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Hurdle is the five-in-one word game from Dictionary.com: it stacks five Wordle-style puzzles into a single daily run, and the way they connect is what sets it apart from a plain word game. You solve four standard five-letter words, then face a Final Hurdle that ties the day together. For today's words and the walkthrough, see the Hurdle hints and answer page; this guide covers how the chain works and how to keep your streak.
What is Hurdle?
Hurdle is built on the familiar Wordle format — guess a hidden five-letter word using color feedback — but runs it five times in sequence. The twist: the answer to each hurdle becomes the first guess of the next one, so a clean solve hands you a head start, while a sloppy one carries no momentum. The fifth and final round, the Final Hurdle, leans on everything the first four revealed.
How the colors work
After each guess, every tile is colored just like Wordle:
- 🟩 Green — correct letter in the correct spot.
- 🟨 Yellow — correct letter, wrong spot.
- ⬛ Gray — the letter isn't in the word.
You get up to six guesses on each of the first four hurdles, and solving one automatically seeds its answer as guess one of the next. The fifth round — the Final Hurdle — works differently: your four earlier answers are filled in as the opening guesses, leaving just two tries to crack the last word.
Strategy for a clean run
- Protect your early guesses. Because each solved word feeds forward, finishing a hurdle in few attempts keeps pressure off the rounds that follow.
- Use the carried-over word as information, not a throwaway. When the previous answer auto-fills, read its colors carefully — it's a free clue toward the new word.
- Lead with letter coverage. A strong, vowel-rich opener (SLATE, CRANE, AUDIO) does the same heavy lifting here as in Wordle: rule out or lock down as many common letters as possible early.
- Bank information for the Final Hurdle. With only two guesses left in the last round, the patterns and leftover letters you remember from the first four words are what get you across.
- Don't burn guesses chasing rare words. Stick to common five-letter words; the game's answers skew everyday, not obscure.
A few quick facts
Hurdle is free to play, refreshes once a day, and gives you a fresh five-stage run every time. Because the rounds chain together — and the Final Hurdle leaves you only two guesses — a fast, accurate start is the single biggest factor in finishing all five.
For today's five words and a step-by-step solve, head to the Hurdle hints and answer page, updated daily.
FAQ
How many puzzles are in Hurdle?
Five. Hurdle stacks four standard five-letter word rounds plus a Final Hurdle into one daily run, and each solved word carries forward as the first guess of the next round.
How many guesses do you get in Hurdle?
Six on each of the first four hurdles. The Final Hurdle is tighter: your four earlier answers are filled in automatically, leaving just two guesses to solve the last word.
What is the Final Hurdle?
The fifth and last round. Your four previous answers are pre-filled as the opening guesses, so you have two attempts to crack the final word — the better you did on hurdles one through four, the more letters you carry in.
Is Hurdle free?
Yes. Hurdle is free to play on Dictionary.com, with a new five-stage puzzle each day.
What's a good Hurdle starting word?
The same strong Wordle openers work well: vowel-rich, common-consonant words like SLATE, CRANE or AUDIO rule out the most letters early, which matters even more when five rounds depend on a fast start.
What do the Hurdle colors mean?
Green means the letter is correct and in the right spot, yellow means it's in the word but in a different spot, and gray means the letter isn't in the word — identical to Wordle's feedback.
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