Wordle #17 Answer – July 6, 2021

This page covers Wordle puzzle #17, played on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. 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 #17

Hint 1: How many vowels?

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

Hint 2: First letter

It starts with the letter B.

Hint 3: Last letter

It ends with the letter H.

Hint 4: Repeated letters?

No, all five letters are different.

Hint 5: Meaning

noun — A long seat with or without a back, found for example in parks and schools.

Wordle #17 Answer

The answer to Wordle #17 on July 6, 2021 was:

BENCH

BENCH has been the Wordle answer only once so far.

What Does BENCH Mean?

Bench (noun): A long seat with or without a back, found for example in parks and schools.

Example: “They sat on a park bench and tossed bread crumbs to the ducks and pigeons.”

How Hard Was Wordle #17?

6.0/10Medium-Hard
71%harder than this share of all 1,962 Wordles
3look-alike answers
  • Only 1 vowel, so the vowel pattern is hard to find early.
  • Five different letters, which suits most guessing strategies.
  • Only common letters, with nothing unusual to find.
  • 3 look-alike answers share four of its five letter spots, which can turn the last guesses into a coin flip.

Look-alike answers: BELCH, BEACH, BUNCH.

How Popular Starting Words Did Against BENCH

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
CRANECRANE1
TRACETRACE6
STARESTARE102
RAISERAISE105
AUDIOAUDIO147

On this puzzle, CRANE was the most useful opener, leaving 1 possible answer. Read our guide to the best starting words →

How to Solve Wordle #17 Step by Step

Here is one efficient way to reach BENCH. 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. BEECHBEECH1
4. BENCHBENCHSolved

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 BENCH

PositionLetterAppears in (all answers)In this exact spot
1stB11.5%7.5%
2ndE47.1%10.6%
3rdN24%5.7%
4thC19.1%6.3%
5thH16.9%6%

On This Day in Wordle: July 6

Answers from the same date in other years:

YearPuzzleAnswer
2026#1843TODDY
2025#1478ATRIA
2024#1113SCOFF
2023#747WINDY
2022#382FLUFF

Wordle #17 FAQ

What was the Wordle answer on July 6, 2021?

The answer to Wordle #17 on July 6, 2021 was BENCH.

Was Wordle #17 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 #17?

Of the popular openers, CRANE did best, leaving 1 possible answer after the first guess.