7-letter words with T as the 3rd letter and U as the 5th letter

Lock in the pattern as _ _ T _ U _ _: the third tile is T, and the fifth is U. The matches range from familiar words such as lettuce and outputs to less common entries such as zythums. Just two qualify as common words, so the pattern is much broader in tournament word lists than in everyday conversation.

The pattern at a glance

• There are 78 tournament-dictionary matches for the T-third, U-fifth pattern.
• O is the most frequent starting letter, appearing in 21 words.
• S is the most frequent final letter: 32 entries end in S.
• ZYTHUMS scores 24; OUTJUMP and KATHUMP each score 18.

Which word shapes stand out?

The endings make a striking split: 32 words finish with S, while the next most common ending, E, appears in 8. Outputs, detours, cutouts, and outruns show how plural or verb forms contribute to that large S group.

The opening letters are less concentrated: O begins 21 matches, but C, the next most common, begins only 6. Examples such as outputs, outturn, and outruns show why O turns up so often in this fixed-letter pattern. That 21-to-6 gap makes O the first start to test.

Scores, dictionary coverage, and a close comparison

ZYTHUMS leads the score list at 24 points, with OUTJUMP and KATHUMP tied at 18. POTLUCK and EXTRUDE each score 15. Those high scorers are less familiar than lettuce or wetsuit, so raw score and everyday recognition do not line up here.

Dictionary coverage differs: Collins includes 74 matches, NWL2023 includes 64, and ENABLE includes 55; the counts overlap rather than add up. Check your game's word list before playing. For another clue, 7-letter words with T as the 3rd letter and U as the 5th letter have 78 matches, compared with 124 when R takes the third spot and U stays fifth.