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

Z in third place is almost always the first half of ZZ. That is why the average word here scores 26.9, an unusually high figure for seven tiles. Only a handful use a single Z, so recognising the ZZ shape is the biggest shortcut on this page.

Why the U-Z frame scores so high

• 39 words fit: Collins accepts all 39, NWL2023 29, ENABLE 27.
• 33 contain ZZ; the other 6 have a single Z.
• Only 3 are common: BUZZING, PUZZLES and PUZZLED.
• FUZZILY, HUZZAHS and BUZZWIG tie at 31, and MUZZILY scores 30.
• MUZ- and BUZ- open 8 words each, and FUZ- opens 5.

Which endings follow the double Z?

-LE verbs dominate. -LES gives PUZZLES, MUZZLES, NUZZLES, GUZZLES, FUZZLES and WUZZLES, and -LED gives six past tenses to match: PUZZLED, MUZZLED, NUZZLED, GUZZLED, FUZZLED and WUZZLED.

-LER adds PUZZLER, GUZZLER, MUZZLER and NUZZLER, and -ING adds BUZZING, FUZZING and MUZZING. That is 19 of the 39 words from just four endings.

In the 33 double-Z words, Z fills both third and fourth place, so only the first letter and the last three can vary. Outside the four endings, BUZZARD, FUZZIER, MUZZIER and HUZZAED are the other double-Z words worth knowing.

What are the single-Z exceptions?

BUZUKIA and BUZUKIS score 22, and MUZJIKS scores 29 because the J and K add 13 points to the Z. MUZHIKS, HUZOORS and LUZERNS are the other three.

These are the words to remember if a clue says there is only one Z. All six are real Collins entries, but the NWL2023 list does not carry HUZOORS or LUZERNS.

Check the list before the big plays