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

7-letter words with S as the 1st letter and L as the 3rd letter total 235, from familiar choices like selling to high-scoring shlocky.

235 wordsTop pick SELLINGHighest score SHLOCKY 19

16 of 235 are everyday words (7%). Mostly rare words: great for Scrabble, tough for daily puzzles.

With S in 1st place, A is the most common 3rd letter (633 words). The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.

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Common words 16 · most-used first

All valid words 235

A to Z. Includes rare and Collins-only words. Linked tiles open the word's meaning, score and rhymes.

  • SALAAMS9
  • SALABLE9
  • SALABLY12
  • SALADES8
  • SALAMIS9
  • SALAMON9
  • SALBAND10
  • SALCHOW15
  • SALFERN10
  • SALICES9
  • SALICET9
  • SALICIN9
  • SALIENT7
  • SALIGOT8
  • SALINAS7
  • SALINES7
  • SALIVAL10
  • SALIVAS10
  • SALLADS8
  • SALLALS7
  • SALLEES7
  • SALLETS7
  • SALLIED8
  • SALLIER7
  • SALLIES7
  • SALLOWS10
  • SALLOWY13
  • SALMONS9
  • SALMONY12
  • SALOONS7
  • SALOOPS9
  • SALPIAN9
  • SALPIDS10
  • SALPINX16
  • SALSAED8
  • SALSIFY13
  • SALTANT7
  • SALTATE7
  • SALTATO7
  • SALTBOX16
  • SALTCAT9
  • SALTERN7
  • SALTERS7
  • SALTERY10
  • SALTEST7
  • SALTIER7
  • SALTIES7
  • SALTILY10
  • SALTINE7
  • SALTING8
  • SALTIRE7
  • SALTISH10
  • SALTOED8
  • SALTPAN9
  • SALUING8
  • SALUKIS11
  • SALUTED8
  • SALUTER7
  • SALUTES7
  • SALVAGE11
  • SALVERS10
  • SALVETE10
  • SALVIAS10
  • SALVING11
  • SALVOED11
  • SALVOES10
  • SALVORS10
  • SALWARS10
  • SCLAFFS15
  • SCLATED10
  • SCLATES9
  • SCLAVES12
  • SCLERAE9
  • SCLERAL9
  • SCLERAS9
  • SCLERES9
  • SCLIFFS15
  • SELECTA9
  • SELECTS9
  • SELENIC9
  • SELFDOM13
  • SELFIES10
  • SELFING11
  • SELFISH13
  • SELFISM12
  • SELFIST10
  • SELKIES11
  • SELLERS7
  • SELLING8
  • SELLOFF13
  • SELLOUT7
  • SELSYNS10
  • SELTZER16
  • SELVAGE11
  • SHLEPPS14
  • SHLEPPY17
  • SHLOCKS16
  • SHLOCKY19
  • SHLONGS11
  • SHLUMPS14
  • SHLUMPY17
  • SILAGED9
  • SILAGES8
  • SILANES7
  • SILENCE9
  • SILENES7
  • SILENTS7
  • SILENUS7
  • SILESIA7
  • SILEXES14
  • SILICAS9
  • SILICIC11
  • SILICLE9
  • SILICON9
  • SILIQUA16
  • SILIQUE16
  • SILKENS11
  • SILKIER11
  • SILKIES11
  • SILKILY14
  • SILKING12
  • SILLERS7
  • SILLIER7
  • SILLIES7
  • SILLILY10
  • SILLOCK13
  • SILOING8
  • SILPHIA12
  • SILTIER7
  • SILTING8
  • SILURID8
  • SILVANS10
  • SILVERN10
  • SILVERS10
  • SILVERY13
  • SILVICS12
  • SKLATED12
  • SKLATES11
  • SKLENTS11
  • SKLIFFS17
  • SOLACED10
  • SOLACER9
  • SOLACES9
  • SOLANDS8
  • SOLANIN7
  • SOLANOS7
  • SOLANUM9
  • SOLARIA7
  • SOLATED8
  • SOLATES7
  • SOLATIA7
  • SOLDADO9
  • SOLDANS8
  • SOLDERS8
  • SOLDIER8
  • SOLERAS7
  • SOLERET7
  • SOLFEGE11
  • SOLICIT9
  • SOLIDER8
  • SOLIDLY11
  • SOLIDUM10
  • SOLIDUS8
  • SOLIONS7
  • SOLIPED10
  • SOLITON7
  • SOLIVES10
  • SOLLARS7
  • SOLLERS7
  • SOLOING8
  • SOLOIST7
  • SOLUBLE9
  • SOLUBLY12
  • SOLUNAR7
  • SOLUTES7
  • SOLVATE10
  • SOLVENT10
  • SOLVERS10
  • SOLVING11
  • SPLAKES13
  • SPLASHY15
  • SPLATCH14
  • SPLAYED13
  • SPLEENS9
  • SPLEENY12
  • SPLENIA9
  • SPLENIC11
  • SPLENII9
  • SPLENTS9
  • SPLICED12
  • SPLICER11
  • SPLICES11
  • SPLIFFS15
  • SPLINED10
  • SPLINES9
  • SPLINTS9
  • SPLODGE11
  • SPLODGY14
  • SPLOOSH12
  • SPLORES9
  • SPLOTCH14
  • SPLURGE10
  • SPLURGY13
  • SPLURTS9
  • SULCATE9
  • SULDANS8
  • SULFATE10
  • SULFIDE11
  • SULFIDS11
  • SULFITE10
  • SULFONE10
  • SULFURS10
  • SULFURY13
  • SULKERS11
  • SULKIER11
  • SULKIES11
  • SULKILY14
  • SULKING12
  • SULLAGE8
  • SULLENS7
  • SULLIED8
  • SULLIES7
  • SULPHAS12
  • SULPHID13
  • SULPHUR12
  • SULTANA7
  • SULTANS7
  • SYLLABI12
  • SYLPHIC17
  • SYLPHID16
  • SYLVANS13
  • SYLVIAS13
  • SYLVINE13
  • SYLVINS13
  • SYLVITE13
Letters by positionIn 40% of these words the 7th letter is S.
2nd letter
  1. A29%
  2. O17%
  3. I15%
4th letter
  1. I14%
  2. A13%
  3. L11%
5th letter
  1. I22%
  2. E11%
  3. A10%
6th letter
  1. E25%
  2. N15%
  3. R9%
7th letter
  1. S40%
  2. E10%
  3. Y9%

Highest-scoring words

Scrabble and Words With Friends points, before board bonuses
Score spreadMost of these words score 7 in Scrabble; SHLOCKY tops the list with 19. Scores before board bonuses.
  1. 77 points: 50 words
  2. 8 points: 25 words
  3. 99 points: 40 words
  4. 10 points: 36 words
  5. 1111 points: 26 words
  6. 12 points: 16 words
  7. 1313 points: 17 words
  8. 14 points: 8 words
  9. 1515 points: 5 words
  10. 16 points: 7 words
  11. 1717 points: 4 words
  12. 18 points: 0 words
  13. 1919 points: 1 words
WordScrabbleWords With FriendsDictionaries
SHLOCKY1919Collins · NWL
SHLUMPY1719All three
SYLPHIC1718All three
SKLIFFS1718Collins only
SHLEPPY1718NWL only
SELTZER1617All three
SALTBOX1618All three
SILIQUA1618All three
SYLPHID1616All three
SALPINX1619All three
SHLOCKS1617All three
SILIQUE1618All three

The fixed pattern is S _ L _ _ _ _, so the second and final four letters stay open. Selling, silence, and soldier show how many ordinary words fit. This group is larger than the matching P-first, L-third group, which has 201 entries, but only 16 words meet the common-frequency threshold.

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

  • There are 235 eligible words with S in position one and L in position three.
  • The most frequent final letter is S, with 93 matches; E is next, with 24.
  • Only 16 matches are among the top 25,000 English words by word frequency.
  • The source lists overlap: counts include 228 Collins entries, 191 NWL2023 entries, and 178 ENABLE entries.
  • A total of 196 matches have definitions.

Which familiar words fit the S-L pattern?

Selling, silence, soldier, selfish, and silicon are recognizable examples, and each places L exactly third. The wildcard second position matters: selling has E there, while silence has I and soldier has O.

Other clear fits include solving, salvage, solvent, salient, and soloist. The ending varies too: sellers ends in S, silence in E, solidly in Y, and salvage in E. If your clue fixes only the first and third letters, keep all those endings in play.

Which matches score well, and what should you check?

SHLOCKY leads the listed Scrabble scores at 19 points; SHLUMPY, SYLPHIC, SKLIFFS, and SHLEPPY each score 17. These are strong tile-value examples, but an unfamiliar word still needs to fit your board and your game's word list.

For 7-letter words with S as the 1st letter and L as the 3rd letter, dictionary coverage is not uniform: the counts are 228 in Collins, 191 in NWL2023, and 178 in ENABLE. Those source totals overlap, so they do not add up to the 235-word combined list. Check your game's dictionary before playing an obscure entry.

Questions people ask

How many seven-letter words start with S and have L third?
There are 235 eligible seven-letter words with S first and L third. Selling, silence, and soldier are familiar examples, while the second letter and final four positions can vary.
What is the highest-scoring S-first, L-third word?
SHLOCKY is the highest-scoring match shown, at 19 Scrabble points. SHLUMPY, SYLPHIC, SKLIFFS, and SHLEPPY follow at 17 points each, before any premium board-square bonuses.
Do these seven-letter words appear in every dictionary?
No. The group has 228 entries in Collins, 191 in NWL2023, and 178 in ENABLE, with overlap between those counts. A word accepted in one list may be absent from another, so check the dictionary used by your game.

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