DE works as a prefix as well as an opening pair, so it attaches to stems that would otherwise be words in their own right. That widens the field, and the 5 letter words starting with DE take more different third letters than most consonant and vowel pairs produce.
R and A take the third position most often, with B just behind. Death, Dealt, Debut and Derby cover those three, and the E already spent in the prefix makes a second E the repeat worth ruling out first.
There are 140 five letter words starting with DE. Death, Deals, Depth, Debut and Delay are the strongest Wordle guesses because none of them repeat a letter. DEA and DER hold the deepest runs, so test A and R in the third slot first.
5 Letter Words Starting With DE
D and E confirm one vowel and leave three slots, with the prefix sense of removal explaining part of the set. The wider set begins at five letter words in English.
| Deads | Deair | Deals | Dealt |
| Deans | Deare | Dearn | Dears |
| Deary | Deash | Death | Deave |
| Deaws | Deawy | Debag | Debar |
| Debby | Debel | Debes | Debit |
| Debts | Debud | Debug | Debur |
| Debus | Debut | Debye | Decad |
| Decaf | Decal | Decan | Decay |
| Decko | Decks | Decor | Decos |
| Decoy | Decry | Dedal | Deeds |
| Deedy | Deely | Deems | Deens |
| Deeps | Deere | Deers | Deets |
| Deeve | Deevs | Defat | Defer |
| Deffo | Defis | Defog | Degas |
| Degum | Degus | Deice | Deids |
| Deify | Deign | Deils | Deism |
| Deist | Deity | Deked | Dekes |
| Dekko | Delay | Deled | Deles |
| Delfs | Delft | Delis | Dells |
| Delly | Delos | Delph | Delta |
| Delts | Delve | Deman | Demes |
| Demic | Demit | Demob | Demoi |
| Demon | Demos | Dempt | Demur |
| Denar | Denay | Dench | Denes |
| Denet | Denim | Denis | Dense |
| Dents | Deoxy | Depot | Depth |
| Derat | Deray | Derby | Dered |
| Deres | Derig | Derma | Derms |
| Derns | Derny | Deros | Derro |
| Derry | Derth | Dervs | Desex |
| Deshi | Desis | Desks | Desse |
| Deter | Detox | Deuce | Devas |
| Devel | Devil | Devis | Devon |
| Devos | Devot | Dewan | Dewar |
| Dewax | Dewed | Dexes | Dexie |
5 Letter Words Starting With DE By Third Letter
A and R lead the third slot, and nine letters in all carry enough words to earn a section. Five letter words with R in the middle looks at that position on its own.
5 Letter Words Starting With DEA
| Deals | Dealt | Death |
| Deans | Deads | Deare |
| Dears | Deary | Deair |
| Dearn | Deash | Deave |
| Deaws | Deawy |
5 Letter Words Starting With DEB
| Debit | Debts | Debut |
| Debby | Debug | Debar |
| Debye | Debag | Debel |
| Debes | Debud | Debur |
| Debus |
5 Letter Words Starting With DEC
| Decay | Decks | Decor |
| Decaf | Decal | Decoy |
| Decry | Decad | Decan |
| Decko | Decos |
5 Letter Words Starting With DEE
| Deeds | Deems | Deere |
| Deeps | Deers | Deets |
| Deedy | Deely | Deens |
| Deeve | Deevs |
5 Letter Words Starting With DEI
| Deity | Deify | Deign |
| Deism | Deist | Deice |
| Deids | Deils |
5 Letter Words Starting With DEL
| Delay | Delta | Delft |
| Delos | Delve | Delis |
| Dells | Delly | Delph |
| Delts | Deled | Deles |
| Delfs |
5 Letter Words Starting With DEM
| Demon | Demos | Deman |
| Demur | Demes | Demic |
| Demit | Demob | Demoi |
| Dempt |
5 Letter Words Starting With DEN
| Denim | Denis | Dense |
| Dench | Dents | Denes |
| Denar | Denay | Denet |
5 Letter Words Starting With DER
| Derby | Derry | Deray |
| Derma | Derat | Dered |
| Deres | Derig | Derms |
| Derns | Derny | Deros |
| Derro | Derth | Dervs |
5 Letter Words Starting With DE By Ending Letter
S closes 45 of these, almost a third of the set, with Y following at 18. 5 letter words starting with DR works the same way.
5 Letter Words Starting With DE Ending In S
| Deals | Debts | Decks |
| Deeds | Denis | Deans |
| Deems | Degas | Delos |
| Demos | Dents | Desks |
| Devos | Deads | Dears |
| Deeps | Deers | Deets |
| Delis | Dells | Delts |
| Denes | Desis | Devas |
| Devis | Deaws | Debes |
| Debus | Decos | Deens |
| Deevs | Defis | Degus |
| Deids | Deils | Dekes |
| Deles | Delfs | Demes |
| Deres | Derms | Derns |
| Deros | Dervs | Dexes |
5 Letter Words Starting With DE Ending In Y
| Decay | Deity | Delay |
| Derby | Debby | Decoy |
| Decry | Derry | Deary |
| Deify | Delly | Deoxy |
| Deray | Deawy | Deedy |
| Deely | Denay | Derny |
5 Letter Words Starting With DE Ending In T
| Dealt | Debit | Debut |
| Depot | Delft | Deist |
| Defat | Demit | Dempt |
| Denet | Derat | Devot |
5 Letter Words Starting With DE Ending In E
| Dense | Deere | Delve |
| Deuce | Deare | Debye |
| Deave | Deeve | Deice |
| Desse | Dexie |
5 Letter Words Starting With DE With A
A turns up in 36 DE words, more than any letter except E itself. 5 letter words starting with DA works the same way.
| Deals | Dealt | Death |
| Decay | Delay | Delta |
| Deans | Decaf | Decal |
| Degas | Dewan | Dewar |
| Deads | Deare | Dears |
| Deary | Debar | Deman |
| Deray | Derma | Devas |
| Deair | Dearn | Deash |
| Deave | Deaws | Deawy |
| Debag | Decad | Decan |
| Dedal | Defat | Denar |
| Denay | Derat | Dewax |
5 Letter Words Starting With DE For Wordle
Every word here uses five different letters, which counts because a third of the DE set repeats one. 5 letter words starting with BE works the same way.
| Death | Deals | Depth |
| Debut | Delay | Devil |
| Dealt | Delta | Derby |
| Demon | Debts | Depot |
| Devon | Decay | Decor |
| Debit | Denis | Decks |
Deeds, Delve and Dense are the traps. The prefix already spends an E, so a second E costs a slot you rarely get back.
5 Letter Words Starting With DE For Scrabble
X and K carry the top plays, and Dewax and Deoxy share the highest mark at 16 points. 5 letter words starting with HE works the same way.
| Word | Points |
|---|---|
| Dewax | 16 |
| Deoxy | 16 |
| Dekko | 14 |
| Dexie | 13 |
| Dexes | 13 |
| Detox | 13 |
| Desex | 13 |
| Debby | 13 |
| Deify | 12 |
| Deffo | 12 |
| Decks | 12 |
| Decko | 12 |
| Deawy | 12 |
| Derby | 11 |
| Depth | 11 |
5 Letter Words Starting With DE And Their Meanings
Chemistry, Scots and old legal usage account for most of the harder entries here.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Deair | To remove air from a liquid or a space |
| Deave | To deafen with noise, from Scots usage |
| Debag | To pull the trousers off someone as a prank |
| Debye | A unit measuring electric dipole moment |
| Decad | A group of ten, an older form of decade |
| Decan | A division of the zodiac covering ten degrees |
| Decko | A look or glance, from British army slang |
| Dedal | Intricate or skilfully made, a variant of daedal |
| Deeve | Another spelling of deave, to deafen |
| Defat | To remove fat from a food or a sample |
| Deids | Deaths, in Scots usage |
| Deils | Devils, in Scots usage |
| Dekko | A quick look, from Hindi via army slang |
| Delft | Tin glazed blue and white earthenware from Holland |
| Delph | Another form of delft, glazed earthenware |
| Dempt | Judged or deemed, in archaic English |
| Denar | The currency unit of North Macedonia |
| Derma | The inner layer of the skin beneath the epidermis |
| Derth | Scarcity, an older spelling of dearth |
| Dewan | A chief minister in an Indian princely state |
FAQs
The strongest are Death, Deals, Depth, Debut and Delay, since none of them repeat a letter. Deeds, Delve and Dense hand a slot to a repeat, so keep them for later.
DEC gives you Decay, Decor, Decoy, Decks and Decry, along with Decad, Decaf, Decal, Decan, Decko and Decos.
The Y ending gives you Decay, Decoy, Decry, Delay, Derby, Deary, Deedy, Deely, Debby, Delly, Derny and Derry. Eighteen DE words close on Y.
The A words run to Death, Deals, Dealt, Delay, Delta, Debar, Deans and Decay. Thirty six DE words carry an A somewhere after the prefix.
Dewax and Deoxy share the top score at 16 points. Dekko reaches 14, then Dexie and Dexes at 13, with Desex and Detox at 12.
The H ending gives you Death, Depth and Delph. Deash and Dench close the group and are accepted in Scrabble.
DEL gives you Delay, Delta, Delve, Delis and Dells, along with Deled, Deles, Delfs, Delft, Delly, Delos, Delph and Delts.
Yes, Dekko is valid and scores 14 points. It means a quick look, and it came into English from Hindi through army slang.
