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

The pattern keeps P and N fixed while leaving the opening, fourth, sixth, and final letters open. That gives you options such as DEPENDS, EXPENSE, and RIPENED, but only four matches rank among the most common English words. A familiar-looking ending does not guarantee a familiar word: many entries are specialist vocabulary or inflections.

7-letter words with P third and N fifth

• There are 68 tournament-dictionary matches for this letter pattern.
• HYPONYM leads the scoring list at 20 points.
• Only four matches count as common English words.
• The ending S is especially frequent: 39 matches finish with S.
• R is the most frequent opening letter, with 13 matches.

Which matches are easiest to recognize?

Start with word families you already know. DEPENDS and EXPENDS share a useful ending, while EXPENSE and EXPANSE differ by one internal letter. EXPANDS offers another familiar form with the same fixed P and N positions.

The final letter narrows the search sharply: 39 of the 68 words end in S. That makes plural forms and verb forms worth checking first. If the last tile is not S, try D, L, E, or T next; those endings account for six, five, four, and four matches respectively.

Opening letters also give you a practical shortlist. R begins 13 matches, while D and E each begin nine. RIPENED is a recognizable R example; EXPUNGE and EXPENDS show how many options begin with E.

What should you check before playing?

For 7-letter words with P as the 3rd letter and N as the 5th letter, the dictionary split matters: the total includes words accepted by at least one tournament list. Collins includes 64 matches, NWL2023 includes 51, and ENABLE includes 42, so do not assume every entry works in your game.

HYPONYM is the standout score at 20 points; EXPUNCT follows at 18, with EXPANDS, EXPUNGE, and EXPENDS each scoring 17. The limitation is everyday vocabulary: just four matches are common, so verify an unfamiliar word against your game's list before committing tiles.