7-letter words with U as the 2nd letter and G as the 3rd letter

UG is a short, stubby syllable, and English likes to double the G before an ending. Add the BUG-, MUG-, PUG- and JUG- openings and you have most of the list. The J words matter most for points, since an 8-point J lifts them above their neighbours.

The ?UG???? words at a glance

• Collins counts 128, NWL2023 counts 105 and ENABLE counts 95.
• Six words are common: SUGGEST, LUGGAGE, NUGGETS, HUGGING, AUGMENT and BUGGING.
• A typical word scores 11.3, and JUGHEAD leads on 19.
• S closes 52 words, G closes 15 and R closes 15.
• B starts 21 words, M starts 14, and P and J start 11 each.

How many of these words have a double G?

Fifty-three of the 131, about two in five, repeat the G, which makes that the first thing to test. HUGGING, BUGGING, TUGGING, MUGGING and LUGGING share the -UGGING frame, and 15 words end in -ING overall.

NUGGETS, LUGGAGE, SUGGEST, JUGGLED and JUGGLER give the noun and verb side of the same family. Together with the -ING words they make the pattern almost a one-trick list: if you see UG, try GG next.

What does the JUG family look like?

JUG- opens 11 words, and they hold six of the seven scores of 17 or more. JUGHEAD scores 19, JUGFULS and JUGSFUL score 18, and JUGGLED, JUGGING and JUGULUM score 17.

MUGWUMP also reaches 17. All of these are accepted by Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE, so the high end of the list carries no dictionary risk.

Which entries should you avoid in NWL2023 games?

Twenty-six of the 131 are missing from NWL2023, among them AUGUSTE, AUGUSTS, BUGLETS, BUGWORT and DUGITES. The pattern also includes MUGHALS, which is valid in NWL2023 and Collins but not ENABLE.

If your game follows one of the two books, check this short list before you commit to an unusual BUG- word. The everyday SUGGEST, LUGGAGE and NUGGETS are safe in all three dictionaries.