'Wordle' #286 word today: Here's the answer for April 1 (2024)

It's April 1, and nowhere on the internet is safe — except the simple, soothing, reliable pleasure of a brand new Wordle. If you're struggling a little to nail down today's answer, this is the right place to be.

You'll find today's Wordle answer right down the bottom of this post. If you want a few clues first to nudge you in the direction of the solution, as well as general Wordle tips, strategies, and info, you'll find those on the way down.

Created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his puzzle-loving partner — later bought by the New York Times, which has tweaked the word list to remove some more obscure words — Wordle has become a daily habit for hundreds of thousands of people and inspired countless clones and variations on the simple format.

For more variety, try the nerdy Primel, the battle-royale-style Squabble, or the multi-game variants that add up to the 31-word Grand Slam.

Wordle today: Here's the April 2 Wordle answer.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

Whether you go vowel-heavy or take a strategic combo approach, we've got plenty of ideas.

Is Wordle harder than it used to be?

No, it's not getting harder. As mentioned above, the NYT has actually made it a little easier by nixing some words it considers tough to guess.

Is there a harder version of Wordle?

Yep — you've actually been playing the easy version this whole time. Here's how to turn on Wordle's Hard Mode.

Dig into the Wordle archive

Did you know the whole archive of past Wordle games is available to play online? Use it to practice to your heart's content (and if you've got a good memory for lists, rule out previous words in each new daily game).

Can I have a subtle clue for today's Wordle answer?

Sure thing! It's something to do with animals.

Yesterday's Wordle: Here's the March 31 Wordle answer in case you're looking for it. We do this every day.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

Not today! All five letters appear just once.

What letter does today's Wordle answer start with?

It's another S. This is a very S-word-filled week. (No, not that S-word. You're looking for Sweardle.)

What kind of word is today's Wordle answer?

It's a noun!

What's the answer to Wordle today?

OK, we'll tell you!

Ready?

It is...

SNOUT.

No April Fools' theme here, just a slightly tricky solution. If you manage to lock in the S, O, U, and T — likely, as they're all fairly common letters you probably got in your early guesses — there are still plenty of options you could run out the guess-clock trying to get right: SCOUT, SPOUT, SHOUT, and it'll even accept SMOUT (defined as "a child or undersized person"). Remember, if you're facing that problem, your best bet is to use a guess to enter a word with as many of the missing-letter contenders in it as you can manage.

For today's, PUNCH would have been an handy word for this strategy, to rule out C, P, and H, and confirm the N.

Getting a different Wordle answer? You might be on an old version of the site. Here's what's behind the alternate answer glitch.

If you X'd out on this one, don't worry. Tomorrow is a new day, without any mistakes in it... yet.