Wordle Answer Today #1,707 – February 20, 2026 | Full Solution & Hints

Wordle #1,707: A Puzzle That Stinks (In a Good Way)

Wordle #1,707 has arrived, and it’s a bit of a stinker. Not in a bad way, mind you—it’s a perfectly valid word—but it might just leave you scratching your head for a moment. The puzzle presents a classic challenge: a word that feels common in conversation but has a spelling pattern that doesn’t come up every day in Wordle. According to the New York Times’ own WordleBot, the average player is taking about 4.1 moves to crack this one, whether they’re playing on easy or hard mode. That suggests a moderate but satisfying level of difficulty.

Ready for some help? Below, you’ll find progressive hints, a full strategy breakdown, and the ultimate answer. Consider this your official spoiler warning. If you want to solve today’s Wordle (#1,707) on your own, turn back now! Otherwise, let’s dive into the clues.

Today’s Wordle Hints (Progressive Help)

Stuck but don’t want the full answer just yet? Use these hints, progressing from gentle nudges to major clues.

Hint Level 1: Gentle Nudges

Word Type: It can be a verb or a noun.
Number of Vowels: This word contains just one vowel.
General Theme: It’s often associated with a strong, unpleasant smell.

Hint Level 2: Getting Warmer

Starting Letter: The word begins with the letter S.
Vowel Position: The single vowel is an A, and it’s the second letter.
Context Clue: It’s a simple past tense of a more common verb.

Hint Level 3: Advanced Clues

Letter Structure: The pattern is S T A _ _.
Related Synonyms: Reeked, smelled bad, ponged.
Common Usage: Often used informally: “That garbage really stank up the kitchen.”

Difficulty Analysis: Why Today’s Wordle is Tricky

Step-by-Step Solving Guide

Here’s how a strategic solve might have unfolded, using optimal starting words.

1. The Recommended Opener: Starting with a word like SLATE is brilliant here. It would give you the ‘S’ and ‘T’ in yellow and the ‘A’ in green, immediately locking down the structure as S _ A _ _ and confirming three key letters.

2. The Strategic Second Guess: With ‘A’ green in position three, you want to test common consonants and pin down the ending. A word like STAIN is perfect. It would turn ‘S’ and ‘T’ green, move ‘N’ to yellow, and rule out ‘I’. This leaves very few plausible options.

3. The Elimination Process: At this point, you know the word is S T A _ _. With an ‘N’ confirmed but misplaced, and common letters like L, C, K, R, and D to consider, you might test STAND. This feels right but leaves the ‘N’ problem unsolved.

4. The “Aha!” Moment: Realizing ‘N’ can’t be in the last spot (from STAND) forces you to consider where it fits. The only common five-letter word starting with “STA” that has an ‘N’ not at the end is STANK. The final ‘K’ is the sneaky, less-common letter that seals the deal.

5. Recommended Attempts: Solving this in 3-4 attempts is excellent. The WordleBot average of 4.1 is spot-on.

Specific Strategies For This Puzzle

If you got stuck today, here’s what might have tripped you up and how to get past it.

• Stuck on the Ending? If you had S T A _ _, the temptation is to use a common consonant like D (STAND) or L (STALL). Remember to test the less-frequent ‘K’. It often follows ‘N’ in words like “THANK” or “BLANK.”
• Avoiding the ‘N’ Trap: The letter ‘N’ was the key pivot. If your guesses placed it at the end and it stayed yellow, you had to mentally move it to the fourth position, which is a less common pattern.
• Today’s Unique Pattern: The “ANK” ending is the real signature. Once you considered it, the answer became clear. Other “STA_” words like STACK or STAMP use more predictable endings.

Interesting Word Stats

How does “STANK” stack up in the grand scheme of words?

• Frequency in English: It’s a moderately common word, especially in informal speech and writing.
• Common Word List Position: It ranks significantly lower than its root word “STINK” but is far from obscure.
• Comparison to Past Puzzles: This is more straightforward than recent words with double letters or obscure roots, but trickier than simple nouns like “PLANT” or “HOIST.”
• Estimated Player Success Rate: Given the 4.1 average, we estimate a very high solve rate (likely over 95%), but a lower chance of a stellar 3-guess score.

For the Truly Curious

The word stank has a direct and pungent history. It comes from the Middle English stanken, which itself derives from the Old English stincan, meaning “to smell.” Interestingly, it was originally a standard past tense of “stink,” though “stunk” has become more common for the past participle. In modern slang, “stank” can also refer to a strong attitude or style, often in a positive way (“She’s got stank on her dance moves”). In other languages, the concept is just as vivid: in German, stank is also the simple past tense of stinken.

Yesterday’s Answer Recap

For those catching up, yesterday’s Wordle answer for #1,706 was HOIST. It was a slightly easier puzzle, with a more familiar word structure. Compared to today’s “STANK,” “HOIST” had a more predictable vowel combination (OI) but shared the trait of having four very common letters. If you solved HOIST quickly, STANK probably required one extra moment of thought to nail down its unique ending.

General Wordle Strategy Tips

Learning from today’s puzzle can make you a better player tomorrow.

1. Respect the ‘K’: It’s not a super common ending letter. When you’re down to your last guesses and have a blank at the end, consider ‘K’ as a possibility, especially if it follows an ‘N’.
2. Past Tense is a Common Trick: Don’t forget simple past tense verbs (like STANK, SHOOK, SPOKE). They are valid Wordle answers and can be the simple solution you’re overlooking.
3. Use Your Yellow Letters Strategically: Today’s key was moving the yellow ‘N’ from the end to the middle. When a letter stays yellow, force it into every other possible position in your next guess.
4. Today’s Best Starters: Based on today’s letters, openers like SLATE, CRANE, or SALET are fantastic as they heavily feature S, T, A, N, and E.