7-letter words with U as the 3rd letter and B as the 5th letter

Four endings carry this frame: -BED with 13 words, -BER with 12, -BLE with 10 and -BLY with 6. They all start with the same B, so the letter before it, an M or a second B, decides which family you are in. The average score of 13.7 is high because Q, K and H show up near the top.

Facts on words with U third and B fifth

• 56 words fit: Collins accepts all 56, NWL2023 46 and ENABLE 46.
• Six are common, among them BOURBON, STUMBLE, PLUMBER, CRUMBLE and SLUMBER.
• S opens 18 words, C opens 9, G opens 5 and B opens 4.
• SQUABBY scores 23, EQUABLY 21, and KHUTBAH 19.
• D ends 13 words, R ends 12 and E ends 11.

Which -MB words and -BLE words fit?

22 words contain MB, and the -MBER group is the neatest: PLUMBER, SLUMBER, CLUMBER, SCUMBER and CRUMBER. The -MBED group is THUMBED, PLUMBED and CRUMBED.

STUMBLE, CRUMBLE, GRUMBLE, SCUMBLE and DRUMBLE give the -BLE family, and CRUMBLY, GRUMBLY, STUBBLY, KNUBBLY, STUMBLY and EQUABLY make the six -BLY words.

A quick filter for the MB words: if the clue starts with ST, CR, GR, SL, PL or TH, try the M before the B first. STUMBLE, CRUMBLE, GRUMBLE, SLUMBER, PLUMBER and THUMBED all fit those openers.

What about the double-B verbs and the Q words?

SNUBBED, CLUBBED, STUBBED, FLUBBED, DRUBBED and GRUBBED are the BB verbs, and BLUBBER, GRUBBER, CLUBBER and FLUBBER are their -ER forms. Together with the MB words, they make up nearly all of the -BED and -BER groups.

SQUABBY at 23 and EQUABLY at 21 owe their score to the 10-point Q. EQUABLE reaches 18, and all three are valid in every major list.

Playing KHUTBAH safely