Whether you’re just looking for a few quick hints to set you on the right path for today’s Wordle or need all the help you can get to find the answer for October 18 (486), everything you need is just below. I’ve got handy clues, the complete solution to today’s puzzle, and if you’ve always wanted to learn how to play I can even offer links to our Wordle guides.
I do love a good first guess. My opener revealed not only a few yellows but also a nice solid green right in the middle—the perfect pillar to arrange my follow-ups around.
Wordle hint
Today’s Wordle: A hint for Tuesday, October 18
The answer today is the “to be” part of Hamlet’s most famous speech, another word for living, being real, or simply “being” at all. You’ll need to find two vowels to solve this one.
Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day
If there’s one thing better than playing Wordle, it’s playing Wordle well, which is why I’m going to share a few quick tips to help set you on the path to success:
A good opener contains a balanced mix of unique vowels and consonants. A tactical second guess helps to narrow down the pool of letters quickly.The solution may contain repeat letters.
There’s no time pressure beyond making sure it’s done by midnight. So there’s no reason to not treat the game like a casual newspaper crossword and come back to it later if you’re coming up blank.
Wordle answer
(Image credit: Josh Wardle)
What is the Wordle 486 answer?
Let’s save that win streak. The answer to the October 18 (486) Wordle is EXIST.
Previous answers
Wordle archive: Which words have been used
The more past Wordle answers you can cram into your memory banks, the better your chances of guessing today’s Wordle answer without accidentally picking a solution that’s already been used. Past Wordle answers can also give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle solving fresh.
Here are some recent Wordle solutions:
October 17: STEINOctober 16: SPADEOctober 15: CATCHOctober 14: FLOOROctober 13: EQUALOctober 12: IONICOctober 11: VALIDOctober 10: ENJOYOctober 9: HOWDYOctober 8: VIGOR
Learn more about Wordle
Every day Wordle presents you with six rows of five boxes, and it’s up to you to work out which secret five-letter word is hiding inside them.
You’ll want to start with a strong word like ALERT—something containing multiple vowels, common consonants, and no repeat letters. Hit Enter and the boxes will show you which letters you’ve got right or wrong. If a box turns ⬛️, it means that letter isn’t in the secret word at all. 🟨 means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. 🟩 means you’ve got the right letter in the right spot.
You’ll want your second go to compliment the first, using another “good” word to cover any common letters you missed last time while also trying to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn’t present in today’s answer.
After that it’s just a case of using what you’ve learned to narrow your guesses down to the right word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words (so no filling the boxes with EEEEE to see if there’s an E). Don’t forget letters can repeat too (ex: BOOKS).
If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you’d like to find out which words have already been used you’ll find those below.
Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn’t long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it’s only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes.
