Word Lists · A + W
5 Letter Words With A and W
Every five-letter word that contains both A and W, in any position — answer-eligible words flagged in green, tap any word to play.
How Many 5-Letter Words Have A and W?
385 words contain both A and W, 59 of them answer-eligible. If you need a follow-up that keeps both letters, WATER does the most work — about 95.5% of the remaining pool cleared.
Nearly half the list agrees on one square: A in the 2nd, 185 words out of 385 (BAWDY, GAWKY, MACAW, TAWNY among them). It is the percentage play when nothing else separates two candidates.
312 words on this list place A and W in neighbouring squares, AWAIT, AWAKE, AWARD, AWARE included — a pattern worth probing before you assume the two are far apart.
Green-dotted words are answer-eligible — the everyday vocabulary the daily puzzle actually draws from — while hollow-dotted words are valid guesses you can play but that will never be the solution. Flip on Answers only to focus on the 59 words that can truly win the board.
Best Wordle Words With A and W
When A and W are both in play, the strongest guess keeps them and rules out as many remaining answers as possible. These three score highest across all 2296 possible answers:
- 01 WATER — eliminates about 95.5% of remaining answers on average.
- 02 WASTE — eliminates about 95.2% of remaining answers on average.
- 03 SWEAR — eliminates about 95.1% of remaining answers on average.
The Full List, Grouped by First Letter
Grouping by first letter is lopsided here: the W group alone holds 162 words against 385 total. If your board has not fixed square one yet, that is where the odds sit.
A/W Words That Have Been Wordle Answers
The daily puzzle has drawn on this shape heavily: 52 words with A and W have been answers, leaving 9 answer-eligible words unused. Recent ones include WAKEN (#1918), WAGER (#1903), PRAWN (#1890), PSHAW (#1852), the latest 1 days ago on 2026-09-19. The run goes back to DWARF on 2021-06-30.
| Puzzle | Date | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| #1918 | 2026-09-19 | WAKEN |
| #1903 | 2026-09-04 | WAGER |
| #1890 | 2026-08-22 | PRAWN |
| #1852 | 2026-07-15 | PSHAW |
| #1842 | 2026-07-05 | SWAMI |
| #1816 | 2026-06-09 | WHARF |
| #1793 | 2026-05-17 | BYLAW |
| #1790 | 2026-05-14 | WAVER |
| #1766 | 2026-04-20 | WEAVE |
| #1746 | 2026-03-31 | SWAMP |
| #1708 | 2026-02-21 | AWAKE |
| #1675 | 2026-01-19 | WAXEN |
Never used as an answer
9 answer-eligible A/W words have never been the solution: BRAWL, DRAWL, SPAWN, SWARM, SWASH, SWEAR, WAIVE, WARTY, WRACK . Wordle avoided repeats entirely for its first 1,688 puzzles and only began reusing old answers in February 2026 — 24 times so far. An unused word is still the likelier bet, just no longer a certainty; see how repeats work for the full picture.
The other 326 words on this list are valid guesses the game accepts but never chooses as a solution. They still make useful probes for placing A and W, but when you guess to win, a green-dotted answer word is the smarter pick.
Where A and W Land in 5-Letter Words
The whole puzzle now is placement, so here is exactly where each letter tends to sit across the 385 words. Try the busiest square first.
| Position | Words with A here | Words with W here |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 36 | 162 |
| 2nd | 185 | 67 |
| 3rd | 115 | 95 |
| 4th | 63 | 42 |
| 5th | 23 | 24 |
Play a candidate that seats each letter in its busiest square and one of two good things happens: a tile turns green and you have locked a position, or it turns yellow again and you have eliminated the single most likely slot in one move.
How to Use These Words to Win Wordle
- Lead with the busiest square. A in slot 2 covers 185 of these 385 words and W in slot 1 covers 162 — try that shape before rarer placements.
- Favor distinct letters early. 298 of the 385 words here use five different letters and 87 repeat one.
- Then check for repeats. 40 of these words double up on A or W — AWAIT, AWAKE, AWARD, AWARE among them. If your clues fit but nothing on the shortlist works, a repeat is the usual culprit.
- Lean toward an unused word. Repeats stayed at zero until February 2026 and number just 24 in 1916 puzzles, so the 9 never-used A/W words above remain the stronger bet.
Full strategy lives in the how-to-play guide, and you can practice any time on the unlimited Wordle board.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many 5-letter words have A and W?
There are 385 valid five-letter words that contain both A and W in any position, and 59 of them can be a Wordle answer. Turn on "Answers only" above to narrow the list to answer-eligible words.
What is the best word to guess with A and W confirmed?
WATER — it keeps both letters and still eliminates about 95.5% of the remaining answer pool. WATER, WASTE, SWEAR are the top three by that measure. See more best Wordle starting words.
Where do A and W usually sit in these words?
A most often lands in the 2nd position (185 of 385 words) and W in the 1st (162). That is a strong enough lean to guess on directly.
Which A/W words have been Wordle answers?
52 of them, out of 1916 puzzles so far. The most recent was WAKEN (#1918) on 2026-09-19, and the first was DWARF on 2021-06-30. 9 answer-eligible words have never been used, including BRAWL, DRAWL, SPAWN, SWARM. Browse the full past Wordle answers archive.
Do these words work in hard mode?
Yes. Once A and W show as present you must reuse them, so this is exactly your hard-mode candidate set. 298 of the 385 words use five distinct letters and 87 repeat one, which matters because hard mode will not let you drop a confirmed letter to test elsewhere — see the how-to-play guide.
Are there 5-letter words with A and W next to each other?
312 of the 385 words place A and W in neighbouring squares: ADAWS, AJWAN, ALWAY, ASWAY, AWAIT, AWAKE, among others. The remaining 73 keep at least one square between them.
How many A/W words have no repeated letters?
298 of the 385. Those are the ones that reveal the most board per guess, so they are the better probes early on. The other 87 double up on some letter, and 60% of the full list carries two or more vowels. For a full clue-by-clue solve, send your board to the Wordle Solver.