faq
Frequently asked questions
Is the word of the day the same for everyone?
Yes. All players look for the same word, so you can compare your number of guesses with your friends and make it onto the leaderboard.
When does the word change?
At midnight New York time (Eastern Time). Once you've found it, a countdown shows how long until the next word.
Why was my word rejected?
The game only knows the words in its model (about 68,000). Typos, very rare words, uncommon proper names and multi-word expressions aren't accepted. A rejected word doesn't count as a guess.
Do capitals and plurals matter?
No. Capitals are ignored, and plurals and other inflected forms count as their base form: “cats” scores exactly like “cat”, and if the secret word is “cat”, guessing “cats” wins.
What does “57th closest” mean?
It's your guess's place among the 1,000 words the model rates closest to the secret word: only 56 words are closer. The gauge fills up as you get nearer, and stays empty for words outside the 1,000 closest. Unlike the score, which depends on how many close neighbours the secret word has, the rank means the same thing every day.
Why does a seemingly unrelated word get a good score?
The score measures how similar the contexts are in which words appear, not their definitions. Opposites, or words often mentioned together, can therefore be close. The how it works page explains this in detail.
Can the word of the day be a verb or an adjective?
Yes. It's drawn from the 10,000 most common English words, whatever their type. It's always given in its base form: “walk”, not “walked”; “mouse”, not “mice”.
I lost my game when I switched phones.
Today's guesses are kept in your browser: they don't follow you from one device to another. Your account does, though: log in again with the same name#tag to get your wins and your streak back.
I forgot my tag.
Your tag is shown in the profile menu on any device where you're still logged in. Otherwise, get in touch with your username and the dates of a few wins: we'll help you find it.
How does the streak work?
Your streak counts the consecutive days on which you found the word. It stays on display as long as your last win was today or yesterday; a day without a win resets it to zero.
Can I see the words from previous days?
Yes, they're all in the archive, with the number of players who found them and the words the model rates closest. Today's word only shows up there once the day is over.
How do I play with friends?
Open multi, create a private room and send its link or its four-character code. You choose the rules (race or co-op, length) and start the game when everyone is in.
Is there a French version?
Yes: devinelemot.fr is the original game, with its own French word of the day.
Is the game free?
Yes, completely. It may show ads to cover hosting costs; your cookie choices are explained in the privacy policy.