You’ve been there. It’s 11:45 PM. You’re staring at a yellow 'O' and a green 'T' and your brain is basically fried. You want to guess "ROBOT," but wait—did they already use that? If they did, you’re just wasting a turn on a game that only gives you six shots at glory.
Knowing the used wordle words in alphabetical order isn't just for the nerds who like spreadsheets; it’s a genuine survival tactic for the daily player. Wordle, now owned by The New York Times, runs on a specific dictionary. It doesn't repeat words. Once "ABIDE" is gone, it’s gone for years. Probably forever, or at least until the sun burns out and we're all playing Wordle in some digital afterlife.
Honestly, the list is getting long. We are talking over a thousand words deep into this experiment that started in Josh Wardle's Brooklyn apartment. If you aren't checking the archives, you are playing at a disadvantage. It’s that simple.
The Strategy Behind the Alphabetical Archive
Why does alphabetical order even matter? Because when you’re stuck on a word starting with 'S', you don’t want to scroll through a chronological list of what happened in October 2022. You need to know if "SHINE" or "SHART" (okay, they’ll never use that one) has already had its day in the sun.
Most players think the game is about vocabulary. It’s not. It’s about elimination. By looking at used wordle words in alphabetical order, you start to see patterns in how the NYT editors—specifically Tracy Bennett—select the daily solution. They like words that are common enough to be known but tricky enough to have multiple "trap" variants. Think about the "-IGHT" or "-ATCH" clusters. Those are the ones that break streaks.
A Glimpse into the 'A' and 'B' Archives
Let’s look at some heavy hitters that are already off the table. In the 'A' section, we’ve already seen ABACK, ABASE, ABATE, ABBEY, and ABIDE. If you’re sitting there on a Tuesday morning trying to make "ABATE" work, stop. It happened back in the 200s.
Then you hit the 'B' words. BACON, BADGE, BAGEL, BAKER. These are the "easy" words that lured us into a false sense of security in the early days. If you look at the archives, you’ll notice a lot of these "lifestyle" words appeared early on. The game has transitioned into slightly more obscure territory lately, though they still throw a bone every now and then with something like BEACH.
Why Your "Starting Word" Might Be a Dead End
If your favorite starting word is ADIEU or AUDIO, you’re playing a math game. You’re hunting for vowels. That’s smart. But what if your favorite starting word is actually a past winner?
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Some people swear by STARE. It’s a great word. But if STARE has already been the answer (and spoiler: it has), you will never get that satisfying "all green" on the first row. You’re capped at a 2/6. For some of us, that's fine. For the perfectionists? It’s a tragedy. Checking the used wordle words in alphabetical order ensures your "opener" still has the potential to be a hole-in-one.
I’ve seen people use RAISE for months without realizing it was already the solution. They’re effectively playing a version of the game where they can never truly "win" on the first move. It’s a psychological handicap you don’t need.
The Brutal Reality of Wordle "Traps"
The NYT is fond of the "trap." This is where the alphabetical list becomes a weapon.
Take the word STAMP. If you have _TAMP, you have choices. STAMP, UTAMP (not a word), CRAMP? No, wait. Look at the used list. If STAMP is gone, you don’t guess it. You move to the next logical phonetic fit.
Here’s a breakdown of some tricky alphabetical clusters that have already been cleared out:
The 'C' Cluster:
We’ve seen CANDY, CANOE, CANON, and CANNY. If you’re looking at CAN_Y, and you know CANNY is gone, you’re looking at CANDY. If both are gone? You might be in trouble, or you’re misreading your yellows.
The 'F' Cluster:
FLAIL, FLAIR, FLAKE, FLASK. These are dangerous. They look alike. They feel alike. By cross-referencing the used wordle words in alphabetical order, you can skip the ones that have already had their five minutes of fame.
Does the NYT Ever Repeat Words?
The short answer? No.
The long answer? Still no, but with a caveat.
The New York Times cleaned up the original list when they bought the game. They removed some words that were a bit too British or a bit too obscure (or occasionally, a bit too offensive). But they haven't started recycling. There are 2,309 words in the original Wordle solution list. At one word a day, we have enough juice to keep this going until roughly late 2027 or early 2028 before things get weird.
How to Actually Use This Info Without Spoiling the Fun
Look, nobody wants to play Wordle with a giant spreadsheet open in another tab. It feels like cheating. But there’s a middle ground.
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- The "Check Before You Commit" Rule: If you are on your 5th or 6th guess, and you’re down to two options, check the alphabetical archive. If one of them has been used, your choice is made for you. That’s not cheating; that’s research.
- The "Opener" Audit: Every six months, check if your go-to starting word is still "live." If it’s been used, pick a new one. It keeps the game fresh.
- Pattern Recognition: Scan the 'S' or 'R' sections. You’ll see that the game rarely uses plural words ending in 'S' (like CATS or DOGS). In fact, the NYT explicitly avoids simple plurals as the daily answer. If you see a word like STARS on a "used list," it’s probably a mistake or from an unofficial knock-off site.
The Most Common Letters in Used Words
If you analyze the used wordle words in alphabetical order, you see the ghost of the English language. 'E' is everywhere. 'S' is a frequent starter but rarely a finisher. 'Y' is the king of the fifth spot.
CRANE was the "optimal" word according to the Wordle Bot for a long time. Then it was ADIEU. Then it shifted to TRACE. These changes happen because as words are removed from the "potential" pool, the mathematical probability of certain letters appearing in the remaining words shifts.
Misconceptions About the Wordle List
One big myth is that the game is totally random. It’s not. It was a pre-programmed list created by Wardle. The NYT has tweaked the order and removed some words, but they generally stick to the script.
Another misconception? That "obscure" words are more common now. Honestly, we just remember the hard ones more. For every GUANO (yes, that was a word) or SNAFU, there are ten words like PLANT or HOUSE.
The alphabetical list proves this. When you look at the 'P' section—PAPER, PARTY, PAUSE, PEACE, PHONE—it’s mostly stuff you’d find in a third-grade textbook. The difficulty doesn't come from the word's obscurity; it comes from the letter structure.
Practical Steps for Your Daily Game
- Keep a running tab: Bookmark a reliable, updated archive of used wordle words in alphabetical order. Sites like Rock Paper Shotgun or specialized Wordle trackers update these daily.
- Verify the "NYT Era": Make sure the list you’re looking at distinguishes between the original Wardle list and the current NYT-curated solutions. Some words were skipped or jumped in the sequence.
- Vowel Hunting: If you see that ADIEU, AUDIO, and LOUIE are all "used" (they aren't all used yet, but you get the point), you need to find a new vowel-heavy opener that hasn't been tapped.
- Avoid the Plural Trap: Don't waste your time wondering if the word is BOOKS. It won't be. The list of used words confirms that the NYT favors the singular or words where 'S' is part of the root (like GLASS or BLESS).
The game is as much about what isn't there as what is. Every time a word is used and added to that alphabetical archive, the board gets a little smaller, the possibilities a little narrower, and your chances of guessing the word in three tries slightly higher—if you're paying attention.
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Actionable Next Steps:
Check your favorite starting word against a current database. If it’s already been a solution, retire it immediately. Next, spend five minutes scanning the 'S' and 'T' sections of the used words list; these are the most common starting letters and will help you realize which "common" words are already out of play, saving you valuable guesses during your next morning session.