Wordle #1296 Answer – January 5, 2025

This page covers Wordle puzzle #1296, played on Sunday, January 5, 2025. If you are playing it in the NYT Wordle archive, start with the hints. The answer comes after them, along with what the word means, how hard it was, and how the most popular starting words would have done.

Hints for Wordle #1296

Hint 1: How many vowels?

The answer has 1 vowel (A, E, I, O, U).

Hint 2: First letter

It starts with the letter C.

Hint 3: Last letter

It ends with the letter R.

Hint 4: Repeated letters?

No, all five letters are different.

Hint 5: Meaning

noun — Everything having to do with the Internet considered collectively.

Wordle #1296 Answer

The answer to Wordle #1296 on January 5, 2025 was:

CYBER

CYBER has been the Wordle answer only once so far.

What Does CYBER Mean?

Cyber (noun): Everything having to do with the Internet considered collectively.

How Hard Was Wordle #1296?

5.8/10Medium-Hard
66%harder than this share of all 1,963 Wordles
0look-alike answers
  • Only 1 vowel, so the vowel pattern is hard to find early.
  • Five different letters, which suits most guessing strategies.
  • Less common letters (Y) that starting words rarely test.
  • No other answers share four of its five letter spots, so it falls fast once the letters are found.

How Popular Starting Words Did Against CYBER

Here is the color feedback each well-known opener would have given on this puzzle, and how many past Wordle answers would still fit after that one guess. Fewer is better.

OpenerFeedbackAnswers left
SLATESLATE138
CRANECRANE7
TRACETRACE13
STARESTARE97
RAISERAISE89
AUDIOAUDIO147

On this puzzle, CRANE was the most useful opener, leaving 7 possible answers. Read our guide to the best starting words →

How to Solve Wordle #1296 Step by Step

Here is one efficient way to reach CYBER. We open with SLATE, then each next guess is the word, from those still possible, that leaves the fewest options on average. Every guess fits all the clues so far, so this path is also legal in Hard Mode.

GuessFeedbackWords still possible
1. SLATESLATE157
2. DECORDECOR2
3. CHEERCHEER1
4. CYBERCYBERSolved

Solved in 4 guesses. After SLATE, 157 everyday words still fit. Try your own guesses in our Wordle solver to see which words were left at each step.

Letter-by-Letter Breakdown of CYBER

PositionLetterAppears in (all answers)In this exact spot
1stC19.2%8.6%
2ndY16.5%0.7%
3rdB11.5%2.3%
4thE47.1%13.2%
5thR36.1%8.5%

On This Day in Wordle: January 5

Answers from the same date in other years:

YearPuzzleAnswer
2026#1661FILLY
2024#930LUNGE
2023#565SLEEK
2022#200TIGER

Wordle #1296 FAQ

What was the Wordle answer on January 5, 2025?

The answer to Wordle #1296 on January 5, 2025 was CYBER.

Was Wordle #1296 hard?

We rate it 5.8 out of 10 (Medium-Hard), harder than about 66% of all Wordle puzzles.

What was the best starting word for Wordle #1296?

Of the popular openers, CRANE did best, leaving 7 possible answers after the first guess.