7-letter words with U as the 2nd letter and U as the 4th letter

Two Us with one letter between them is a tight, odd frame. It favours words built around repeated syllables, like TUBULAR, JUGULAR and CUMULUS, and it hides the high scorers in Collins and NWL2023 entries few players know. This is a list to browse, not one you can guess your way through.

Facts on words with two Us

• 76 words match: Collins 74, NWL2023 56, ENABLE 51.
• Only 3 are common: SUBURBS, FUTURES and TUBULAR.
• 40 words end in S; R ends 8 and E ends 4.
• JUJUBES and JUJUISM tie at 23 points, and the average is 11.3.
• A opens 10 words, F and L open 8 each, and M opens 7.

Which endings repeat in the U-?-U frame?

The adjective ending -LAR appears in 7 words: TUBULAR, JUGULAR, LUNULAR, CUPULAR, MUTULAR, TUMULAR and VUGULAR. TUBULAR and JUGULAR are the ones a non-specialist will know.

-ULES gives another group: TUBULES, NUCULES, CUPULES, LUNULES and MUTULES. Together with the -LAR set, they make 12 words that all share the same U-L core.

Another repeat shows in CUMULUS, TUMULUS and AUTUMNS, where the second U arrives inside a syllable that echoes the first. If your clue mentions a repeated sound, start there.

Where do the 20-plus scores come from?

Four words start with JUJ-: JUJUBES, JUJUISM, JUJUIST and JUJUTSU. Two J tiles at 8 points each lift them to between 21 and 23, so JUJUBES and JUJUISM share the lead with 23.

BUZUKIA and BUZUKIS come next at 22, driven by the 10-point Z. JUJUBES, the plural of a chewy sweet, is the only one in the top group a casual player would recognise.

Trouble spots in a small frame