7-letter words with U as the 2nd letter and O as the 6th letter

Putting O in sixth place leaves a single closing tile, so the frame _ U _ _ _ O _ comes down to endings. N and S close 58 of the 123 words, and the -ION family alone supplies 17. Add the OUT- opening and the main shapes are covered.

Pattern facts at a glance

• N closes 33 words, S closes 25, T closes 12, and R and W close 8 each.
• O opens 18 words, B and M open 11 each, and G, P and S open 10 each.
• JUKEBOX scores 27, QUILLOW 19, KUNJOOS 18, and QUANGOS and MUDHOOK 17.
• 13 matches are common words, including OUTDOOR, CURATOR and BULLDOG.

Which words end in -ION or -EON?

-ION supplies 17 words, including AUCTION, SUCTION, TUITION, CUSHION and BULLION, and -EON adds 7, such as SURGEON, DUNGEON and NUCLEON. Together they make 24 of the 33 words ending in N.

Those are the same N-enders you meet in the U-second, N-seventh frame, because an O in sixth place with N last gives the same -ON tail.

S is the other big closer, with 25 words. Plurals of Spanish and Italian nouns dominate: PUEBLOS, TUXEDOS, QUARTOS, QUANGOS and TURACOS. The -TOS and -OOS groups supply 10 of the 25 between them.

What do the OUT- words contribute?

OUT- opens all 18 O-words, including OUTDOOR, OUTLOOK, OUTFLOW, OUTGROW, OUTSHOT and OUTCROP. Eight words end in -OW, and four of them, OUTCROW, OUTFLOW, OUTGLOW and OUTGROW, are OUT- formations.

Other short endings are -TOR (AUDITOR, CURATOR, MUTATOR), -TOS (QUARTOS, RUBATOS) and -OOS (CUCKOOS, BURGOOS), each with 5 or 6 words.

Similar roots give near-twin entries, such as OUTFOOT and OUTFOOL, or OUTLOOK and OUTTOOK. Each swaps a single consonant, so one confirmed word is a good hint for the next.

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