7-letter words with W as the 3rd letter and F as the 4th letter

The pattern ??WF??? is small enough to learn by heart. None of the 16 matches is an everyday word, and only 6 have definitions attached. Three are fish (SAWFISH, JEWFISH, COWFISH), and most of the rest are Collins-style forms built on short stems such as HOWF, SOWF and GOWF.

Pattern ??WF??? at a glance

• 16 words fit; Collins lists all of them, while NWL2023 and ENABLE list 7 each.
• No match counts as a common word, and only 6 come with a definition.
• G, H and L each finish three words; D, P and S finish two each.
• C and S each start three words, the largest first-letter groups.
• JEWFISH leads at 23 points, with HOWFFED and JAWFALL on 20.

Which stems build the 16 words?

SAWFISH, JEWFISH and COWFISH carry the -FISH tail, and BOWFINS adds a fourth fish. DEWFALL, JAWFALL and DEWFULL share -FALL or -FULL, while COWFLOP and COWFLAP differ by one vowel.

The -FING and -FFED forms are the odd corner: GOWFING, HOWFING and SOWFING sit beside HOWFFED and SOWFFED. GOWFERS and WOWFEST complete the set.

Why does JEWFISH score 23?

Scrabble values give J 8, E 1, W 4, F 4, I 1, S 1 and H 4, which adds to 23. HOWFFED reaches 20 because it carries a double F worth 4 each, and JAWFALL gets there on the strength of its J.

The average across the list is 16.7 points. Two fixed four-point letters in the middle do much of that work, and COWFLAP and COWFLOP both land on 17.

The catch is acceptance. NWL2023 and ENABLE list only 7 of the 16, so check your game's word list before betting a turn on HOWFING.

Close relatives of this pattern