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

Z in fourth place sits inside a double Z in 37 of these words, and the average score is 26.0. In 33 the pair fills the third and fourth slots, while QUIZZED, QUIZZES, QUIZZER and MUEZZIN push it to fourth and fifth. Fourteen words, from SUBZERO to HUTZPAH, use a single Z.

The U-and-Z fourth-letter frame in brief

• 51 words fit: Collins accepts all 51, NWL2023 41, ENABLE 39.
• 37 contain ZZ and 14 do not; just 3 are common, BUZZING, PUZZLES and PUZZLED.
• QUIZZED scores 35; QUIZZES and QUIZZER 34; FUZZILY and HUZZAHS 31.
• -LES and -LED end 6 words each, and -ING ends 5.
• F and M open 7 words each, B opens 6 and N opens 6.

Why do the QUIZ words score highest?

QUIZZED reaches 35 because the Q and both Zs are worth 10 points each. QUIZZES and QUIZZER drop a point by ending in a lighter letter, and MUEZZIN follows at 27 with the same double Z.

All three QUIZ words are valid in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE, so none carries a dictionary risk. MUEZZIN, the person who calls Muslims to prayer, is also valid in all three and is easy to forget.

Which words have only one Z?

SUBZERO and SUBZONE add SUB- to a Z word, and QUEZALS is a spelling of QUETZALS, scoring 25. NUDZHED and NUDZHES, FUTZING and PUTZING, and HUTZPAH and HUTZPAS all come from Yiddish by way of American English.

HUTZPAH scores 24, KUNZITE 20 and FUTZING 20. With only one Z on your rack, those three are the plays to look for, since the double-Z words are out of reach.

Mind the dictionary gap