7-letter words with S as the 1st letter and D as the 5th letter

The fixed pattern is S---D--: S starts every entry, while D sits exactly two places before the end. Familiar examples include SCANDAL, SOUNDED, SOMEDAY, and SLENDER, but only 11 matches rank as common by English word frequency. Treat it as a position clue, not a list of words ending in D.

Pattern snapshot and standouts

• The pattern has 136 seven-letter matches, with S first and D fifth.
• SCANDAL, SOUNDED, SOMEDAY, and SLENDER are recognizable examples.
• Only 11 matches rank as common by English word frequency.
• SQUIDGY and SQUADDY tie for the top Scrabble value at 21 points.
• STUDDED, SHUDDER, and SPINDLE also fit the fixed positions.

How does this pattern compare with nearby letter clues?

Among seven-letter clues with D fixed in slot five, S produces 136 matches, ahead of B's 76, A's 66, and C's 56. That puts S well ahead of its closest listed rivals; this is not a sparse starting-letter combination.

Changing the fifth letter shifts the count sharply: S with I has 648 matches, E has 449, and T has 317, compared with 136 for D. The fifth-position clue cuts the S group to less than half the count for T.

Slot five is not the final tile. Only 29 of these words end in D, tied with 29 ending in R; 18 end in E. SCANDAL and SOUNDED show how a fixed middle letter still leaves the last letter open.

SOUNDED and STUDDED end in D too, so each uses the letter twice. Rack letters can fill the fifth slot and still miss the ending, so test the last tile before you commit.

Which matches score highest?

SQUIDGY and SQUADDY tie at 21 Scrabble points, followed by SQUIDGE at 18 and SPANDEX at 17. SHAHDOM scores 16, while SKIDDED and SKALDIC each score 14. The top values come from less familiar spellings, not the everyday examples.

For 7-letter words with S as the 1st letter and D as the 5th letter, dictionary totals are not interchangeable: Collins has 132 matches, NWL2023 has 90, and ENABLE has 82. Those counts overlap. Only 11 of the 136 entries meet the common group, so expect plenty of unfamiliar candidates; check your game's dictionary before playing one.