Accepted guess Not a possible answer C tier for first-turn info

DOWNA

DOWNA is accepted as a guess but is not on the solver's possible-answer list.

No dictionary definition for DOWNA is recorded in our sourced data.

As an opener, it rules out about 90.1% of possible answers.

Meaning and pronunciation

We do not have a sourced definition for this word yet.

Check DOWNA on Wiktionary or report a missing entry.

Wordle status

A word can be a playable guess without being a possible answer.

Playable guess

Yes

Included in the Wordle guess list used by our tools.

Possible answer

No

The solver does not currently treat this as a possible answer.

Past Wordle answer

Not used yet

No past answer date found.

The possible-answer list is the solver's current list and may change when Wordle adds new answers.

How DOWNA performs as a guess

Wordle accepts DOWNA as a guess, but the solver does not list it as a possible answer.

Played as an opener, it lands at least one colored tile in 78.5% of games, misses completely in 21.5%, and leaves about 234 possible answers on average.

In the previous complete opener benchmark, it ranks #6,047 of 14,855 openers, averaging 3.69 guesses in games solved within six turns.

Try your feedback pattern

Tap the tiles to match your feedback, then see the ranked follow-up guesses.

All gray? Tap a tile to cycle gray → yellow → green.

First-turn measures

All four describe DOWNA used as an opening guess. Entropy is the same idea as “avg ruled out” on a log scale: a higher number means the guess splits the possible answers into more, smaller groups.

4.40 Entropy (bits)
234 Avg remaining
0.0% Exact match
90.1% Avg ruled out
Higher first-turn entropy than about 45% of evaluated openers
1.55 bits below the highest measured first-turn entropy (~5.95 bits)

As an opening guess: previous benchmark

How DOWNA performed in the previous complete opener benchmark, against its captured answer snapshot. These research figures are separate from today's solver recommendations. See the data page for the method.

3.69 Avg guesses
99.96% Solved within six
0.69 Spread of game lengths
#6,047 Rank among openers
Opening with DOWNA left 1 of the snapshot's answers unsolved after six guesses. A spread of 0.69 means those games clustered within about 0.69 of a guess of the 3.69 average. It ranks #6,047 of 14,855 openers by average guesses in games solved within six.
1 guess
0
2 guesses
61
3 guesses
856
4 guesses
1,208
5 guesses
216
6 guesses
12
Top-ranked in the current bounded policy screen: SLANT. The policy minimizes misses within six first, then average guesses among wins (3.46 for the leader). Compare the ranking measures

Composition

5/5 unique
2 vowels
Common:
ANO

Feedback chances

Any hit (G/Y)
78%
Green tile
25%
All gray
22%

Feedback distribution

DOWNA can come back 90 different ways. These are the most likely, and how many of the possible answers give each one:

510 answers
444 answers
161 answers
139 answers
120 answers
84 answers
77 answers
64 answers
63 answers
57 answers
42 answers
40 answers
40 answers
40 answers
36 answers
35 answers
30 answers
24 answers
23 answers
23 answers
19 answers
18 answers
14 answers
13 answers
13 answers
13 answers
11 answers
11 answers
10 answers
9 answers

Letter-value totals

Base letter-value totals for DOWNA; these do not show whether either game accepts the word.

Scrabble

D2O1W4N1A1
Total: 9 points

Words With Friends

Total: 10 points

Scores shown are base values without double/triple letter or word bonuses.

Strategy after playing DOWNA

What the solver recommends next for each way the board can respond to DOWNA.

Quick reference

Largest feedback groups after playing DOWNA:

21% chance
Suggested:
SLIER
19% chance
Suggested:
SLATE
7% chance
Suggested:
STORE

Follow-ups for common patterns

Ranked follow-up guesses for the 10 most common feedback patterns.

21.5%
SLIER 6.08 bits
18.7%
SLATE 5.73 bits
6.8%
STORE 5.09 bits
5.9%
CRUET 4.77 bits
5.1%
RINSE 5.05 bits
3.5%
SLIER 4.73 bits
3.2%
SLIER 4.94 bits
2.7%
RAILE 4.57 bits
2.7%
STILE 4.44 bits
2.4%
CAROL 4.48 bits

Research on DOWNA

Game-tree analysis and word research for DOWNA, with an explanation for each figure.

Optimal play

Opening with DOWNA, a proven-optimal strategy averages 3.72 guesses and ranks #6,325 of 14,855 legal openers. The best proven opener, TARSE, averages 3.55.

No guaranteed hard-mode solve In hard mode, no strategy that opens with DOWNA can guarantee a solve within six guesses.

Our six-turn simulation says 3.69, at or below the proven-optimal 3.72, because the two figures score different answer lists.

These figures come from exhaustive game-tree search and are exact for the NYT lists of July 2023 (3,158 answers). They do not use the site's working answer pool.

How it sounds

Two syllables, stress on the first syllable Say it DOWNUH. Estimated pronunciation

This pronunciation is machine-estimated, not taken from a pronunciation dictionary.

Sources: Optimal-play values: Alex Selby's exhaustive Wordle analysis (MIT); Pronunciation: CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (BSD), with machine estimates from the g2p_en model.