7-letter words with S as the 2nd letter and L as the 5th letter

Lock in the second and fifth tiles, and this seven-letter pattern narrows quickly: just 15 tournament-dictionary words match. The opening letter gives you a strong starting clue, since seven begin with O. Most entries are uncommon, though usually is a familiar exception and the highest-scoring option is psyllid.

The pattern at a glance

• The pattern has 15 matches across the tournament dictionaries.
• Seven matches begin with O; three begin with A.
• Usually is the only match among the top 25,000 English words by frequency.
• Definitions are available for 14 of the matching words.
• Psyllid leads the listed Scrabble scores at 13 points.

How many 7-letter words have S second and L fifth?

There are 15 seven-letter words with S in position two and L in position five. The pattern looks like _S__L__, so check those fixed tiles before testing possible first or final letters. Usually, escolar, and astilbe are examples; each keeps S and L in the required places.

O is the most common first letter, appearing in seven matches. A follows with three, while E and P each start two. That makes an O-first guess a sensible filter, but it will not cover every answer: usually begins with U, and psyllid begins with P.

Which matching words score most?

Psyllid scores 13 points, ahead of psyllas at 12. Osculum and escalop each score 11, while usually and astylar score 10. These totals give you a quick way to compare the less familiar choices when board placement is equal.

Collins includes all 15 matches; ENABLE and NWL2023 each include 13. Only usually is common by the frequency measure, so treat most entries as specialist vocabulary rather than everyday guesses. Check your game's word list before relying on a dictionary-specific choice; among 7-letter words with S as the 2nd letter and L as the 5th letter, psyllid is the top scorer, not the most familiar word.