7-letter words with U as the 1st letter and P as the 2nd letter

UP is a prefix that attaches to nearly anything, which is why this list runs to 168 words. Nine are everyday English. The rest are verbs, plurals and rare compounds that mostly earn their place by ending in S or D.

How the UP words break down

• Of the 168, Collins carries 165, with 118 in NWL2023 and 108 in ENABLE.
• Everyday words: UPDATED, UPDATES, UPGRADE, UPWARDS, UPRIGHT, UPFRONT, UPSTATE, UPSCALE and UPLOADS.
• Top scores: UPCHUCK and UPGAZED at 20, UPSIZED and UPGAZES at 19, UPSIZES at 18.
• Final letters: S 77, D 18, E 18, T 17, G 9, N 7.
• Average score: 12.1 points across the 168 words.

Why do so many UP words end in S?

Seventy-seven of the 168 end in S, which is nearly half. Most are plurals or verb forms of a base word, as in UPLOADS, UPDATES and UPSIZES, so the same stem often appears twice.

D and E each close 18 words, and T closes 17. G is next on 9, mostly through -ING forms, of which there are 6.

Which stems are worth learning first?

UPS is the busiest opening with 35 words, roughly one in five. UPR and UPB follow with 17 each, then UPT with 16, UPL and UPC with 13 each.

At four letters the clusters get specific: UPST has 10 words, UPSW and UPRI have 7 each, and UPDR and UPBR have 6.

Which UP words score the most?

UPCHUCK and UPGAZED both reach 20. The Z in UPGAZED is worth 10, while UPCHUCK combines a C, H and K. UPSIZED follows at 19, one point above UPGAZES.

A seven-tile play earns the 50-point Scrabble bingo bonus, so UPGRADE or UPRIGHT will usually beat a higher face value that you cannot assemble. Collins takes 165 of the 168 words, but NWL2023 takes only 118, so check your game's word list for the rare ones.