Friday mornings are usually for coffee and quick wins, but Wordle #1672 has other plans. If you've been staring at a grid of yellow and gray squares for the last twenty minutes, don't feel bad. Honestly, this one is a bit of a speed trap.
It’s January 16, 2026. The world has changed quite a bit since Josh Wardle first gifted this game to his partner, yet here we are, still obsessing over five little boxes. Today’s puzzle isn't "hard" in the sense that it uses some obscure 18th-century botany term. No, it’s tricky because of how common it is.
Hints for the January 16 Wordle
Before we just give it away, let’s see if we can nudge your brain in the right direction. Sometimes all you need is a tiny spark to save that streak.
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- The Double Trouble: Yes, there is a repeated letter today.
- Vowel Count: You’re looking for two vowels.
- Starting Letter: The word begins with a sturdy R.
- The Ending: Surprisingly, it also ends with an R.
- Definition: Think of someone or something built for speed—a person in a marathon or a car on a track.
Still nothing? It rhymes with "pacer" and "spacer."
If you're using the "CRANE" or "ADIEU" start, you might have found some yellow scattered about, but that double "R" is likely what's holding you up. Most people forget to test for repeated consonants until their fourth or fifth guess. It's a classic rookie mistake, even for those of us who have been playing for years.
The Wordle Answer for Today: January 16, 2026
If you’ve run out of patience or your commute is ending, here is the solution.
The answer to Wordle today is RACER.
Why RACER is a "Trap" Word
You'd think a word like RACER would be easy. It’s part of our daily vocabulary. We talk about racers in the Olympics, or maybe you’ve got a "street racer" neighbor who wakes you up at 2 AM.
But structurally? It’s a nightmare for the average Wordle strategy.
Most high-level players, according to data from the NYT WordleBot, prioritize "ER" endings. It’s the most common suffix in the game. However, when you have a word that starts and ends with the same consonant, the brain often skips over the possibility of repetition. We tend to want to "use up" as many different letters as possible in those first three rows.
If you guessed "RAISE" or "RATED," you likely saw a sea of green at the start and then hit a wall. According to community stats from sites like Wordle Stats, today's average solve count is hovering around 4.3 guesses. That's slightly higher than the usual 3.8 average for "easy" words.
The Evolution of the Wordle Meta in 2026
Since the New York Times took over and eventually integrated the Wordle Archive for subscribers, the way we play has shifted. We've seen a move away from the "all-vowel" start. In 2025, researchers at Preply found that players in North Dakota were actually the most efficient in the US, averaging 3.65 guesses.
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Why? They stopped chasing vowels and started hunting for common consonant clusters like "CH," "ST," and "ER."
Today’s word, RACER, is a perfect example of why the "ER" hunt is so vital. If your second guess was something like "LATER" or "SOBER," you at least locked in the ending. From there, it was just a matter of finding the "C" and the "A."
Looking Back: Yesterday's Solution
If you’re just catching up or your time zone is a bit wonky, yesterday’s word (January 15) was CHASM. That was a much "crunchier" word. It had fewer vowels and required a bit more lateral thinking. Moving from the jagged, rocky feel of "CHASM" to the smooth, fast "RACER" is a classic Tracy Bennett move—the current Wordle editor loves to contrast the "vibe" of back-to-back words.
Best Starting Words for Tomorrow
Don't let your success (or failure) today stop your momentum. If you want to get ahead of the curve for the January 17th puzzle, consider these starters:
- TRACE: It actually would have been a killer opener for today, giving you three letters immediately.
- SLANT: Good for ruling out the "S" and "L" which are frequently used in the middle of the month.
- AUDIO: Still the king if you just want to see where the vowels live, though it’s less "pro" than it used to be.
Basically, Wordle is a game of probability. There are roughly 2,300 words in the original solution list. We’ve burned through a lot of them, but the beauty of the game is its simplicity. Even in 2026, with all the AI and high-tech distractions we have, there’s something grounding about five letters and six tries.
If you’re struggling with the other NYT games today, the Strands theme is "DC Crusader" (spoiler: think Batman) and the Connections groups involve "Kinds of Hats" and "Bedtime Routines." It’s a busy day for the puzzle brain.
Take your win with RACER, post your green squares on social media, and get on with your Friday. You've earned it.
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Actionable Next Steps:
- Check your WordleBot score to see if your "skill" rating outpaced your "luck" rating today.
- If you struggled with the "ER" ending, try starting tomorrow with a word that ends in a consonant to shake up your pattern recognition.
- Review your long-term stats in the NYT Games app to see if your average is improving compared to the 2025 national average of 3.92.