THORN
Yes, THORN was the Wordle answer on February 22, 2022 (Wordle #248).
As an opener, it rules out about 93.8% of possible answers.
Meaning and pronunciation
Pronunciation: /θɔːn//θoɹn/[θo̞ɹn]
- Noun
-
A modified branch that is hard and sharp like a spike.
- Noun
-
Any thorn-like structure on plants, such as the spine and the prickle.
- Verb
-
To pierce with, or as if with, a thorn (sharp pointed object).
Alternative forms: þorn
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: February 22, 2022 (#248).
See the full page for that puzzle: February 22, 2022 (#248).
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 THORN performs as a guess
THORN 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 82.8% of games, misses completely in 17.2%, and leaves about 147 possible answers on average.
In the previous complete opener benchmark, it ranks #519 of 14,855 openers, averaging 3.58 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 THORN 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 THORN 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 THORN in 3 guesses.
Feedback distribution
THORN can come back 115 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 THORN; 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 THORN
What the solver recommends next for each way the board can respond to THORN.
Quick reference
Largest feedback groups after playing THORN:
Research on THORN
Game-tree analysis and word research for THORN, with an explanation for each figure.
Optimal play
Opening with THORN, a proven-optimal strategy averages 3.65 guesses and ranks #1,474 of 14,855 legal openers. The best proven opener, TARSE, averages 3.55.
In hard mode it averages 3.75 guesses at best and is rank #300 of the 7,453 openers that can still guarantee a solve within six guesses.
Our six-turn simulation says 3.58, at or below the proven-optimal 3.65, 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, THORN is a kind of pain or process.
Synonyms SPINE sticker
Familiarity and learning
- Frequency
- THORN sits in the intermediate band of the wordfreq scale, appearing about 3 times per million words of written English; the band marks it as a word most readers meet regularly.
- Age of acquisition
- Typically learned around age 6, by Glasgow Norms speaker ratings.
- Imageability
- Imageability score: 83 of 100. Raters found it easy to picture.
In a sentence
It's been a thorn in my side.
This thorn is in really deep.
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); Glasgow Norms (CC BY 4.0).