5 letter words starting with N

5 letter words that begin and end with N 5 words

Five words, and this is all of them. NYLON is the one everybody knows. NINON is a sheer fabric, NITON an old name for radon, NOMEN a Roman family name and NUMEN a presiding spirit. A daily grid that has confirmed the first and last squares of a five letter N word has, whether the player realises it or not, narrowed the answer to these five.

• ninon
• niton
• nomen
• numen
• nylon

5 letter words starting with N that are a four letter word plus an S 64 words

Sixty four words here are a shorter word with an S bolted on, and the machine checked each one against the four letter list rather than guessing: NAMES, NOTES, NESTS, NUKES, NICKS and NOOKS all pass. That is the fact worth having on a board, because an S that was added can be pulled off and hooked onto something already played, scoring both words at once. NEXUS, NIMBUS and NEGUS are not in this section for exactly that reason.

• naans
• nabes
• nadas
• naifs
• nails
• names
• nanas
• napes
• narcs
• nards
• narks
• naves
• nazis
• neaps
• nears
• neats
• necks
• needs
• neems
• neeps
• neifs
• nemas
• neons
• nerds
• nests
• netts
• neuks
• neums
• neves
• newts
• nicks
• nides
• nighs
• nills
• nines
• nipas
• nites
• nixes
• nocks
• nodes
• noels
• noggs
• noils
• noirs
• nolos
• nomas
• nomes
• nonas
• nones
• nooks
• noons
• noris
• norms
• noses
• notes
• nouns
• novas
• nowts
• nudes
• nukes
• nulls
• numbs
• nurds
• nurls

Words of five letters that start with N and end in Y 30 words

Thirty of them, and the Y is almost always turning a noun into a judgement about it: NASTY, NOISY, NEEDY, NERVY, NUTTY and NIFTY all work that way, and so do NOBBY, NUBBY and NITTY further down. NEWLY and NOBLY are the two adverbs in the group, and NANCY, NANNY and NINNY are nouns that only look like adjectives. Confirming a Y in the final square cuts this page from 200 words to these.

• naggy
• nancy
• nanny
• nappy
• narky
• nasty
• natty
• navvy
• needy
• nelly
• nerdy
• nervy
• netty
• newly
• newsy
• nifty
• ninny
• nippy
• nitty
• nobby
• nobly
• noddy
• noily
• noisy
• nooky
• nosey
• noway
• nubby
• nutsy
• nutty

5 letter words starting with N using five distinct letters 121 words

A hundred and twenty one words spend every square on a different character. That is the pool to open a daily puzzle from, and the N words in it are unusually efficient because the letter itself is one of the commonest in English: NAILS, NOTES, NEIGH, NADIR and NOISE each test five frequent letters in a single turn. Anything that doubles a letter, NANNY and NINNY included, sits in the main list rather than here.

• nabes
• nabis
• nacho
• nacre
• nadir
• naevi
• naifs
• nails
• naive
• naked
• naled
• named
• namer
• names
• napes
• narco
• narcs
• nards
• nares
• naric
• naris
• narks
• narky
• nasty
• natch
• nates
• navel
• naves
• nazis
• neaps
• nears
• neath
• neats
• necks
• negus
• neifs
• neigh
• neist
• nemas
• nerds
• nerdy
• nerol
• nerts
• nertz
• nervy
• netop
• neuks
• neums
• nevus
• newly
• newsy
• newts
• nexus
• nicad
• nicer
• niche
• nicks
• nicol
• nidal
• nides
• nidus
• nifty
• nighs
• night
• nipas
• niter
• nites
• nitre
• nitro
• nival
• nixed
• nixes
• nizam
• noble
• nobly
• nocks
• nodal
• nodes
• nodus
• noels
• noils
• noily
• noirs
• noise
• noisy
• nomad
• nomas
• nomes
• nopal
• noria
• noris
• norms
• north
• nosed
• nosey
• notal
• notch
• noted
• noter
• notes
• notum
• novae
• novas
• novel
• noway
• nowts
• nubia
• nucha
• nuder
• nudes
• nudge
• nudie
• nudzh
• nuked
• nukes
• numbs
• nurds
• nurls
• nurse
• nutsy
• nymph

5 letter words with an N anywhere but the first square 1,649 words

This is where the letter actually lives. Only 200 five letter words start with an N, against 1,649 that carry one somewhere else, so a confirmed N almost never means a confirmed opening. It clusters at the end and in the middle, as in AGENT, ALONE, BRAIN, MONEY and PLANT, and the double N of ANNOY or FUNNY is common enough that ruling it out early is a mistake.