Words With LA in the Middle
99 wordsWords with LA in the middle form one of English's most versatile letter combinations. From everyday terms like RELAX to scientific heavyweights like PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION, this pattern spans casual conversation and specialized vocabulary alike.
4-letter words
105-letter words
216-letter words
127-letter words
218-letter words
139-letter words
1010-letter words
211-letter words
512-letter words
415-letter words
1Pattern Guide
Insights and recommendations for these words.
The LA combination sits at the heart of thousands of English words, offering strategic opportunities across every word game format.
Vocabulary & Language
Linguistic patterns and usage statistics
The LA cluster frequently appears in words borrowed from Romance languages, where it often signals action or state. Think of the -LATE suffix (translate, regulate, circulate) derived from Latin past participles. English also inherited LA combinations through words describing places (palazzo, plaza) and materials (gelatin, porcelain), giving this pattern remarkable range across registers.
Total Words
7,139
2.4% of dictionary
Avg Length
9.5 letters
3.5 syllables
Top Scrabble
CHEMOPROPHYLAXIS
40 points
Longest Word
PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION
20 letters
Parts of Speech
These words skew notably long, averaging 9.5 letters—well above typical dictionary entries. The 65% noun dominance reflects how LA patterns often name things, places, and concepts rather than describing actions.
Middle English and Latin dominate this pattern's ancestry, with French contributions close behind. The word GLAZE traces a clear Germanic path from Old English through Proto-West Germanic, while CILANTRO took the Romance route from Ancient Greek through Latin into Spanish. This split heritage explains why LA words feel equally at home in cooking and chemistry.
Word Games
High-value words for board games
Short (2-4)
disinclined to work or exertion
fiber of the flax plant that is made into thread and woven into linen fabric
be idle; exist in a changeless situation
Medium (5-7)
Long (8+)
Short (2-4)
disinclined to work or exertion
fiber of the flax plant that is made into thread and woven into linen fabric
be idle; exist in a changeless situation
Medium (5-7)
shining intensely
Long (8+)
an adrenergic drug used in many preparations to relieve allergic reactions or respiratory infections
PALAZZI and PALAZZO top both games at 27 and 29 points respectively, but the real strategic play lies in shorter words. BLAZING scores 23 in Words With Friends thanks to the boosted Z value (10 points versus Scrabble's 10—same here, but WWF's higher tile values for J and Q elsewhere affect rack strategy). Keep LAZY in reserve—it delivers solid points in both games while clearing difficult tiles.
Wordle
5-letter words for daily puzzles
Good Starters (E, A, R, S, T)
LATER and PLATE make excellent openers, each testing common consonants (L, T, R) alongside the versatile A and E. LARGE adds G coverage while RELAX checks for the less common X early.
Length Extremes
Longest and shortest valid words
Short LA words like LAB and ALA tend to be core vocabulary, while longer specimens often come from scientific nomenclature. PHOTOPHOSPHORYLATION stretches to 20 letters because biochemistry demands precision that everyday speech doesn't.
Hidden Gems
Rare but valid words to surprise opponents
able to walk about
pale medium-dry sherry from Spain
at an oblique angle
"the sun shone aslant into his face"
AMBULANT means able to walk about—think of it as the adjective form hiding behind ambulance and ambulatory. It's valid in both major word games and catches opponents off guard because the -ANT ending looks more like a noun than it is.
Popular crossword answers
Words frequently used in crossword puzzles with common clues.