17. OXONIUM reaches 16. Familiarity and score pull in opposite directions here; OBVIOUS is easy to spot, but it does not lead the scoring list.

7-letter words with O first and U sixth

When U is fixed in position six, test the final letter against S and M first; together those endings account for 25 of the 38 entries. Then use familiar stems such as OB-, OC-, OP-, and OV- to narrow the remainder. The eight common entries provide only a small anchor set, so verify a rare play in your chosen game list.

The common examples are spread across several openings, so do not reduce this pattern to OB- words alone. OCTOPUS, OPTIMUM, and OVERDUE each offer a distinct route into the frame. The fixed U is late in the word; a rack with several early consonants may therefore make the final pair more decisive than the opening.