7-letter words with S as the 3rd letter and A as the 7th letter

The pattern looks like __S___A: the third tile must be S, and the final tile must be A. Only 2 of these 42 words rank among the most common English words, so familiar answers such as MASCARA and LASAGNA stand out from less everyday entries. Dictionary coverage also varies, which matters in tournament play.

At a glance: the S-and-A pattern

• There are 42 tournament-dictionary words matching __S___A.
• MESTIZA leads the listed Scrabble scores at 18 points.
• Only 2 matches are common English words by frequency.
• R is the most frequent first letter, with 9 matches; C follows with 6.
• Collins recognizes 41 matches, compared with 36 in NWL2023 and 28 in ENABLE.

Familiar words in the S-third, A-last pattern

MASCARA, LASAGNA, and CASSAVA are familiar choices in this group. FISTULA, VISCERA, and DYSPNEA also fit the fixed letters, though they are less likely to come to mind quickly. Start with the final A, then verify that S lands in the third slot.

R, C, and P are the most common opening letters here: they begin 9, 6, and 5 matches respectively. Together, those openings account for 20 words. If a crossing gives you R, try that smaller branch before testing other first letters. Although 37 entries have definitions, only 2 meet the common-word frequency threshold, so a clue can matter more than intuition.

How can you narrow candidates and choose a scorer?

• Fix the third S and final A first, then test the four open positions against crossing letters.
• For a high-value play, compare MESTIZA at 18 points with YESHIVA and PYSANKA, each at 16.
• MASCARA scores 11, while CASSAVA scores 12; a familiar word is not always the stronger play.
• Coverage differs: Collins includes 41 matches, NWL2023 includes 36, and ENABLE includes 28. Check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar entry.