7-letter words with P as the 2nd letter and A as the 3rd letter

The pattern is _PA____, yet it rarely starts with anything but S: 84 of the 110 matches begin with that letter. Only 8 entries rank as common by wordfreq frequency. The mix ranges from everyday words like spatial and spandex to less familiar plays such as opaqued, so a pattern match is not always a word you will recognize.

At a glance: the P-A pattern

• There are 110 matches across at least one of ENABLE, Collins, or NWL2023.
• SP words dominate: 84 entries start with S, including spatial, sparked, and sparrow.
• Only 8 entries rank as common in wordfreq, so many matches are specialist vocabulary.
• The most frequent final letter is S (25), followed by D (20) and E (16).
• The average tile score is 12; opaqued leads the scoring list at 19.

How many 7-letter words have P second and A third?

There are 110 matches. The neighboring P-I pattern has 126, while P-O has 73, putting P-A between those two common alternatives. Within this group, the concentration at the start is striking: 84 words begin SP, including spatial, sparrow, and sparkle.

The endings give another quick filter. S, D, and E together account for 61 of the 110 words, more than half the set. That makes examples such as spacers, sparked, and sparkle useful checks when you know the final letter but still need to test the middle pattern.

Choosing among P-A words for a game

For 7-letter words with P as the 2nd letter and A as the 3rd letter, the top raw tile score is opaqued at 19. Opaques, epazote, and spatzle each score 18; spandex scores 17. These are tile totals before any board-square bonuses, so the premium letters matter most when you can place them well.

Dictionary coverage is not uniform: Collins includes 108 matches, compared with 77 in NWL2023 and 69 in ENABLE. The full set combines entries from those tournament lists, so do not assume every word works in every game. Check your game's word list before committing to an unfamiliar entry.