Wordle #1428 Answer – May 17, 2025
This page covers Wordle puzzle #1428, played on Saturday, May 17, 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 #1428
Hint 1: How many vowels?
The answer has 1 vowel (A, E, I, O, U).
Hint 2: First letter
It starts with the letter G.
Hint 3: Last letter
It ends with the letter N.
Hint 4: Repeated letters?
No, all five letters are different.
Hint 5: Meaning
verb — To become larger, to increase in magnitude.
Wordle #1428 Answer
The answer to Wordle #1428 on May 17, 2025 was:
GROWN
GROWN has been the Wordle answer only once so far.
What Does GROWN Mean?
Grown (verb): To become larger, to increase in magnitude.
Example: “Children grow quickly.”
How Hard Was Wordle #1428?
6.0/10Medium-Hard
71%harder than this share of all 1,963 Wordles
6look-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 (W) that starting words rarely test.
- 6 look-alike answers share four of its five letter spots, which can turn the last guesses into a coin flip.
Look-alike answers: GROWL, GROIN, CROWN, FROWN, BROWN, GROAN.
How Popular Starting Words Did Against GROWN
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.
| Opener | Feedback | Answers left |
|---|---|---|
| SLATE | SLATE | 179 |
| CRANE | CRANE | 4 |
| TRACE | TRACE | 44 |
| STARE | STARE | 80 |
| RAISE | RAISE | 82 |
| AUDIO | AUDIO | 250 |
On this puzzle, CRANE was the most useful opener, leaving 4 possible answers. Read our guide to the best starting words →
How to Solve Wordle #1428 Step by Step
Here is one efficient way to reach GROWN. 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.
| Guess | Feedback | Words still possible |
|---|---|---|
| 1. SLATE | SLATE | 214 |
| 2. IRONY | IRONY | 5 |
| 3. BROWN | BROWN | 4 |
| 4. CROWN | CROWN | 3 |
| 5. DROWN | DROWN | 2 |
| 6. FROWN | FROWN | 1 |
Letter-by-Letter Breakdown of GROWN
| Position | Letter | Appears in (all answers) | In this exact spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | G | 13% | 5.3% |
| 2nd | R | 36.1% | 11.6% |
| 3rd | O | 30% | 11.2% |
| 4th | W | 8.3% | 1.1% |
| 5th | N | 24% | 5.7% |
On This Day in Wordle: May 17
Answers from the same date in other years:
Wordle #1428 FAQ
What was the Wordle answer on May 17, 2025?
The answer to Wordle #1428 on May 17, 2025 was GROWN.
Was Wordle #1428 hard?
We rate it 6.0 out of 10 (Medium-Hard), harder than about 71% of all Wordle puzzles.
What was the best starting word for Wordle #1428?
Of the popular openers, CRANE did best, leaving 4 possible answers after the first guess.