7-letter words with O as the 3rd letter and V as the 4th letter

The fixed pattern is _ _ O V _ _ _, leaving four positions open while O and V stay together in the middle. The set includes recognizable words such as PROVIDE, PROVING, and SHOVING, alongside less familiar forms. Only six matches rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency, so the pattern is much broader than everyday vocabulary.

The pattern at a glance

• There are 40 seven-letter matches with O third and V fourth.
• P starts 15 of the words, well ahead of S with seven.
• S is the most common ending with 15 matches; G follows with nine.
• Six words are common by frequency, while 33 have dictionary definitions.

How does dictionary coverage vary?

The pattern has 39 entries in Collins, 26 in NWL2023, and 22 in ENABLE. Those dictionary counts overlap; they are not separate groups to add together. The full total includes words appearing in at least one of the three tournament lists, so check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar entry.

The endings also narrow a search quickly: 15 matches finish in S, and nine finish in G. That makes SHOVELS and SHOVING good recognizable examples to test against a final-letter clue. Only four end in E, so an E ending is possible but much less typical.

Which matches stand out for scoring?

PROVOKE leads the scores at 16 points. CLOVERY, PLOVERY, and POOVERY each score 15, while SHOVING and PROVERB are next at 14. The high scorers lean on V, but a strong letter score does not make every word equally familiar or playable in every dictionary.

For a more ordinary-looking candidate, try PROVIDE or PROVING; both fit the exact middle pair and score 13 points. A useful solving habit is to lock O and V first, then vary the opening letters: P supplies the largest starting group, while S, G, C, D, E, H, and O account for the rest.