7-letter words with R as the 1st letter and C as the 3rd letter

Put an R and a C two spaces apart and the middle letter nearly writes itself. In 78 of the 135 words it is E, the REC- prefix, and in 21 more it is A. That makes the second letter the strongest filter you have, stronger than the ending, and it is the first thing a solver should test.

The R_C frame at a glance

• 135 words fit, and 21 are common English.
• E is the second letter in 78 words; A follows with 21 and I with 16.
• S closes 51 words, E closes 15 and D closes 12.
• RACQUET, RECHECK and ROCKABY score 18 points each.
• Shorten the word and the frame shrinks: 93 words at six letters, 30 at five.

Is REC- really that dominant?

Yes: 78 of 135 is more than half. The everyday REC- words are RECORDS, RECEIVE, RECOVER, RECIPES, RECEIPT and RECRUIT, and each starts a long family of derived forms.

After REC come RAC- with 21 words, such as racists and raccoon, then RIC- with 16 and ROC- with 12. RUC- closes the list at 8. Each prefix fixes the third letter C and leaves four open tiles.

What do the endings add?

S ends 51 words, which is just over a third, and many are plain plurals. After that, common finishes are -ING with 7 words, -ED with 12 and -ES with 12, so a verb clue points at D or a plural.

Scoring is quiet. Only RACQUET, RECHECK and ROCKABY, plus the Q-bearing rocquet, reach 18, while RICKETY and ROCKERY follow at 16. The Q in racquet is worth 10, which is why it keeps pace with longer-looking words.

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