Word Lists · P + X
5 Letter Words With P and X
Every five-letter word that contains both P and X, in any position — answer-eligible words flagged in green, tap any word to play.
How Many 5-Letter Words Have P and X?
Only 21 five-letter words carry both P and X, which makes this one of the tighter pairs on the board — narrower than about 93% of all letter pairings. The answer pool trims it further, to 5: EPOXY, EXPEL, PIXEL and the rest. A list this short is one you read rather than guess at.
If you take one thing from this page: P belongs in slot 1. That holds for 16 of the 21 words, 76% of everything here, PIXEL, PIXIE, PROXY included.
The two letters almost never touch — only 1 word put P and X adjacent (EXPEL). Assume they are separated unless you have evidence otherwise.
Green-dotted words are answer-eligible — the everyday vocabulary the daily puzzle actually draws from — while hollow-dotted words are valid guesses you can play but that will never be the solution. Flip on Answers only to focus on the 5 words that can truly win the board.
Best Wordle Words With P and X
When P and X are both in play, the strongest guess keeps them and rules out as many remaining answers as possible. These three score highest across all 2296 possible answers:
- 01 PIXEL — eliminates about 90.9% of remaining answers on average.
- 02 PROXY — eliminates about 87.6% of remaining answers on average.
- 03 EPOXY — eliminates about 87.1% of remaining answers on average.
The Full List, Grouped by First Letter
The list is front-loaded: 16 of the 21 words start with P, 76% of everything here, spread over 5 opening letters in total. Tap the P chip and you have most of the page in one view.
P/X Words That Have Been Wordle Answers
The puzzle has been sparing with P/X. Its entire history across 1916 rounds: EXPEL (#955, 2024-01-30), PIXEL (#886, 2023-11-22), PIXIE (#569, 2023-01-09), EPOXY (#280, 2022-03-26), PROXY (#213, 2022-01-18). Every answer-eligible word here has already had its turn.
| Puzzle | Date | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| #955 | 2024-01-30 | EXPEL |
| #886 | 2023-11-22 | PIXEL |
| #569 | 2023-01-09 | PIXIE |
| #280 | 2022-03-26 | EPOXY |
| #213 | 2022-01-18 | PROXY |
The other 16 words on this list are valid guesses the game accepts but never chooses as a solution. They still make useful probes for placing P and X, but when you guess to win, a green-dotted answer word is the smarter pick.
Where P and X Land in 5-Letter Words
The whole puzzle now is placement, so here is exactly where each letter tends to sit across the 21 words. Try the busiest square first.
| Position | Words with P here | Words with X here |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 16 | 0 |
| 2nd | 1 | 2 |
| 3rd | 2 | 11 |
| 4th | 0 | 3 |
| 5th | 2 | 5 |
Play a candidate that seats each letter in its busiest square and one of two good things happens: a tile turns green and you have locked a position, or it turns yellow again and you have eliminated the single most likely slot in one move.
How to Use These Words to Win Wordle
- Lead with the busiest square. P in slot 1 covers 16 of these 21 words and X in slot 3 covers 11 — try that shape before rarer placements.
- Favor distinct letters early. 18 of the 21 words here use five different letters and 3 repeat one.
Full strategy lives in the how-to-play guide, and you can practice any time on the unlimited Wordle board.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many 5-letter words have P and X?
There are 21 valid five-letter words that contain both P and X in any position, and 5 of them can be a Wordle answer. Turn on "Answers only" above to narrow the list to answer-eligible words.
What is the best word to guess with P and X confirmed?
PIXEL — it keeps both letters and still eliminates about 90.9% of the remaining answer pool. PIXEL, PROXY, EPOXY are the top three by that measure. See more best Wordle starting words.
Where do P and X usually sit in these words?
P most often lands in the 1st position (16 of 21 words) and X in the 3rd (11). That is a strong enough lean to guess on directly.
Which P/X words have been Wordle answers?
5 of them, out of 1916 puzzles so far. The most recent was EXPEL (#955) on 2024-01-30, and the first was PROXY on 2022-01-18. Every answer-eligible word on this list has already been used. Browse the full past Wordle answers archive.
Do these words work in hard mode?
Yes. Once P and X show as present you must reuse them, so this is exactly your hard-mode candidate set. 18 of the 21 words use five distinct letters and 3 repeat one, which matters because hard mode will not let you drop a confirmed letter to test elsewhere — see the how-to-play guide.
Are there 5-letter words with P and X next to each other?
1 of the 21 words place P and X in neighbouring squares: EXPEL. The remaining 20 keep at least one square between them.
How many P/X words have no repeated letters?
18 of the 21. Those are the ones that reveal the most board per guess, so they are the better probes early on. The other 3 double up on some letter, and 67% of the full list carries two or more vowels. For a full clue-by-clue solve, send your board to the Wordle Solver.