7-letter words with P as the 3rd letter and E as the 5th letter

The fixed pattern is __P_E__, with P locked into the third slot and E into the fifth. That still leaves four open positions, so the results range from familiar words such as HAPPENS and SUPREME to less common entries. The count includes words accepted by at least one tournament dictionary, not just words found in every game’s lexicon.

7-letter words with P third and E fifth at a glance

• 150 words fit the pattern __P_E__ across the tournament dictionaries.
• 101 matches end in S; HAPPENS, PEPPERS, and HOPPERS show that common ending.
• ZIPPERS and ZAPPERS are the highest scorers here, at 20 points each.
• Collins includes 146 matches, NWL2023 includes 125, and ENABLE includes 112; these counts overlap.

Why do so many matches end in S?

The strongest pattern after the fixed P and E is a final S: 101 of the 150 matches end with that letter. PEPPERS, RAPPERS, PUPPETS, and HOPPERS make the repeated ending easy to spot, although the final S does not mean every word has the same grammatical role.

For a puzzle with the last letter still unknown, test S early; it narrows this particular set sharply. The alternatives are much smaller groups: D and T each finish 11 words, while E finishes eight. Only 11 matches fall within the most common English words, so many remaining options are specialist vocabulary.

Which matches score most in Scrabble?

ZIPPERS and ZAPPERS score 20 points each before board bonuses, making them the top base-score plays among these matches. HYPHENS and ZIPLESS follow at 18, while CYPHERS scores 17. The Z is doing much of the work, so save it for a premium letter square when the board allows.

7-letter words with P third and E fifth are not interchangeable across game dictionaries: Collins has more matches than NWL2023 or ENABLE. A word accepted in one list may be absent from another, so check your game’s lexicon before challenging. Definitions are available for 130 of the matches, but the rest still count when they meet a tournament dictionary.