A new NYT Wordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here.
Skip the hints and jump straight to today's column.
It's time for your guide to today's Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going.
Don't think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away.
Want more word-based fun? TechRadar's Quordle today page contains hints and answers for that game, and you can also take a look at our NYT Strands today and NYT Connections today pages for our verdict on two of the New York Times' other brainteasers.
SPOILER WARNING: Today's Wordle answer and hints are below, so don't read on if you don't want to see them.
Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief and has been obsessed with Wordle for more than four years. He's authored dozens of articles on the game for TechRadar and its sister site Tom's Guide, including a detailed analysis of the most common letters in Wordle in every position and a guide to the best Wordle start words. He's also played every Wordle ever and only lost once and yes, he takes it all too seriously.
Wordle hints (game #1940) - clue #1 - Vowels
How many vowels does today's Wordle have?
• Wordle today has vowels in two places*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Wordle hints (game #1940) - clue #2 - first letter
What letter does today's Wordle begin with?
• The first letter in today's Wordle answer is U.
U is not a particularly common starting letter in Wordle, with only 33 answers beginning with it. It ranks 20th in this regard, and is the least common vowel to start an answer.
Wordle hints (game #1940) - clue #3 - repeated letters
Does today's Wordle have any repeated letters?
• There are no repeated letters in today's Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.
Wordle hints (game #1940) - clue #4 - ending letter
What letter does today's Wordle end with?
• The last letter in today's Wordle is P.
P is a middling end letter in Wordle. It features in 56 answers, which places it 12th in the alphabet. Don't expect it to happen that often compared to the likes of E, Y and T.
Wordle hints (game #1940) - clue #5 - last chance
Still looking for more Wordle hints today? Here's an extra one for game #1940.
- Today's Wordle answer is to remove the top of a closed receptacle.
If you just want to know today's Wordle answer now, simply scroll down – but I'd always recommend trying to solve it on your own first. We've got lots of Wordle tips and tricks to help you, including a guide to the best Wordle start words.
If you don't want to know today's answer then DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER BECAUSE IT IS PRINTED BELOW. So don't say you weren't warned!
Today's Wordle answer (game #1940)
- NYT average score: 4.0
- My score: 3
- WordleBot's score: 4
- My skill score: 90
- My luck score: 73
- My start word performance: SANER (48 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (202)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Today's Wordle answer (game #1940) is… UNCAP.
The NYT is once again ramping up the frequency with which it adds additional words to the answer pool: UNCAP is the latest after yesterday's BUMPY and Thursday's STREW and we also had three the week before in the form of RITZY, USURY and PEEVE.
As these words go it's a relatively harmless one. UNCAP has an average score of 4.0 and I wouldn't describe it as easy, but it's got nothing on the likes of RITZY and indeed BUMPY, which seemed to cause far more problems than I anticipated at the time.
Somehow I scored a second successive 3, but whereas yesterday my luck came on the third guess here it was on the second.
SANER performed reasonably well, cutting the shortlist to 48 and giving me a yellow A and N. I haven't yet settled on a definitive strategy for how to handle this scenario; sometimes I like to test a second vowel by adding an 'I' and going with PLAIN, but today I instead found room for a T with PLANT.
The 'Bot was not overly impressed, giving me only 80 for skill and describing it as merely "solid". It favored CLING, presumably reasoning that the A is so common in the middle position that I could leave it out. It may well have a point, on average, but today my word left only one option whereas the 'Bot's would have left three.
It took me an age to find that one option, admittedly. P is a very common letter at the start of a word but less so elsewhere, and is not particularly likely to appear at the end; it ranks 12th, so it's not super-rare there, but for context K, which ranks ninth, is twice as likely at the end.
That may explain why I just could not see a way to arrange my three yellow letters and make a valid word. Eventually — after about 10 minutes — I started experimenting with the N in the second position and either an I, O or U before it, and that ultimately led me to UNCAP for my 3.
Yesterday's Wordle hints (game #1939)
In a different time zone where it's still Saturday? Don't worry — I can give you some clues for Wordle #1939, too.
- Wordle yesterday had a vowel in one place*
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
- The first letter in yesterday's Wordle answer was B.
B is a very, very common starting letter in Wordle. In fact, it's the third most common overall, behind only S and C.
- There were no repeated letters in yesterday's Wordle.
Repeated letters are quite common in the game, with 748 of the 2,309 Wordle answers containing one. However, it's still more likely that a Wordle doesn't have one.
- The last letter in yesterday's Wordle was Y.
Y is the second most common ending letter in the game, behind only E. In total, 364 Wordle answers end with a Y.
Still looking for more Wordle hints? Here's an extra one for game #1939.
- Yesterday's Wordle answer is not smooth.
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1939)
- NYT average score: 4.4
- My score: 3
- WordleBot's score: 4
- My skill score: 94
- My luck score: 35
- My start word performance: SANER (304 remaining answers)
- WordleBot's start word performance: SLATE (315)
- Tomorrow's start word: SANER
Yesterday's Wordle answer (game #1939) was… BUMPY.
As proof of how variable Wordle can be, I offer up my this game and the one from Friday. For MAJOR, a game with an average of 4.6, I scored a 6; for BUMPY, average 4.4, I scored a 3. Two very similar games difficulty wise, but vastly different results for me.
I could put that down to poor play on my part on Friday, but really Wordle is always a combination of both luck and skill. And here I had more than my fair share of good fortune. Plus, don't underestimate factors such as tiredness, or simply not paying enough attention because you're half-watching the TV while playing. Not that I was doing that while completing yesterday's game, no not at all…
I'm a little surprised that BUMPY is playing as hard as this. There are no repeated or really uncommon letters, and only a couple of alternative words that differ by one letter: LUMPY, DUMPY and JUMPY all qualify, but that's about it.
My guess is that it's simply the result of none of its letters being in most of the popular start words. ADIEU and AUDIO include a U, of course, but that's not much help on its own. There's no T or R or S or L here, nor any of the really common vowels.
All of which explains why my first guess drew a blank and why my second only added a yellow U. I still had 25 options left at that point — so a 4 or even a 5 was a likely result. However, when I drew up a list of possible options, including the likes of BUGGY, DUMMY, GUMMY, BUDDY, PUFFY and DUMPY, it seemed to me that BUMPY would be the perfect narrowing-down word.
Well, it was better than that — because it ended up being the answer. What a rollercoaster ride Wordle can be, eh?
Wordle answers: The past 50
I've been playing Wordle every day for more than four years now and have tracked all of the previous answers so I can help you improve your game. Here are the last 50 solutions starting with yesterday's answer, or check out my past Wordle answers page for the full list.
- Wordle #1939, Saturday 10 October: BUMPY
- Wordle #1938, Friday 9 October: MAJOR
- Wordle #1937, Thursday 8 October: STREW
- Wordle #1936, Wednesday 7 October: PROVE
- Wordle #1935, Tuesday 6 October: DIMLY
- Wordle #1934, Monday 5 October: MOCHA
- Wordle #1933, Sunday 4 October: SHACK
- Wordle #1932, Saturday 3 October: PEEVE
- Wordle #1931, Friday 2 October: USURY
- Wordle #1930, Thursday 1 October: RITZY
- Wordle #1929, Wednesday 30 September: RIVER
- Wordle #1928, Tuesday 29 September: SCUBA
- Wordle #1927, Monday 28 September: TRUNK
- Wordle #1926, Sunday 27 September: SLOOP
- Wordle #1925, Saturday 26 September: ELEGY
- Wordle #1924, Friday 25 September: COPSE
- Wordle #1923, Thursday 24 September: MESSY
- Wordle #1922, Wednesday 23 September: FORTH
- Wordle #1921, Tuesday 22 September: STOKE
- Wordle #1920, Monday 21 September: PAGER
- Wordle #1919, Sunday 20 September: SHONE
- Wordle #1918, Saturday 19 September: WAKEN
- Wordle #1917, Friday 18 September: SNOWY
- Wordle #1916, Thursday 17 September: THETA
- Wordle #1915, Wednesday 16 September: WISPY
- Wordle #1914, Tuesday 15 September: DEALT
- Wordle #1913, Monday 14 September: RINSE
- Wordle #1912, Sunday 13 September: FOCUS
- Wordle #1911, Saturday 12 September: NIFTY
- Wordle #1910, Friday 11 September: ASTER
- Wordle #1909, Thursday 10 September: DRYLY
- Wordle #1908, Wednesday 9 September: BURST
- Wordle #1907, Tuesday 8 September: LIVEN
- Wordle #1906, Monday 7 September: BLIND
- Wordle #1905, Sunday 6 September: BEIGE
- Wordle #1904, Saturday 5 September: SOUPY
- Wordle #1903, Friday 4 September: WAGER
- Wordle #1902, Thursday 3 September: JOIST
- Wordle #1901, Wednesday 2 September: RULER
- Wordle #1900, Tuesday 1 September: REMIX
- Wordle #1899, Monday 31 August: MOUND
- Wordle #1898, Sunday 30 August: INTEL
- Wordle #1897, Saturday 29 August: BLOOD
- Wordle #1896, Friday 28 August: TWEEN
- Wordle #1895, Thursday 27 August: UNCUT
- Wordle #1894, Wednesday 26 August: CAPON
- Wordle #1893, Tuesday 25 August: CLICK
- Wordle #1892, Monday 24 August: RUNNY
- Wordle #1891, Sunday 23 August: OLDEN
- Wordle #1890, Saturday 22 August: PRAWN
What is Wordle?
If you're on this page then you almost certainly know what Wordle is already, and indeed have probably been playing it for a while. And even if you've not been playing it, you must surely have heard of it by now, because it's the viral word game phenomenon that took the world by storm in 2022 and is still going strong in 2026.
We've got a full guide to the game in our What is Wordle page, but if you just want a refresher then here are the basics.
What is Wordle?
Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, with each one revealing a little more information. If one of the letters in your guess is in the answer and in the right place, it turns green. If it's in the answer but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it's not in the answer at all it turns gray. Simple, eh?
It's played online via the Wordle website or the New York Times' Games app (iOS / Android), and is entirely free.
Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.
What are the Wordle rules?
The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.
4a. Answers are never plural.
4b. …unless they are. There have been a couple of plural words that don't end in an S or ES, including FUNGI (game #439), ATRIA (#1478) and TEETH (#1551). But S and ES plurals are definitely outlawed.
5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.
7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.
8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.
9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.
10a. All answers are drawn from Wordle's list of 2,309 solutions…
10b. …unless they are not. That's because the NYT has added in some of its own words which weren't in that list of 2,309 solutions. More will undoubtedly come over the next few years.
10c. Plus, the NYT has now started repeating answers that have already appeared in Wordle. We have no idea how often it will do this, so you'll need to be on your guard.
11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won't be right (see point 4a above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.
