7-letter words with U as the 3rd letter and C as the 4th letter

UC is a doorway into two digraphs. The letter after the C is H in 38 words and K in 18, so UCH and UCK cover 56 of the 108 between them. Pick one of those two, then use the ending: -HES, -HED, -HER, -KED, -KER or -KLE finishes most of them.

Facts on the UC frame

• Dictionary split: Collins 103, NWL2023 76, ENABLE 68.
• 9 are common, among them TOUCHED, CRUCIAL, TOUCHES, EDUCATE and GLUCOSE.
• -HES ends 11 words, -HED 8, -HER 7 and -KER 5.
• KNUCKLY scores 20, CHUCKED 19, and the average is 12.6.
• S ends 29 words, E ends 19, R ends 17 and D ends 16.

Which words follow UCH and UCK?

The UCH group gives TOUCHED, TOUCHES, COUCHES, POUCHES, DOUCHES, VOUCHES and VOUCHER, and the plural form -HES alone ends 11 words. TOUCHED and VOUCHER are the commonest of the lot.

UCK gives CHUCKLE, KNUCKLE, PLUCKED, TRUCKER and CHUCKED. All five are used in everyday English, and CHUCKED scores 19 with the 3-point C, the 4-point H and the 5-point K.

The -KLE words are a small set of their own: CHUCKLE, KNUCKLE, BRUCKLE and TRUCKLE. Only CHUCKLE and KNUCKLE are common, but TRUCKLE is a real word too.

What else fits besides UCH and UCK?

UCI gives 24 words, led by CRUCIAL, CRUCIFY and RAUCITY, and the scattered UCA, UCE and UCO words include EDUCATE, GLUCOSE, EDUCING and ERUCTED. The vowel after the C narrows the choice quickly.

Beyond the digraphs, SAUCERS, FAUCETS, TOUCANS, GAUCHOS and STUCCOS are common nouns you can place without a clue.

Mind the dictionary gap