7-letter words with S as the 1st letter and B as the 3rd letter

The pattern is S-B-_-_-_-_-_, with the second letter and final four positions open. Familiar examples include SUBJECT, SIBLING, SUBURBS, and SUBLIME, but the strongest scorer is the less familiar SABKHAH. Only 8 entries rank among common English words, so expect plenty of specialist vocabulary alongside recognizable choices.

7-letter words with S as the 1st letter and B as the 3rd letter

• The combined tournament-dictionary list contains 124 matches for the S-first, B-third pattern.
• SABKHAH leads the Scrabble scoring list at 19 points.
• SUBJECT, SUBZERO, SUBZONE, and SUBAQUA each score 18 points.
• The average score across the matches is 11.3 points.
• The most frequent endings are S, with 24 words, and E, with 19.

Which words fit this letter pattern?

Start with the recognizable SUB- group: SUBJECT, SUBURBS, SUBSIDY, SUBLIME, SUBDUED, and SUBSETS all place B in the third slot. Other examples break up that run, including SABBATH, SIBLING, and SOBBING. The fixed letters narrow the search, but the open second position still creates several distinct word families.

Word endings give another useful filter. S is the most common final letter among these matches, followed by E; T is next with 15. If your puzzle already fixes the final tile, try the more frequent endings first, then check less common endings such as G or D.

The list also has 7 words ending in A, 7 in C, and 7 in L.

The pattern is comparatively selective: the same S-first pattern with A in the third position has 633 matches, while I in that slot has 440. B therefore cuts the search space sharply. For nearby comparisons, the R-first, B-third pattern has 116 matches; changing the first letter can matter as much as changing the third.

Which matches score well in Scrabble?