FLANK
Yes, FLANK was the Wordle answer on July 20, 2023 (Wordle #761).
As an opener, it rules out about 89.4% of possible answers.
Meaning and pronunciation
Pronunciation: /ˈflæŋk/[ˈflæŋk]/ˈfleɪ̯ŋk/
- Verb
-
To attack the flank(s) of.
- Verb
-
To defend the flank(s) of.
- Noun
-
The lateral flesh between the last rib and the hip.
- Noun
-
A cut of meat from the flank of an animal.
Alternative forms: flanck
Source: Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0. Corrections.
Wordle status
A word can be a playable guess without being a possible answer.
Playable guess
YesIncluded in the Wordle guess list used by our tools.
Possible answer
YesIncluded among the answers considered by the solver.
Past Wordle answer
Used oncePast Wordle answer: July 20, 2023 (#761).
See the full page for that puzzle: July 20, 2023 (#761).
The possible-answer list is the solver's current list and may change when Wordle adds new answers.
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See what the public sample says →How FLANK performs as a guess
FLANK is a possible answer, so it would solve about one game in 2,374 when every answer is treated as equally likely.
Played as an opener, it lands at least one colored tile in 73.8% of games, misses completely in 26.2%, and leaves about 251 possible answers on average.
In the previous complete opener benchmark, it ranks #6,598 of 14,855 openers, averaging 3.70 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.
Useful pattern pages
If you only know part of the word, start with one of these matching patterns.
First-turn measures
All four describe FLANK 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.
As an opening guess: previous benchmark
How FLANK 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.
Composition
Feedback chances
Example solver route
One example route used by the solver.
This solver benchmark reaches FLANK in 4 guesses.
Feedback distribution
FLANK can come back 96 different ways. These are the most likely, and how many of the possible answers give each one:
Letter-value totals
Base letter-value totals for FLANK; these do not show whether either game accepts the word.
Scrabble
Words With Friends
Scores shown are base values without double/triple letter or word bonuses.
Try next
Strategy after playing FLANK
What the solver recommends next for each way the board can respond to FLANK.
Quick reference
Largest feedback groups after playing FLANK:
Research on FLANK
Game-tree analysis and word research for FLANK, with an explanation for each figure.
Optimal play
Opening with FLANK, a proven-optimal strategy averages 3.74 guesses and ranks #7,501 of 14,855 legal openers. The best proven opener, TARSE, averages 3.55.
In hard mode it averages 3.84 guesses at best and is rank #2,538 of the 7,453 openers that can still guarantee a solve within six guesses.
Our six-turn simulation says 3.70, at or below the proven-optimal 3.74, 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.
Related meanings
In WordNet's sense inventory, FLANK is a kind of formation or figure.
Synonyms wing
Familiarity and learning
- Frequency
- FLANK sits in the intermediate band of the wordfreq scale, appearing about 4 times per million words of written English; the band marks it as a word most readers meet regularly.
- Dominant sense
- Lancaster raters associated it most strongly with sight (3.3 of 5).
In a sentence
Our right flank is under attack.
They were able to flank the enemy.
Sources: Optimal-play values: Alex Selby's exhaustive Wordle analysis (MIT); Pronunciation: CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (BSD); Word relations: Open English WordNet, 2025 edition (CC BY 4.0); Word frequency: wordfreq (data CC BY-SA 4.0); Lancaster Sensorimotor Norms (CC BY 4.0).