5 FiveLetterWords
Past Wordle answer Possible answer Accepted guess C tier for first-turn info

RULER

Yes, RULER was the Wordle answer on September 2, 2026 (Wordle #1901).

As an opener, it rules out about 92.9% of possible answers.

Open Solver with RULER Open Word Finder

Meaning and pronunciation

Pronunciation: /ˈɹuːlə//ˈɹuː.lə/[ɹʉwlə]

Noun

A (usually rigid), flat, rectangular measuring or drawing device with graduations in units of measurement; a straightedge with markings.

Noun

A person who rules or governs; someone or something that exercises dominion or controlling power over others.

Verb

To beat with a ruler (as a traditional school punishment).

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

Yes

Included in the Wordle guess list used by our tools.

Possible answer

Yes

Included among the answers considered by the solver.

Past Wordle answer

Used once

Past Wordle answer: September 2, 2026 (#1901).

See the full page for that puzzle: September 2, 2026 (#1901).

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

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How RULER performs as a guess

RULER 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 83.2% of games, misses completely in 16.8%, and leaves about 168 possible answers on average.

In the previous complete opener benchmark, it ranks #9,989 of 14,855 openers, averaging 3.76 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.
See strategy patterns

Useful pattern pages

If you only know part of the word, start with one of these matching patterns.

R___R R in the 1st position and R in the 5th position R__E_ R in the 1st position and E in the 4th position _U__R U in the 2nd position and R in the 5th position

Explore lists that match the beginning, ending or letters in RULER.

First-turn measures

All four describe RULER 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.

4.62 Entropy (bits)
168 Avg remaining
0.04% Exact match
92.9% Avg ruled out
Higher first-turn entropy than about 60% of evaluated openers
1.33 bits below the highest measured first-turn entropy (~5.95 bits)

As an opening guess: previous benchmark

How RULER 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.

3.76 Avg guesses
99.92% Solved within six
0.73 Spread of game lengths
#9,989 Rank among openers
Opening with RULER left 2 of the snapshot's answers unsolved after six guesses. A spread of 0.73 means those games clustered within about 0.73 of a guess of the 3.76 average. It ranks #9,989 of 14,855 openers by average guesses in games solved within six.
1 guess
1
2 guesses
49
3 guesses
799
4 guesses
1,191
5 guesses
285
6 guesses
27
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

4/5 unique
2 vowels
Common:
ELRU

Feedback chances

Any hit (G/Y)
83%
Green tile
30%
All gray
17%

Example solver route

R O A T E
S I L E N
R U L E R

One example route used by the solver.

This solver benchmark reaches RULER in 3 guesses.

Feedback distribution

RULER can come back 87 different ways. These are the most likely, and how many of the possible answers give each one:

398 answers
271 answers
214 answers
185 answers
155 answers
132 answers
89 answers
87 answers
78 answers
74 answers
51 answers
47 answers
46 answers
43 answers
39 answers
37 answers
28 answers
25 answers
25 answers
24 answers
22 answers
18 answers
17 answers
17 answers
12 answers
11 answers
11 answers
10 answers
10 answers
10 answers

Letter-value totals

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

Scrabble

R1U1L1E1R1
Total: 5 points

Words With Friends

Total: 7 points

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

Try next

SAINT COAST ORATE SLATE SHUNT MUSTY

Strategy after playing RULER

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

Quick reference

Largest feedback groups after playing RULER:

17% chance
Suggested:
SAINT
11% chance
Suggested:
SAINT
9% chance
Suggested:
COAST

Follow-ups for common patterns

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

16.8% →
SAINT 6.04 bits
11.4% →
SAINT 5.52 bits
9.0% →
COAST 5.51 bits
7.8% →
COAST 5.13 bits
6.5% →
ORATE 4.59 bits
5.6% →
SLATE 4.84 bits
3.7% →
SAINT 3.74 bits
3.7% →
SHUNT 4.81 bits
3.3% →
MUSTY 3.79 bits
3.1% →
SAINT 4.48 bits

Research on RULER

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

Optimal play

Opening with RULER, a proven-optimal strategy averages 3.76 guesses and ranks #8,499 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 RULER can guarantee a solve within six guesses.

Our six-turn simulation says 3.76, at or below the proven-optimal 3.76, 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 ROOLUR.

Related meanings

In WordNet's sense inventory, RULER is a kind of actor or measure.

Synonyms rule

Familiarity and learning

Frequency
RULER sits in the intermediate band of the wordfreq scale, appearing about 7 times per million words of written English; the band marks it as a word most readers meet regularly.
Learner level
Appears in beginner learner vocabulary (CEFR-J level A1); among the first words English learners study.
Age of acquisition
Typically learned around age 6, by Glasgow Norms speaker ratings.
Imageability
Imageability score: 87 of 100. Raters found it easy to picture.
Dominant sense
Lancaster raters associated it most strongly with sight (4.4 of 5).

In a sentence

Do you have a ruler?
© tatoeba.org contributor carlosalberto (CC BY 2.0 FR)
I am your ruler now.
© tatoeba.org contributor mailohilohi (CC BY 2.0 FR)

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); Learner levels: CEFR-J Wordlist ver 1.5, Tono Laboratory, TUFS; Glasgow Norms (CC BY 4.0); Lancaster Sensorimotor Norms (CC BY 4.0).