7-letter words with P as the 2nd letter and U as the 4th letter

The fixed pattern is _P_U___, so the first and last letters do much of the sorting. Fourteen matches begin with S and nine with U; only one qualifies as common under the frequency cutoff. Familiar examples such as SPOUSES and SPOUTED stand out among less everyday forms, making the opening letters a quick way to narrow your search.

At a glance for this P-U pattern

• Exactly 29 tournament-dictionary words match P in position two and U in position four.
• Fourteen start with S and nine start with U; the remaining six begin with A, E, or O.
• Twelve end in S, while D is next with six; E follows with four.
• Collins includes 28 matches, NWL2023 includes 20, and ENABLE includes 19; those dictionary counts overlap.
• Only one match falls within the top 25,000 English words by frequency.

How many 7-letter words have P second and U fourth?

There are 29. That is a narrow pattern beside nearby P-and-U combinations: 107 words put R in the fourth slot, while E and I each have 76. The same P-second pattern with T fourth has 48 matches, and W fourth has 14.

Within this group, the starting-letter split is especially lopsided: S supplies 14 entries against U’s nine. Endings cluster too, with 12 words ending in S compared with six ending in D. If your clue fixes either edge, use that letter before testing less familiar options.

How to score 7-letter words with P second and U fourth

Score-focused play points to APPUYED, worth 15 points, and UPCURVE, worth 14. SPLURGY and SPRUIKS each score 13, while SPRUCED and UPBUILD each score 12. Those unusual high scorers make a useful contrast with more recognizable matches such as SPLURGE and UPSURGE.

A score is a tile total, not a promise of a big board result; premium squares and placement still matter. APPUYED leads this group by one point over UPCURVE before board bonuses, so check the letters and your rack rather than choosing by score alone.

Treat 7-letter words with P second and U fourth as a clue filter, not a list of everyday vocabulary: just one match meets the frequency cutoff. The dictionary counts also differ, so check your game’s word list when a less familiar candidate decides the play.