what does the word essay mean to you

• More from M-W
• To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

Definition of essay

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Definition of essay  (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

• composition

attempt , try , endeavor , essay , strive mean to make an effort to accomplish an end.

attempt stresses the initiation or beginning of an effort.

try is often close to attempt but may stress effort or experiment made in the hope of testing or proving something.

endeavor heightens the implications of exertion and difficulty.

essay implies difficulty but also suggests tentative trying or experimenting.

strive implies great exertion against great difficulty and specifically suggests persistent effort.

Examples of essay in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'essay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle French essai , ultimately from Late Latin exagium act of weighing, from Latin ex- + agere to drive — more at agent

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing essay

• essay question
• photo - essay

Articles Related to essay

To 'Essay' or 'Assay'?

You'll know the difference if you give it the old college essay

Dictionary Entries Near essay

Cite this entry.

“Essay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essay. Accessed 23 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of essay.

Kids Definition of essay  (Entry 2 of 2)

More from Merriam-Webster on essay

Nglish: Translation of essay for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of essay for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about essay

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the day.

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

8 grammar terms you used to know, but forgot, homophones, homographs, and homonyms, commonly misspelled words, how to use em dashes (—), en dashes (–) , and hyphens (-), absent letters that are heard anyway, popular in wordplay, the words of the week - mar. 22, 12 words for signs of spring, 9 superb owl words, 'gaslighting,' 'woke,' 'democracy,' and other top lookups, 10 words for lesser-known games and sports, games & quizzes.

Word Choice

What this handout is about.

This handout can help you revise your papers for word-level clarity, eliminate wordiness and avoid clichés, find the words that best express your ideas, and choose words that suit an academic audience.

Introduction

Writing is a series of choices. As you work on a paper, you choose your topic, your approach, your sources, and your thesis; when it’s time to write, you have to choose the words you will use to express your ideas and decide how you will arrange those words into sentences and paragraphs. As you revise your draft, you make more choices. You might ask yourself, “Is this really what I mean?” or “Will readers understand this?” or “Does this sound good?” Finding words that capture your meaning and convey that meaning to your readers is challenging. When your instructors write things like “awkward,” “vague,” or “wordy” on your draft, they are letting you know that they want you to work on word choice. This handout will explain some common issues related to word choice and give you strategies for choosing the best words as you revise your drafts.

As you read further into the handout, keep in mind that it can sometimes take more time to “save” words from your original sentence than to write a brand new sentence to convey the same meaning or idea. Don’t be too attached to what you’ve already written; if you are willing to start a sentence fresh, you may be able to choose words with greater clarity.

For tips on making more substantial revisions, take a look at our handouts on reorganizing drafts and revising drafts .

“Awkward,” “vague,” and “unclear” word choice

So: you write a paper that makes perfect sense to you, but it comes back with “awkward” scribbled throughout the margins. Why, you wonder, are instructors so fond of terms like “awkward”? Most instructors use terms like this to draw your attention to sentences they had trouble understanding and to encourage you to rewrite those sentences more clearly.

Difficulties with word choice aren’t the only cause of awkwardness, vagueness, or other problems with clarity. Sometimes a sentence is hard to follow because there is a grammatical problem with it or because of the syntax (the way the words and phrases are put together). Here’s an example: “Having finished with studying, the pizza was quickly eaten.” This sentence isn’t hard to understand because of the words I chose—everybody knows what studying, pizza, and eating are. The problem here is that readers will naturally assume that first bit of the sentence “(Having finished with studying”) goes with the next noun that follows it—which, in this case, is “the pizza”! It doesn’t make a lot of sense to imply that the pizza was studying. What I was actually trying to express was something more like this: “Having finished with studying, the students quickly ate the pizza.” If you have a sentence that has been marked “awkward,” “vague,” or “unclear,” try to think about it from a reader’s point of view—see if you can tell where it changes direction or leaves out important information.

Sometimes, though, problems with clarity are a matter of word choice. See if you recognize any of these issues:

• Misused words —the word doesn’t actually mean what the writer thinks it does. Example : Cree Indians were a monotonous culture until French and British settlers arrived. Revision: Cree Indians were a homogenous culture.
• Words with unwanted connotations or meanings. Example : I sprayed the ants in their private places. Revision: I sprayed the ants in their hiding places.
• Using a pronoun when readers can’t tell whom/what it refers to. Example : My cousin Jake hugged my brother Trey, even though he didn’t like him very much. Revision: My cousin Jake hugged my brother Trey, even though Jake doesn’t like Trey very much.
• Jargon or technical terms that make readers work unnecessarily hard. Maybe you need to use some of these words because they are important terms in your field, but don’t throw them in just to “sound smart.” Example : The dialectical interface between neo-Platonists and anti-disestablishment Catholics offers an algorithm for deontological thought. Revision : The dialogue between neo-Platonists and certain Catholic thinkers is a model for deontological thought.
• Loaded language. Sometimes we as writers know what we mean by a certain word, but we haven’t ever spelled that out for readers. We rely too heavily on that word, perhaps repeating it often, without clarifying what we are talking about. Example : Society teaches young girls that beauty is their most important quality. In order to prevent eating disorders and other health problems, we must change society. Revision : Contemporary American popular media, like magazines and movies, teach young girls that beauty is their most important quality. In order to prevent eating disorders and other health problems, we must change the images and role models girls are offered.

Sometimes the problem isn’t choosing exactly the right word to express an idea—it’s being “wordy,” or using words that your reader may regard as “extra” or inefficient. Take a look at the following list for some examples. On the left are some phrases that use three, four, or more words where fewer will do; on the right are some shorter substitutes:

Keep an eye out for wordy constructions in your writing and see if you can replace them with more concise words or phrases.

In academic writing, it’s a good idea to limit your use of clichés. Clichés are catchy little phrases so frequently used that they have become trite, corny, or annoying. They are problematic because their overuse has diminished their impact and because they require several words where just one would do.

The main way to avoid clichés is first to recognize them and then to create shorter, fresher equivalents. Ask yourself if there is one word that means the same thing as the cliché. If there isn’t, can you use two or three words to state the idea your own way? Below you will see five common clichés, with some alternatives to their right. As a challenge, see how many alternatives you can create for the final two examples.

Try these yourself:

Writing for an academic audience

When you choose words to express your ideas, you have to think not only about what makes sense and sounds best to you, but what will make sense and sound best to your readers. Thinking about your audience and their expectations will help you make decisions about word choice.

Some writers think that academic audiences expect them to “sound smart” by using big or technical words. But the most important goal of academic writing is not to sound smart—it is to communicate an argument or information clearly and convincingly. It is true that academic writing has a certain style of its own and that you, as a student, are beginning to learn to read and write in that style. You may find yourself using words and grammatical constructions that you didn’t use in your high school writing. The danger is that if you consciously set out to “sound smart” and use words or structures that are very unfamiliar to you, you may produce sentences that your readers can’t understand.

When writing for your professors, think simplicity. Using simple words does not indicate simple thoughts. In an academic argument paper, what makes the thesis and argument sophisticated are the connections presented in simple, clear language.

Keep in mind, though, that simple and clear doesn’t necessarily mean casual. Most instructors will not be pleased if your paper looks like an instant message or an email to a friend. It’s usually best to avoid slang and colloquialisms. Take a look at this example and ask yourself how a professor would probably respond to it if it were the thesis statement of a paper: “Moulin Rouge really bit because the singing sucked and the costume colors were nasty, KWIM?”

Selecting and using key terms

When writing academic papers, it is often helpful to find key terms and use them within your paper as well as in your thesis. This section comments on the crucial difference between repetition and redundancy of terms and works through an example of using key terms in a thesis statement.

Repetition vs. redundancy

These two phenomena are not necessarily the same. Repetition can be a good thing. Sometimes we have to use our key terms several times within a paper, especially in topic sentences. Sometimes there is simply no substitute for the key terms, and selecting a weaker term as a synonym can do more harm than good. Repeating key terms emphasizes important points and signals to the reader that the argument is still being supported. This kind of repetition can give your paper cohesion and is done by conscious choice.

In contrast, if you find yourself frustrated, tiredly repeating the same nouns, verbs, or adjectives, or making the same point over and over, you are probably being redundant. In this case, you are swimming aimlessly around the same points because you have not decided what your argument really is or because you are truly fatigued and clarity escapes you. Refer to the “Strategies” section below for ideas on revising for redundancy.

Building clear thesis statements

Writing clear sentences is important throughout your writing. For the purposes of this handout, let’s focus on the thesis statement—one of the most important sentences in academic argument papers. You can apply these ideas to other sentences in your papers.

A common problem with writing good thesis statements is finding the words that best capture both the important elements and the significance of the essay’s argument. It is not always easy to condense several paragraphs or several pages into concise key terms that, when combined in one sentence, can effectively describe the argument.

However, taking the time to find the right words offers writers a significant edge. Concise and appropriate terms will help both the writer and the reader keep track of what the essay will show and how it will show it. Graders, in particular, like to see clearly stated thesis statements. (For more on thesis statements in general, please refer to our handout .)

Example : You’ve been assigned to write an essay that contrasts the river and shore scenes in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. You work on it for several days, producing three versions of your thesis:

Version 1 : There are many important river and shore scenes in Huckleberry Finn.

Version 2 : The contrasting river and shore scenes in Huckleberry Finn suggest a return to nature.

Version 3 : Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

Let’s consider the word choice issues in these statements. In Version 1, the word “important”—like “interesting”—is both overused and vague; it suggests that the author has an opinion but gives very little indication about the framework of that opinion. As a result, your reader knows only that you’re going to talk about river and shore scenes, but not what you’re going to say. Version 2 is an improvement: the words “return to nature” give your reader a better idea where the paper is headed. On the other hand, they still do not know how this return to nature is crucial to your understanding of the novel.

Finally, you come up with Version 3, which is a stronger thesis because it offers a sophisticated argument and the key terms used to make this argument are clear. At least three key terms or concepts are evident: the contrast between river and shore scenes, a return to nature, and American democratic ideals.

By itself, a key term is merely a topic—an element of the argument but not the argument itself. The argument, then, becomes clear to the reader through the way in which you combine key terms.

Strategies for successful word choice

• Be careful when using words you are unfamiliar with. Look at how they are used in context and check their dictionary definitions.
• Be careful when using the thesaurus. Each word listed as a synonym for the word you’re looking up may have its own unique connotations or shades of meaning. Use a dictionary to be sure the synonym you are considering really fits what you are trying to say.
• Under the present conditions of our society, marriage practices generally demonstrate a high degree of homogeneity.
• In our culture, people tend to marry others who are like themselves. (Longman, p. 452)
• Before you revise for accurate and strong adjectives, make sure you are first using accurate and strong nouns and verbs. For example, if you were revising the sentence “This is a good book that tells about the Revolutionary War,” think about whether “book” and “tells” are as strong as they could be before you worry about “good.” (A stronger sentence might read “The novel describes the experiences of a soldier during the Revolutionary War.” “Novel” tells us what kind of book it is, and “describes” tells us more about how the book communicates information.)
• Try the slash/option technique, which is like brainstorming as you write. When you get stuck, write out two or more choices for a questionable word or a confusing sentence, e.g., “questionable/inaccurate/vague/inappropriate.” Pick the word that best indicates your meaning or combine different terms to say what you mean.
• Look for repetition. When you find it, decide if it is “good” repetition (using key terms that are crucial and helpful to meaning) or “bad” repetition (redundancy or laziness in reusing words).
• Write your thesis in five different ways. Make five different versions of your thesis sentence. Compose five sentences that express your argument. Try to come up with four alternatives to the thesis sentence you’ve already written. Find five possible ways to communicate your argument in one sentence to your reader. (We’ve just used this technique—which of the last five sentences do you prefer?)Whenever we write a sentence we make choices. Some are less obvious than others, so that it can often feel like we’ve written the sentence the only way we know how. By writing out five different versions of your thesis, you can begin to see your range of choices. The final version may be a combination of phrasings and words from all five versions, or the one version that says it best. By literally spelling out some possibilities for yourself, you will be able to make better decisions.
• Read your paper out loud and at… a… slow… pace. You can do this alone or with a friend, roommate, TA, etc. When read out loud, your written words should make sense to both you and other listeners. If a sentence seems confusing, rewrite it to make the meaning clear.
• Instead of reading the paper itself, put it down and just talk through your argument as concisely as you can. If your listener quickly and easily comprehends your essay’s main point and significance, you should then make sure that your written words are as clear as your oral presentation was. If, on the other hand, your listener keeps asking for clarification, you will need to work on finding the right terms for your essay. If you do this in exchange with a friend or classmate, rest assured that whether you are the talker or the listener, your articulation skills will develop.
• Have someone not familiar with the issue read the paper and point out words or sentences they find confusing. Do not brush off this reader’s confusion by assuming they simply doesn’t know enough about the topic. Instead, rewrite the sentences so that your “outsider” reader can follow along at all times.
• Check out the Writing Center’s handouts on style , passive voice , and proofreading for more tips.

Questions to ask yourself

• Am I sure what each word I use really means? Am I positive, or should I look it up?
• Have I found the best word or just settled for the most obvious, or the easiest, one?
• Am I trying too hard to impress my reader?
• What’s the easiest way to write this sentence? (Sometimes it helps to answer this question by trying it out loud. How would you say it to someone?)
• What are the key terms of my argument?
• Can I outline out my argument using only these key terms? What others do I need? Which do I not need?
• Have I created my own terms, or have I simply borrowed what looked like key ones from the assignment? If I’ve borrowed the terms, can I find better ones in my own vocabulary, the texts, my notes, the dictionary, or the thesaurus to make myself clearer?
• Are my key terms too specific? (Do they cover the entire range of my argument?) Can I think of specific examples from my sources that fall under the key term?
• Are my key terms too vague? (Do they cover more than the range of my argument?)

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Cook, Claire Kehrwald. 1985. Line by Line: How to Improve Your Own Writing . Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Grossman, Ellie. 1997. The Grammatically Correct Handbook: A Lively and Unorthodox Review of Common English for the Linguistically Challenged . New York: Hyperion.

Houghton Mifflin. 1996. The American Heritage Book of English Usage: A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English . Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

O’Conner, Patricia. 2010. Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English , 3rd ed. New York: Penguin Publishing Group.

Tarshis, Barry. 1998. How to Be Your Own Best Editor: The Toolkit for Everyone Who Writes . New York: Three Rivers Press.

Williams, Joseph, and Joseph Bizup. 2017. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace , 12th ed. Boston: Pearson.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of essay in English

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

• I want to finish off this essay before I go to bed .
• His essay was full of spelling errors .
• Have you given that essay in yet ?
• Have you handed in your history essay yet ?
• I'd like to discuss the first point in your essay.
• boilerplate
• composition
• dissertation
• essay question
• peer review
• go after someone
• go all out idiom
• go down swinging/fighting idiom
• go for it idiom
• go for someone
• shoot the works idiom
• smarten (someone/something) up
• smarten up your act idiom
• square the circle idiom
• step on the gas idiom

essay | Intermediate English

Examples of essay, collocations with essay.

These are words often used in combination with essay .

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

Translations of essay

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

throw your voice

to make something that is not real, such as a toy, seem to be speaking

Paying attention and listening intently: talking about concentration

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
• English    Noun Verb
• Intermediate    Noun
• Collocations
• Translations
• All translations

Add essay to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.

Tips for Writing an Effective Application Essay

How to Write an Effective Essay

Writing an essay for college admission gives you a chance to use your authentic voice and show your personality. It's an excellent opportunity to personalize your application beyond your academic credentials, and a well-written essay can have a positive influence come decision time.

Want to know how to draft an essay for your college application ? Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing.

Tips for Essay Writing

A typical college application essay, also known as a personal statement, is 400-600 words. Although that may seem short, writing about yourself can be challenging. It's not something you want to rush or put off at the last moment. Think of it as a critical piece of the application process. Follow these tips to write an impactful essay that can work in your favor.

1. Start Early.

Few people write well under pressure. Try to complete your first draft a few weeks before you have to turn it in. Many advisers recommend starting as early as the summer before your senior year in high school. That way, you have ample time to think about the prompt and craft the best personal statement possible.

You don't have to work on your essay every day, but you'll want to give yourself time to revise and edit. You may discover that you want to change your topic or think of a better way to frame it. Either way, the sooner you start, the better.

2. Understand the Prompt and Instructions.

Before you begin the writing process, take time to understand what the college wants from you. The worst thing you can do is skim through the instructions and submit a piece that doesn't even fit the bare minimum requirements or address the essay topic. Look at the prompt, consider the required word count, and note any unique details each school wants.

3. Create a Strong Opener.

Students seeking help for their application essays often have trouble getting things started. It's a challenging writing process. Finding the right words to start can be the hardest part.

Spending more time working on your opener is always a good idea. The opening sentence sets the stage for the rest of your piece. The introductory paragraph is what piques the interest of the reader, and it can immediately set your essay apart from the others.

4. Stay on Topic.

One of the most important things to remember is to keep to the essay topic. If you're applying to 10 or more colleges, it's easy to veer off course with so many application essays.

A common mistake many students make is trying to fit previously written essays into the mold of another college's requirements. This seems like a time-saving way to avoid writing new pieces entirely, but it often backfires. The result is usually a final piece that's generic, unfocused, or confusing. Always write a new essay for every application, no matter how long it takes.

5. Think About Your Response.

Don't try to guess what the admissions officials want to read. Your essay will be easier to write─and more exciting to read─if you’re genuinely enthusiastic about your subject. Here’s an example: If all your friends are writing application essays about covid-19, it may be a good idea to avoid that topic, unless during the pandemic you had a vivid, life-changing experience you're burning to share. Whatever topic you choose, avoid canned responses. Be creative.

6. Focus on You.

Essay prompts typically give you plenty of latitude, but panel members expect you to focus on a subject that is personal (although not overly intimate) and particular to you. Admissions counselors say the best essays help them learn something about the candidate that they would never know from reading the rest of the application.

7. Stay True to Your Voice.

Use your usual vocabulary. Avoid fancy language you wouldn't use in real life. Imagine yourself reading this essay aloud to a classroom full of people who have never met you. Keep a confident tone. Be wary of words and phrases that undercut that tone.

8. Be Specific and Factual.

Capitalize on real-life experiences. Your essay may give you the time and space to explain why a particular achievement meant so much to you. But resist the urge to exaggerate and embellish. Admissions counselors read thousands of essays each year. They can easily spot a fake.

9. Edit and Proofread.

When you finish the final draft, run it through the spell checker on your computer. Then don’t read your essay for a few days. You'll be more apt to spot typos and awkward grammar when you reread it. After that, ask a teacher, parent, or college student (preferably an English or communications major) to give it a quick read. While you're at it, double-check your word count.

Writing essays for college admission can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be. A well-crafted essay could be the deciding factor─in your favor. Keep these tips in mind, and you'll have no problem creating memorable pieces for every application.

What is the format of a college application essay?

Generally, essays for college admission follow a simple format that includes an opening paragraph, a lengthier body section, and a closing paragraph. You don't need to include a title, which will only take up extra space. Keep in mind that the exact format can vary from one college application to the next. Read the instructions and prompt for more guidance.

Most online applications will include a text box for your essay. If you're attaching it as a document, however, be sure to use a standard, 12-point font and use 1.5-spaced or double-spaced lines, unless the application specifies different font and spacing.

How do you start an essay?

The goal here is to use an attention grabber. Think of it as a way to reel the reader in and interest an admissions officer in what you have to say. There's no trick on how to start a college application essay. The best way you can approach this task is to flex your creative muscles and think outside the box.

You can start with openers such as relevant quotes, exciting anecdotes, or questions. Either way, the first sentence should be unique and intrigue the reader.

What should an essay include?

Every application essay you write should include details about yourself and past experiences. It's another opportunity to make yourself look like a fantastic applicant. Leverage your experiences. Tell a riveting story that fulfills the prompt.

What shouldn’t be included in an essay?

When writing a college application essay, it's usually best to avoid overly personal details and controversial topics. Although these topics might make for an intriguing essay, they can be tricky to express well. If you’re unsure if a topic is appropriate for your essay, check with your school counselor. An essay for college admission shouldn't include a list of achievements or academic accolades either. Your essay isn’t meant to be a rehashing of information the admissions panel can find elsewhere in your application.

How can you make your essay personal and interesting?

The best way to make your essay interesting is to write about something genuinely important to you. That could be an experience that changed your life or a valuable lesson that had an enormous impact on you. Whatever the case, speak from the heart, and be honest.

Is it OK to discuss mental health in an essay?

Mental health struggles can create challenges you must overcome during your education and could be an opportunity for you to show how you’ve handled challenges and overcome obstacles. If you’re considering writing your essay for college admission on this topic, consider talking to your school counselor or with an English teacher on how to frame the essay.

Related Articles

Today's Wordle hints and answer (#1008): How to solve the Saturday March 23 Wordle

Stuck on today's Wordle word for March 23? Read our hint or find the answer below!

Need a hint for today's Wordle answer? We have you covered with a list of hints to help you maintain that precious streak.

Every day, Wordle presents its legions of players with a deviously simple quandary: can you guess the right five-letter word within just six guesses? All you have to help you in finding the Wordle answer are the contextual clues you gain from each guess - but often, that's not enough. Wordle can be tricky, you see, and it's not unusual to look for a little bit of help if you want to preserve your year-long winstreak.

In this guide we'll offer up a selection of Wordle hints to help you figure out today's solution for Saturday March 23. Scroll down a bit further and we'll also reveal today's Wordle answer for 23/3, and a definition of the word if you need it.

Use our Wordle Solver tool to help you figure out the answer to any Wordle in moments! Just pop your current guesses in the grid and watch the tool instantly give you all the potential answers.

Wordle hints: Clues for today's Wordle on 23/3

Every day we offer up a number of Wordle hints that you can use to help figure out the solution. So have a read of our clues below and see if you can figure it out before skipping ahead to the answer:

What is the Wordle hint today?

Today's Wordle word is past tense and an outcome you'd want when baking bread.

What letter does today's Wordle begin with?

Today's Wordle word begins with R.

What letter does today's Wordle end with?

Today's Wordle word ends with N.

How many vowels are in today's Wordle?

Today's Wordle word contains 2 vowels.

Are there any double letters in today's Wordle?

There are 5 unique letters in today's Wordle word.

What's a good starting word for today's Wordle?

If you type in the starting word "snore", then four letters will turn yellow.

Still having some trouble finding today's Wordle solution? To preserve your win streak, scroll down to reveal today's Wordle answer, and a description of the word's meaning.

What is today's Wordle answer on March 23?

It's time to reveal the answer to today's Wordle for 23/3. The word is...

Congrats if you managed to correctly guess the Wordle answer today!

What does the Wordle answer today mean?

When something has risen, it has elevated from a low position to a high one. Past tense of the word 'rise'.

How to share your Wordle results without spoilers

Wordle has a built-in method of sharing your results in a spoiler-free way, so that those you sent it to don't see today's Wordle word itself, only the colours in your grid to show how well you did.

To share your Wordle results, simply complete (or lose) today's Wordle, and then wait a moment for the statistics panel to appear on your screen. Then tap the "SHARE" button.

On PC this will simply copy the text into your clipboard, so you can then paste the text anywhere you wish, whether it's a private message or a status update on social media. On iPhone or Android, when you tap the "SHARE" button you'll have the option either to copy to clipboard, or to share the results directly to another app on your phone (such as WhatsApp or Twitter).

Using the built-in sharing feature of Wordle is a much nicer way of sharing your results than potentially spoiling the answer to those who haven't yet had the chance to play today's Wordle themselves. So we highly encourage you to use it!

How to play Wordle

Wordle is wonderfully simple. The aim is to guess the correct five-letter word within six guesses. After each guess, the letters of your chosen word will highlight green if they're in the correct place, yellow if they're in the wrong place, or grey if they don't appear in the word at all.

Using these clues you can start to narrow down the correct word. Head over to the Wordle site to try it for yourself!

How did Wordle begin?

Wordle began life as a little family game created by software engineer Josh Wardle. He created the game so that he and his partner could play a fun little word game together during the pandemic, and they quickly realised that there was something quite special in this simple little guessing game. So after a bit of refinement, Wardle released it to the public on his website, Power Language .

The game was released in October 2021, and by the end of the year the game had two million daily players. It became a viral hit, thanks in large part to the ease with which players could share their results in a spoiler-free manner on Twitter and other social media sites. In January 2022, Wardle accepted an offer from the New York Times to acquire Wordle for a seven-figure sum. Well done, Mr Wardle. Well done indeed.

Are any Wordle words not allowed?

You can type in pretty much any five-letter word in the English language and Wordle will accept it as a guess. However, the answer is picked each day from a much smaller list of more common five-letter words. There are still thousands of possible answers, of course, but it means the answer will never be a word as obscure as, say, "THIOL", or "CAIRD", or "MALIC" (yes, those are all real words).

There are very occasional words which the New York Times will choose not to publish as the day's Wordle answer, perhaps for reasons relating to recent news or politics. For example, shortly after news broke that Roe v Wade might be overturned in the United States, the NYT decided to change the March 30th word from "FETUS" to "SHINE", as the feeling was that the word "fetus" was too politically charged a word in the context of recent events.

The New York Times has also been careful never to allow what they consider to be rude words as the answer to a Wordle puzzle. But of course there's nothing stopping you from using even the dirtiest of words as guesses, as long as they're accepted words in the dictionary, and as long as you realise that they'll never end up being the answer.

Is Wordle getting too easy for you?

If Wordle is starting to get too easy, there are a few ways you can make the game more challenging for yourself. The first choice is to turn on Hard Mode. You can do this on the Wordle site by clicking the cog icon in the top-right of the screen. Hard Mode means that any highlighted letters must be used in all future guesses. This stops you from using the common tactic of choosing two words like "OUNCE" and "PAINS" to test all five vowels early on.

You can take it up another notch by playing by what we call "Ultra-Hard" rules. This means that every guess you enter must potentially be the answer. If you were just playing on Hard Mode, and you typed "MOIST", and the "O" appeared yellow, then nothing would stop you from making "POLAR" as your next word, even though it couldn't possibly be the answer because you already know the "O" is in the wrong place. If you play by "Ultra-Hard" rules, that's not allowed. You must adhere to every clue, and make sure every single word you enter is potentially the answer.

If after all that Wordle is still too easy for you, then you could always try one of the many other Wordle-inspired games online that have cropped up over the past year. One of our favourites is Worldle , in which you must guess a country of the world based on its shape. There's also Waffle , which is about swapping letters in a completed grid to complete all the words; Moviedle , which shows you an entire movie in a tiny space of time and challenges you to guess the movie within six guesses; and Quordle , which tasks you with solving four Wordles at once with the same guesses.

If you need some help with future Wordles, be sure to check out our list of the best Wordle starting words for the greatest chance of success. You can also check out our archive of past Wordle answers to see which words have been chosen previously.

Past Wordle answers

Today's NYT Connections hint and answers (Sat, Mar 23)

Dragon's Dogma 2 beginner's tips and tricks

Palia: How to make money fast

Palia: Vampire Crab

Best Dragon's Dogma 2 vocations: Which vocation should you choose?

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands SHiFT codes

Dragon's Dogma 2: Best Archer skills and augments

How do you spell the Spanish slang - "essay" - meaning person?

used like, "what did you say essay?"

Hi and welcome to the forum.

It's " ese " and it means something like homeboy.

Ese is also like a thug. I wouldn't use it unless you knew the person really well.

Making educational experiences better for everyone.

Immersive learning for 25 languages

Marketplace for millions of educator-created resources

Fast, easy, reliable language certification

Fun educational games for kids

Comprehensive K-12 personalized learning

Trusted tutors for 300+ subjects

35,000+ worksheets, games, and lesson plans

Adaptive learning for English vocabulary

What Does Freedom Mean To You Essay

Freedom to me is the ability to do what I want, when I want, without having to answer to anyone. It’s being my own boss and making my own decisions. Freedom also means being able to travel and explore new places without worrying about money or work. To me, freedom is living life on my own terms and doing what makes me happy.

Freedom can have various meanings depending on the context in which it is used. Freedom is sometimes defined as a “political right.” In other situations, it may be defined simply as “the state of being free,” according to Merriam-Webster. Others may think of freedom as a precious gift that must be fought for.

Freedom, to me, is the ability to do what I want, when I want, without having to worry about the consequences. It is the ability to be myself and not have to pretend to be someone else. Freedom is being able to love who I want and not be judged for it. Freedom is also being able to voice my opinion without fear of retribution.

Freedom is important because it allows us to be our true selves. It gives us the ability to express ourselves fully and without restrictions. It also allows us to live our lives the way we want to, without interference from others.

These definitions are all for the same term, although their meaning vary. The word freedom can have various meanings, including as a political right, the quality or state of being free, and a struggle for liberty.

Freedom to some people can mean different things, but in general, it is a power or right that is not given by another person or authority, but one that is self-given. Freedom can also be seen as the ability to act and speak freely without restraint, as well as the absence of oppression. Freedom is a concept that has been around for centuries, and its meaning has changed over time.

Freedom, in my opinion, has the most conflict with the Merriam-Webster definition being “political right.” In order to exercise power, the government must take away liberties. The goal of a government is to establish control, and in order to establish control, it must limit freedoms.

In my opinion, the government’s ultimate goal is to have power over the people, and they use freedom as a tool to manipulate the people into submission. Freedom should be about having the ability to do what you want without interference, but instead it has become a means for furthering agendas.

When I think about what freedom means to me, I think about being able to do what I want without worrying about the government or anyone else interfering. Freedom to me is being able to live my life the way I want to without having to answer to anyone. Unfortunately, in today’s society that is not always possible. We are constantly being told what we can and cannot do, and our freedoms are slowly being taken away from us.

I believe that everyone should have the freedom to live their life the way they want to, as long as they are not harming anyone else in the process. We should all be able to pursue our own happiness without having to worry about the government or anyone else interfering. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Freedom is something that we have to fight for every day, and it is something that we should never take for granted.

This is not something that is wrong in any way since every society requires a structure to keep it together. However, because the state has been established to take away liberties, freedom should not be considered a “political right.” A less complex definition of this may be found in the condition of being free.

The got Freedom House Index. Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint, and the absence of a coercive force. Freedom encompasses both the ability to do things freely and being free from something.

The definition of freedom has changed throughout history, and even today there are different interpretations of what freedom means. For some people, freedom may mean being able to do whatever they want without any restrictions. For others, it may mean being free from oppression or being able to choose their own destiny.

Freedom is a complex concept with many different dimensions that can be explored. However, at its core, freedom is the ability to live your life in a way that you choose – without interference from others.

Freedom is important because it allows us to choose how we live our lives. It gives us the opportunity to make our own choices and to pursue our own goals and dreams. Freedom allows us to be ourselves. It is an essential part of who we are as human beings.

Without freedom, we would not be able to express our unique individualities. We would not be able to develop our talents and abilities. We would not be able to choose our own friends, or have any control over our own lives. Freedom is what makes us human.

This is because freedom is more than simply the “state of being free.” Although this phrase is an appropriate definition of freedom, it isn’t a moral definition. When Newman says that “habit of mind is developed, which endures through life and has the characteristics of freedom, equity, calmness, moderation, and wisdom” (Newman “Knowledge Its Own End”), he’s referring to this kind of freedom. There’s a better way to define freedom than what you’ve read here.

Freedom, according to Aristotle, is the power to act or not to act, and to do this for a specific purpose that you have chosen (Aristotle). Freedom is also different than independence. Freedom is the power to choose, while independence is being free from the influence of others. Freedom, then according to Aristotle’s definition, means “the ability to exercise choice” while independence implies “not being subject to restraint or control by others” (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). So, freedom according to Aristotle is a more moral definition because it speaks of the ability to choose, and this is what we will use as our working definition of freedom.

There are different types of freedom. There is negative freedom which is the freedom from interference or constraints imposed by others. This type of freedom is often thought of as the more “traditional” view of freedom. And then there is positive freedom which is the ability to act freely in pursuit of a goal or good. So, positive freedom is more than simply being free from restraints, it is being free to act towards a specific end. Freedom, according to our working definition, then, is the ability to exercise choice unhampered by external constraints.

There are different ways to think about what freedom means. One way is to think about it in terms of rights. Freedom, in this view, is the right to do what you want without interference from others. Freedom of speech, for example, is the right to say what you want without fear of censorship or punishment. Freedom of religion is the right to worship as you please without interference from the state. Freedom of association is the right to associate with whomever you choose, and so on.

Another way to think about freedom is in terms of power. Freedom, in this view, is the power to do what you want without interference from others. This kind of freedom is often thought of as “freedom of action”. It is the ability to act freely in pursuit of your goals and objectives. Freedom of action includes both negative and positive freedom.

More Essays

• Essay about Freedom Of Speech Analysis
• Freedom Of Religion In Schools Essay
• Definition Essay: Is Freedom A Choice?
• Definition Essay: Why Freedom Is Important To Me
• Definition Essay On Freedom
• Why Is Religious Freedom Important Essay
• Essay On Marriage And Freedom In The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin
• Right To Freedom Of Speech Analysis Essay
• Essay on Freedom Of Speech Case Study
• Freedom In The Awakening

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

What Does “Work” Mean to You?

• Tammy Erickson

Lately I’ve been listening closely to how people use the word “work.” I’ve noticed something . . .and formed a hypothesis that I’d like to test with you. The dictionary provides a number of alternate definitions and meanings for the word. Here are some of them: work [wurk] 1. exertion or effort directed to produce […]

Lately I’ve been listening closely to how people use the word “work.” I’ve noticed something . . .and formed a hypothesis that I’d like to test with you.

• TE Tamara J. Erickson has authored the books Retire Retirement , Plugged In , and What’s Next, Gen X? She is the author or co-author of five Harvard Business Review articles and the book Workforce Crisis . Erickson was named one of the top 50 global business thinkers for 2011.

Partner Center

Academic & Employability Skills

Subscribe to academic & employability skills.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 397 other subscribers.

Email Address

Understanding instruction words in academic essay titles

Posted in: essay-writing

Instruction or command words indicate what your tutor wants you to do in your written assignment. It's vital that you understand exactly what these instruction words mean so you can answer all parts of the essay question and provide a complete response.

Here's a list of some of the most common instruction/command words you'll see in essay questions (and examination questions as well), together with an explanation of what they mean.

Describe: Give a detailed account of…

Outline: Give the main features/general principles; don't include minor details.

Explain, account for, interpret: Describe the facts but also give causes and reasons for them. Depending on the context, these words may also suggest that you need to make the possible implications clear as well. For example: 'Explain X and its importance for Y'.

Comment on, criticise, evaluate, critically evaluate, assess: Judge the value of something. But first, analyse, describe and explain. Then go through the arguments for and against, laying out the arguments neutrally until the section where you make your judgement clear. Judgements should be backed by reasons and evidence.

Discuss, consider: The least specific of the instruction words. Decide, first of all, what the main issues are. Then follow the same procedures for Comment on, Criticise, Evaluate, Critically Evaluate and Assess.

Analyse: Break down into component parts. Examine critically or closely.

How far, how true, to what extent: These suggest there are various views on and various aspects to the subject. Outline some of them, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, explore alternatives and then give your judgement.

Justify: Explain, with evidence, why something is the case, answering the main objections to your view as you go along.

Refute: Give evidence to prove why something is not the case.

Compare, contrast, distinguish, differentiate, relate: All require that you discuss how things are related to each other.  Compare suggests you concentrate on similarities, which may lead to a stated preference, the justification of which should be made clear. These words suggest that two situations or ideas can be compared in a number of different ways, or from a variety of viewpoints. Contrast suggests you concentrate on differences.

Define: Write down the precise meaning of a word or phrase. Sometimes several co-existing definitions may be used and, possibly, evaluated.

Illustrate: Make clear and explicit; usually requires the use of carefully chosen examples.

State: Give a concise, clear explanation or account of…

Summarise: Give a concise, clear explanation or account of… presenting the main factors and excluding minor detail or examples (see also Outline).

Trace: Outline or follow the development of something from its initiation or point of origin.

Devise: Think up, work out a plan, solve a problem etc.

Apply (to): Put something to use, show how something can be used in a particular situation.

Identify: Put a name to, list something.

Indicate: Point out. This does not usually involve giving too much detail.

List: Make a list of a number of things. This usually involves simply remembering or finding out a number of things and putting them down one after the other.

Plan: Think about how something is to be done, made, organised, etc.

Report on: Describe what you have seen or done.

Review: Write a report on something.

Specify: Give the details of something.

Work out: Find a solution to a problem.

Adapted from: Coles, M. (1995), A Student’s Guide to Coursework Writing,   University of Stirling, Stirling 

Share this:

• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Click here to cancel reply.

• Email * (we won't publish this)

Write a response

So wonderful can anyone get the information

Thanks Josphat!

This is a life saver, do you have a youtube channel where you talk about all this stuff? If so I would love to know about it 🙂 Rachelle

Hi Rachelle, Thanks for your comment. We don't have a youtube channel but stay tuned for more posts and also check out the new My-skills portal (go.bath.ac.uk/My-skills) for lots more skills support. Tom

Quite helpful. I would definitely check this before my next essay.

Thank you, Dan.

Very helpful now I understand how construct my assignments and how to answer exam questions

I have understood it clearly;)

it is very useful for us to understand many instruction word and what we need to write down

There are some define of some words,and I find that there do have many common things for some words,but not all the same.Such as compare, contrast, distinguish, differentiate, relate,they all need people to compare but foucs on different ways.

Very helpful. Listed most of the words that might be misunderstood by foreign students. Now I know why my score of writing IELTS test is always 6, I even didn't get the point of what I was supposed to write!

I have already read all of this. And it gave me a brief instruction.

There are varied instruction words in essay questions. It's a good chance for me to have a overview of these main command words because I could response to requirements of questions precisely and without the risk of wandering off the topic.

When i encounter with an essay title with these instruction words above,I should understand exactly what these words mean so that i could know what my tutor would like me to do in the assignments.Also,these words may help me make an outline and read academic articles with percific purposes.

These words are accurate and appropriate. It is really helpful for me to response some assignment questions and I can know the orientation of my answers . I can also use these words to make an outline of my essay. However, in my view, for some instruction words which are confusing and hard to understand, it is better to give an example to help us understand.

It's the first time for me to recognise these instruction words , some of them are really similar with each other.

it is very helpful to my future study. it will be better to have some examples with it.

How to navigate Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools with confidence and integrity

Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing rapidly, and new Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Elicit, Perplexity, Bard and Bing are now easily accessible online. As university students, how can you incorporate these emerging technologies into your studies and campus...

8 ways to beat procrastination

Whether you’re writing an assignment or revising for exams, getting started can be hard. Fortunately, there’s lots you can do to turn procrastination into action.

What I learnt from a skills enrichment workshop on feedback

If your course is largely essay-based (like mine is with Politics and International Relations) you’ll understand the frustration of receiving the same feedback on your assignments – over and over and over again.

Essay Sample on What Does Leadership Mean to You

Leadership – what it means to me.

Leadership is an essential quality to have in any facet of life. Whether you’re in the workplace, a team setting, or even at home, having leadership skills can make all the difference.

It is a complex concept, and there are many different definitions and aspects of leadership. By the way, each person has their own way of doing things. If you have some difficulties with writing an essay about this, don’t be scared to ask for help. An online custom essay writing service can help you with this. For sure, it’s good for your leadership skills – ask for help when you understand that something is beyond your control.

So, to some, leadership is about being the front-runner in a group and taking charge when needed. To others, it’s about inspiring others around them and helping them reach their potential. It could also be about leading by example or being the moral compass for an organization or team.

No matter what your definition of leadership is, it requires hard work and dedication. It takes courage to step up in difficult situations and take responsibility for your own actions as well as those of your team or organization.

Let’s explore the concept of leadership from various perspectives and discuss tips for writing an essay on this subject together.

What Does Leadership Mean To Me? (Free Essay Sample)

Leadership is a topic that I have always been interested in. I think it’s because of the fact that I am a leader myself. My role as a leader has changed over the years and will continue to change as time goes on.

To me, leadership means taking charge of my life and making decisions on my own behalf. It also means having confidence in what I say and do, even if other people disagree with me. Leadership also means being able to take criticism from others without getting upset or angry about it!

To be a mentor

Also, having the power to influence people and help them achieve common goals. It’s about having the ability to create a positive atmosphere where everyone can thrive and work together toward achieving success. Leaders should be those who know how to bring out the best in their team and encourages them to reach their full potential. They should have a strong sense of empathy, be able to think strategically, and have great communication skills.

Be responsible

Leaders must as well be willing to accept responsibility for their actions, both good or bad. This includes acknowledging mistakes when they happen, as well as owning up to successes when they occur. Being accountable helps build trust between leaders and their teams, which is essential for any successful organization or group of people. This allows leaders to foster relationships with their team members, which can create a stronger sense of unity among everyone involved.

Be a role model

People with this skill should always strive to set an example for their team members with their own behavior and attitude. Setting the tone for others by displaying positive behavior can go a long way in creating an atmosphere of respect and cooperation within the group dynamic. A strong leader will also ensure that everyone is held accountable for their actions while maintaining morale among all members of the group or organization.

Be honest with yourself

Leadership means to me, being able to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses and be willing to ask for help when you need it. It means knowing when to delegate authority to others and when to take charge of yourself.

I believe there are many different types of leaders out there today; some are good leaders while others are not so good at what they do. It all depends on how much time you spend studying leadership techniques and finding out what works best for you as an individual leader.

To be a leader is all of these things and more. To me, leadership is the art of getting things done through others. It is the ability to inspire and motivate others to work towards common goals. It is being able to effectively organize a group of people toward a single objective and then effectively directing their efforts toward that objective.

I think that management is something that comes naturally to some people but can be learned by others. This is a skill that anyone can learn and apply to their own lives, whether they are in a position of authority or not.

Famous Leaders Who Inspire Me

There are many famous people throughout history that have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills. One leader that I find particularly inspiring is Nelson Mandela. His commitment to justice and equality was unwavering even when faced with extreme adversity. He used his platform as president of South Africa to promote peace and harmony among all people regardless of race or religion. His legacy serves as an important reminder that with hard work, dedication, and perseverance anything is possible!

Another leader that has inspired me is Mahatma Gandhi. He was a master at nonviolent resistance which he used in India during its fight for independence from the British Empire. His peaceful tactics gained worldwide attention which eventually helped India achieve its freedom from colonial rule without violence or bloodshed. He showed us how powerful nonviolence can be when used for good!

Finally, my definition of leadership wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Martin Luther King Jr., who famously said “I have a dream…” He used his platform as a civil rights activist to promote racial equality in America through peaceful protest and civil disobedience which ultimately led to the advancement of civil rights legislation in the United States. His words still resonate with millions around the world today.

In conclusion, I want to say that leadership is an essential quality that everyone should strive towards possessing in some form or another. For me, it means taking the initiative, being accountable for your actions, and leading by example in order to foster a positive environment within any given group setting or organization. It takes hard work but can be incredibly rewarding! With these qualities combined together as part of a leadership style, I’m sure everyone will be able to succeed no matter what challenges they face!

Tips for Writing an Essay About Leadership

When you are writing an essay on leadership, you can analyze personal statement essay examples . This can help you highlight writing tips by yourself. But if you are searching for easy ways, there are some important tips you should keep in mind.

Choose a specific example or story that illustrates your point about leadership

This could be either a personal experience or something you witnessed first-hand. Make sure that you focus on one particular event or situation so that your essay remains focused and concise.

Explain why your example is relevant

Once you’ve chosen an example or story, make sure you explain why it is relevant to what leadership means to you. What lessons did you learn from this experience that informs your current understanding of leadership? How has it shaped your beliefs?

Use concrete examples

When writing about any concept or idea, it’s important to use concrete examples that illustrate your points rather than abstract language or generalizations. Doing so will make your essay more engaging for readers, as well as more convincing in terms of demonstrating your understanding of the concept at hand.

Avoid cliches

While cliches can provide easy ways for expressing yourself in an essay, they can also make it sound generic and unoriginal — which is exactly what you don’t want! Instead of relying on cliches when discussing topics such as leadership, try to come up with unique ideas and phrases that capture what you are trying to say without sounding too similar to other essays written on this same topic.

That’s it! Go ahead and tell the world about your leadership!

Related posts:

• Persuasive essay examples that work for college in 2022
• Racism: A Cause and Effect Essay Sample
• Earthquake Cause and Effect Essay Sample
• Essay Sample on Why i Want to Be a Veterinarian

Improve your writing with our guides

Youth Culture Essay Prompt and Discussion

Why Should College Athletes Be Paid, Essay Sample

Reasons Why Minimum Wage Should Be Raised Essay: Benefits for Workers, Society, and The Economy

Get 15% off your first order with edusson.

Connect with a professional writer within minutes by placing your first order. No matter the subject, difficulty, academic level or document type, our writers have the skills to complete it.

100% privacy. No spam ever.

• Youth Program
• Wharton Online
• Business Journal Articles
• Entrepreneurs & Leaders

What Does Entrepreneurship Mean to You?

Young entrepreneurs from around the world recently gathered in New York City to be honored during the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s Global Showcase. KWHS checked in with several of them — from Maryland to Ireland -- to find out what they consider to be the true essence of entrepreneurship. … Read More

Share Article:

Google Classroom:

Young entrepreneurs and teachers from around the world recently took part in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s Global Showcase in New York City. KWHS thought it would be an ideal chance to check in with some of NFTE’s honored students to find out their answers to one important question: What does entrepreneurship mean to you?

Here are their thoughts:

“Entrepreneurship comes in two phases — connection and opportunities. When you are an entrepreneur , you get to connect with different people to help you and teach you, as well as give you ideas on improvement. I also believe that not all entrepreneurs will succeed their first time. Some will fail. No matter how good you are, there will be flaws. Therefore, I think the process is an opportunity for everyone to learn and grow.”

Xavier T., 17, Evergreen Secondary School , Woodlands, Singapore — f ounder of Caf é on Wheels, a mobile caf é that moves around Singapore on a double decker bus

“Entrepreneurship means creativity and the ability to use innovative ideas to make a difference in your community by addressing a need or creating a socially conscious business.”

Ambar R., 17 , Kolbe Cathedral High School , Bridgeport, Connecticut — founder of   Styles by Ambar, which recycles women ’ s clothing for organizations that help women

“Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking. The essential parts of the entrepreneurial mindset are collaboration , risk-taking and activation. First, you must be able to productively collaborate [tapping into the] strengths and weaknesses within a team. Entrepreneurs must be able to “think outside of the box,” which sometimes involves risks. You must be tolerant of unorthodox ideas. Lastly, there would be no such thing as entrepreneurship without activation, which is turning your thoughts and ideas into reality.”

Timothy P., 17 , San Leandro High School , San Leandro, California — founder of  TP Designs, a website design firm for educators, non-profits and businesses

“I have a learning difficulty, which means I find it hard to read and do math. I had no confidence in myself. I loved cooking, so I decided to make a cookbook using pictures and no words. By starting my own business … I have learned so many new skills, like communication with people and marketing . Entrepreneurship means being able to take my small idea and turn my passion for baking into a business. My advice for other teenagers is go for it — nothing worthwhile comes easy.”

Clara H., 15 , Saint Clare ’ s Comprehensive , Manorhamilton, Ireland — founder  of Look 2 Cook, cookbooks that help children use pictures to learn to cook

“Entrepreneurship means finding a problem you or others face everyday and thinking of ideas to solve it.”

Jordan H., 17 , McCluer South Berkeley High School, St. Louis, Missouri — founder of Neostring , a shoestring that eliminates the need to retie your shoes

“Entrepreneurship is a way of life, a revolutionary way of enhancing your manner of critical thinking. To me, it means the future. To be an entrepreneur, you have control over your own life, as well as everything in and around you. It is the ticket to economic, financial and personal freedom. And just like Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, [said at the showcase]: ‘The things you pay no attention to might make you a millionaire.’”

Cyprian E., 20 , Morgan State University , Baltimore, M aryland — creator of  Green Tech, a hovercraft toy built from recyclable materials

“I believe it is finding and taking advantage of hidden opportunities to result in positive outcomes.”

George D., 17 , Charleston Collegiate School , Charleston, South Carolina — creator of  Wimbees, small, beaded art pieces

“Entrepreneurship is new innovative ideas that can help improve society economically and socially. It helps [people] create and develop ideas that can solve societal problems and gives them the entrepreneurial spirit to search out success.”

Yeny P., 18, B ó gota, Colombia — founder of  Productos Org á nicos, which produces fertilizer from banana debris

“It means being able to do what you love the most without the fear of failing. All you have to do is enjoy the experience that it brings and everything will be OK.”

Uriel M., 18 , graduate of Santee High School , Los Angeles, California — founder of  Revlo, a photography business

“Entrepreneurship equals intellectual freedom and the ability to be self-reliant. This priceless feeling of dictating the direction of your work is what keeps me going every day. I’m passionate about technology, but I’m also passionate about our brand and the ability to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace. Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. What I would share with young high school entrepreneurs is that things may get hard along the way and doors may close in front of you. ‘ You must internalize it and you will be successful.” 

Carlos P., 25 , graduate of Sports & Medical Sciences , Hartford, Connecticut — founder of  Perez Technology Group, an IT consulting company

Related Links

• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship

Conversation Starters

Now it’s your turn. What does entrepreneurship mean to you?

Not one entrepreneur interviewed for this article mentioned the word “money,” and yet it definitely plays an important role in entrepreneurship. Why do you think that is not the first thing people think of when describing the meaning of entrepreneurship? How do you connect money with entrepreneurship? Do you agree with Cyprian E., who says entrepreneurship is the ticket to “financial freedom?”

Pull out five concepts from the quotes above that help people define entrepreneurship. Expand on each of these a bit. What do these terms mean to you, particularly in the context of thinking and acting like an entrepreneur?

One comment on “ What Does Entrepreneurship Mean to You? ”

To undertake is to make my business idea a life project, to be successful in the long term and to contribute to the development and growth of my country, and to be an example of new generations. Saludos Kilber Garcia del Aguila

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Related Articles

Hollywood and pro football brands respond to the dialogue on diversity, career spotlight: civil engineers protect our health, safety and welfare.

The risk of nuclear conflict is rising.

Nuclear nations are building up their arsenals, speeding toward the next arms race. Is anyone paying attention?

Today’s generation of weapons — many of which are fractions of the size of the bombs America dropped in 1945 but magnitudes more deadly than conventional ones — poses an unpredictable threat.

It hangs over battlefields in Ukraine as well as places where the next war might occur: the Persian Gulf, the Taiwan Strait, the Korean Peninsula.

This is one story of what’s at stake — if even one small nuclear weapon were used — based on modeling, research and hundreds of hours of interviews with people who have lived through an atomic detonation, dedicated their lives to studying nuclear war or are planning for its aftermath.

Nuclear war is often described as unimaginable. In fact, it’s not imagined enough.

• Share full article

If it seems alarmist to anticipate the horrifying aftermath of a nuclear attack, consider this: The United States and Ukraine governments have been planning for this scenario for at least two years.

In the fall of 2022, a U.S. intelligence assessment put the odds at 50-50 that Russia would launch a nuclear strike to halt Ukrainian forces if they breached its defense of Crimea. Preparing for the worst, American officials rushed supplies to Europe. Ukraine has set up hundreds of radiation detectors around cities and power plants, along with more than 1,000 smaller hand-held monitors sent by the United States.

Nearly 200 hospitals in Ukraine have been identified as go-to facilities in the event of a nuclear attack. Thousands of doctors, nurses and other workers have been trained on how to respond and treat radiation exposure. And millions of potassium iodide tablets, which protect the thyroid from picking up radioactive material linked with cancer, are stockpiled around the country.

But well before that — just four days after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, in fact — the Biden administration had directed a small group of experts and strategists, a “Tiger Team,” to devise a new nuclear “playbook” of contingency plans and responses. Pulling in experts from the intelligence, military and policy fields, they pored over years-old emergency preparedness plans, weapon-effects modeling and escalation scenarios, dusting off materials that in the age of counterterrorism and cyberwarfare were long believed to have faded into irrelevance.

The playbook, which was coordinated by the National Security Council, now sits in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the West Wing of the White House. It has a newly updated, detailed menu of diplomatic and military options for President Biden — and any future president — to act upon if a nuclear attack occurs in Ukraine.

At the heart of all of this work is a chilling conclusion: The possibility of a nuclear strike, once inconceivable in modern conflict, is more likely now than at any other time since the Cold War. “We've had 30 pretty successful years keeping the genie in the bottle,” a senior administration official on the Tiger Team said. While both America and Russia have hugely reduced their nuclear arsenals since the height of the Cold War, the official said, “Right now is when nuclear risk is most at the forefront.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin reminded the world of this existential danger last week when he publicly warned of nuclear war if NATO deepened its involvement in Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin, February 2024

The risk of nuclear escalation in Ukraine, while now low, has been a primary concern for the Biden administration throughout the conflict, details of which are being reported here for the first time. In a series of interviews over the past year, U.S. and Ukrainian officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning, diplomacy and ongoing security preparations.

And while it may cause sleepless nights in Washington and Kyiv, most of the world has barely registered the threat. Perhaps it’s because an entire generation came of age in a post-Cold War world, when the possibility of nuclear war was thought to be firmly behind us. It is time to remind ourselves of the consequences in order to avoid them.

Even after last week’s nuclear threat, few believe that Mr. Putin will wake up one day and decide to lob megaton warheads at Washington or European capitals in retaliation for supporting Ukraine. What Western allies see as more likely is that Russia will use a so-called tactical nuclear weapon, which is less destructive and designed to strike targets over short distances to devastate military units on the battlefield.

The strategic thinking behind those weapons is that they are far less damaging than city-destroying hydrogen bombs and therefore more “usable” in warfare. The United States estimates Russia has a stockpile of up to 2,000 tactical nuclear warheads, some small enough they fit in an artillery shell.

But the detonation of any tactical nuclear weapon would be an unprecedented test of the dogma of deterrence, a theory that has underwritten America’s military policy for the past 70 years. The idea stipulates that adversaries are deterred from launching a nuclear attack against the United States — or more than 30 of its treaty-covered allies — because by doing so they risk an overwhelming counterattack.

Possessing nuclear weapons isn’t about winning a nuclear war, the theory goes; it’s about preventing one. It hinges upon a carefully calibrated balance of terror among nuclear states.

Source: Federation of American Scientists

Figures and dates are based on estimates of the number of warheads for military use and may not mark when a nation's first nuclear test took place.

If Mr. Putin dropped a nuclear weapon on Ukraine — a nonnuclear nation that’s not covered by anyone’s nuclear umbrella — what then? If deterrence fails, how is it possible to reduce the risk of one attack escalating into a global catastrophe?

We might find an answer in the autumn of 2022, when fears of Russia’s nuclear use in Ukraine were most palpable. A lightning Ukrainian military counteroffensive had reclaimed territory from the Russians in the northeastern region of Kharkiv. The Ukrainians were on the cusp of breaching Russian defense lines at Kherson in the south, possibly causing a second Russian retreat that could signal an imminent broader military collapse.

U.S. intelligence estimated that if Ukraine’s fighters managed to break through Russian defenses — and were on the march to the occupied Crimean Peninsula, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is based — it came down to a coin flip whether or not Russia would launch a tactical nuclear weapon to stop them, senior administration officials said.

Moscow has made implicit and explicit nuclear threats throughout the war to scare off Western intervention. Around this time, however, a series of frightening episodes took place.

On Oct. 23, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of Russia made a flurry of phone calls to the defense chiefs of four NATO nations, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, to say Russia had indications that Ukrainian fighters could detonate a dirty bomb — a conventional explosive wrapped in radioactive material — on their own territory to frame Moscow.

American intelligence also intercepted chatter around then among Russian military leaders about using a tactical nuclear weapon, according to current and former Biden administration officials. General Austin and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, held three phone calls in four days with Russian counterparts during this tense period.

Believing the Russians were building an unfounded pretext for their own nuclear attack, the Biden administration quickly began a multilateral effort with allies, adversaries and nations in between to de-escalate the situation and try to talk Moscow out of it. For nearly a week, Biden aides pulled all-nighters at the White House, coordinating high-level conversations and planning for the worst: the detonation of a small nuclear device in Ukrainian territory that had the power of a few kilotons or less.

Many in the administration believed the Kremlin’s dirty bomb ploy posed the greatest risk of nuclear war since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. State Department officials traveled to Poland to ensure that medical supplies and radiation equipment were rushed over the border. The Energy Department sent equipment to collect potential debris so that it could be later analyzed by American scientists for weapon design characteristics and the origin of the nuclear material. U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees nuclear operations, directed a team of experts (cheekily named The Writers’ Club, because their findings were written up daily for the Pentagon leadership) to assess the risk and determine which conditions would trigger Russia to go nuclear.

While cautions about the potential withering economic, diplomatic and military consequences were delivered in private to Moscow, administration officials also publicly sounded alarm bells.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, October 2022

The administration’s diplomatic push was coupled with efforts by leaders of several nations, including China, India and Turkey, to explain to Mr. Putin’s government the potential costs if he were to go through with a nuclear attack. That November, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, William J. Burns, met with his Russian counterpart in Turkey, where he conveyed a similar warning. On Nov. 16, the Group of 20 released a joint statement:

If the Russian leader was indeed inching toward the brink, he stepped back.

What took place to prevent a nuclear attack that fall was a rare moment of consensus on an issue on which world leaders seem to be moving farther apart. Russia is replacing its Soviet-era hardware with new jets, missiles and submarines. And the other eight nations that have nuclear weapons are believed to be enhancing their arsenals in parts of the world that are already on edge.

India, which has continuing tensions over its borders with China and Pakistan, is fielding longer-range weapons.

Pakistan is developing new ballistic missiles and expanding nuclear production facilities.

North Korea, which has an arsenal of several hundred missiles and dozens of nuclear warheads, regularly threatens to attack South Korea, where the U.S. keeps about 28,500 troops.

China, which has publicly expressed its desire to control the U.S.-allied island of Taiwan by force if necessary, is increasing its nuclear arsenal at a “scale and pace unseen since the U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms race that ended in the late 1980s,” the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States concluded in October.

So while Washington has been helping Ukraine prepare for a nuclear attack, Taiwan or South Korea could be next. The National Security Council has already coordinated contingency playbooks for possible conflicts that could turn nuclear in Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East. Iran, which has continued its nuclear program amid Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, has amassed enough enriched uranium to build several weapons if and when it chooses.

During this time of widening conflict, the rising nuclear threat is especially destabilizing: A nuclear explosion in Ukraine or Gaza, where tens of thousands of civilians have already been killed or injured, would sizeably escalate either conflict and its humanitarian toll.

The world has been through a version of this moment before. The last nuclear standoff during the Cold War was cooled in part because of numerous nonproliferation efforts and arms control agreements between the United States and the former Soviet Union. The two nations, recognizing the terrifying situation they were in, worked to identify weapons that were mutually menacing and simply agreed to eliminate them. Nuclear warhead numbers plummeted to 12,500 today from roughly 70,400 in 1986.

Now that shared safety net of treaties and agreements is nearly gone. After a decade of diplomatic breakdown and military antagonism, only one major arms treaty between the United States and Russia remains — New START, which Mr. Putin suspended Russia’s participation in last year. The treaty is set to expire in February 2026.

President Vladimir Putin, February 2023

That means we are just two years away from a world in which there are no major treaty limits on the number of strategic nuclear weapons the United States and Russia deploy. Already today, because of the New START suspension, the two nations disclose little information about their arsenals to each other and do not engage in talks for further agreements. If nuclear deterrence — however flawed a concept it may be — is to work, transparency about nations’ capabilities is critical. Without better communication, the risk of rapid escalation and miscalculation will grow.

The danger of nuclear use in Ukraine fluctuates. It waned after Ukraine’s drive to recapture territory and sever Russia’s supply lines to Crimea was stopped short. But if the momentum swings back in Ukraine’s favor, or if Mr. Putin feels threatened by increased Western intervention, it could rise again. A U.S. intelligence report declassified late last year estimated Russia had lost around 315,000 troops to death or injury in Ukraine since 2022. That’s nearly 90 percent of its prewar force, along with at least 20 warships, thousands of battle tanks and heavy weapons — all major losses that could create more dependency on its tactical nuclear arsenal.

This isn’t an easy time for adversaries to be making big leaps of faith, but history shows it’s not impossible to forge deals amid international crises.

The Limited Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in space and underwater, was signed by the United States, Britain and the former Soviet Union in 1963, less than a year after the Cuban missile crisis. Negotiations over the first Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, which froze the number of American and Soviet long-range, nuclear-capable missiles, were concluded less than two months after the United States bombed Haiphong Harbor in Vietnam in 1972, damaging some Soviet ships. Several close calls in Europe during the Cold War contributed to a sweeping collection of agreements between Washington and Moscow that capped the number of each nation’s strategic weapons, opened communication channels and amplified monitoring and verification measures.

China’s aggressive nuclear buildup has complicated the strategic balance of the Cold War, raising questions in the United States about how to handle a three-way competition. In June, Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, publicly offered to hold nuclear arms control negotiations with Russia and China — one-on-one or multilaterally — without preconditions. The proposal has resulted in only preliminary discussions with the Chinese and was met with outright dismissal from the Russians, according to administration officials.

Nuclear arms treaties typically take months or years to negotiate. And while the agreements don’t solve everything, they do allow governments to gain insights and assurances about an adversary’s stockpile that they otherwise wouldn’t have. Left in the dark, governments are forced to plan for the worst, building offensive and defensive capabilities.

The United States is now preparing to build new nuclear warheads for the first time since 1991, part of a decades-long program to overhaul its nuclear forces that’s estimated to cost up to $2 trillion. The outline of that plan was drawn up in 2010 — in a much different security environment than what the country faces today. This administration, or the next one, could make the political case that even more weapons need to be built in response to the expansion and modernization of other nations’ arsenals, particularly Russia’s and China’s.

Behind a nondescript door on the fifth floor of the State Department building in Washington, down the hall from the former offices of the director of the Manhattan Project, a windowless control room provides a direct channel between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.

The National and Nuclear Risk Reduction Center was established in 1988 as a 24-hour watch station to facilitate the information exchange required by various arms control treaties and security-building agreements, mostly between the United States and Russia.

With a Russian translator always on the floor, the center once buzzed with more than 1,000 messages a year regarding the testing, movement and maintenance of Russia’s weapons, missiles and bombers. Last year, after the abandonment of New START, the center received fewer than a dozen of those messages.

W.J. Hennigan writes about national security issues for Opinion from Washington, D.C. He has reported from more than two dozen countries, covering war, the arms trade and the lives of U.S. service members. Additional reporting by Spencer Cohen. A selection of sources consulted in reporting this project can be found here .

National and Nuclear Risk Reduction Center photographed by An-My Lê for The New York Times. Illustrations by Tim McDonagh. Animation by Jil Tai. Phone call: Robert L. Knudsen/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (test ban). Treaty photos: Corbis/Getty Images (SALT); Bettmann/Getty Images (INF); Joe Klamar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images (NEW START). Videos: The Union Herald, via YouTube; RTVI News, via YouTube; CGTN, via YouTube; Global News, via YouTube; Pakistan Armed Forces, via YouTube; AFP, via YouTube .

Edited by Krista Mahr, Kathleen Kingsbury and Meeta Agrawal. Produced by Jessia Ma, Kate Elazegui, Shoshana Schultz, Quoctrung Bui, Jacqueline Bates and Ana Becker.

This Times Opinion series is funded through philanthropic grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York , Outrider Foundation and the Prospect Hill Foundation . Funders have no control over the selection or focus of articles or the editing process and do not review articles before publication. The Times retains full editorial control.

Advertisement

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Love — The Meaning Of Family To Me

The Meaning of Family to Me

• Categories: Children Love

About this sample

Words: 782 |

Published: Sep 19, 2019

Words: 782 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr. Karlyna PhD

Verified writer

• Expert in: Life

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

1 pages / 400 words

3 pages / 1375 words

1 pages / 648 words

1 pages / 535 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Love

Valentine's Day is a widely celebrated holiday in many parts of the world, where people express their love and affection for one another through the exchange of gifts, cards, and romantic gestures. However, the holiday has also [...]

Love is an action not a word “Let us love, not in words or speech, but in truth and action” (The Bible 1 John 3). Some individuals have trouble expressing one’s love to another through words, so they tend to convey and [...]

Money is a topic that has long been associated with many aspects of life, including love and relationships. The question of whether or not money can buy love is a complex and multifaceted issue that has been debated for [...]

One early morning, some women were standing near a well (Persian wheel that is operated usually by draught animals like bullocks, buffaloes or camels, or by man if animals are not available), waiting for the person deputed to [...]

In conclusion, love is a complex and multifaceted construct that defies rigid definition. It possesses an inherent power that can inspire, transform, and sometimes even devastate. Love's paradoxical nature, as both a source of [...]

Some time ago, my mother slept in my room and talked to me about my childhood. She said, ‘You were really terrible when you were a child. No one in the family can control you. I’m dying every three or five days.’ When you were a [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Barbiecore? Cottagecore? What does 'core' mean in slang and why can't we stop using it

Merriam-Webster defines " core " as "a central and often foundational part usually distinct from the enveloping part by a difference in nature."

But as a suffix, "-core" has taken on a new life thanks to social media. Maybe you've seen someone describe something as Barbiecore , cottagecore , corecore , the list goes on. Each "-core" has its own unique characteristics.

But what do they all mean? Here's a primer on the "-core" trend.

What does 'core' mean?

Dating back to Middle English, the word "core" has referred to an integral or a defining part of something. For instance, a "core" tenant or principle.

This meaning shapes the modern interpretation of "-core." According to Dictionary.com, the suffix describes and is often associated with specific aesthetics, trends or movements . Almost anything can be used in conjunction with "-core."

The "-core" trend centers around preexisting subcultures or niches. This can include anything from patterns to colors to clothing items. If you really like things that are pink or red and covered in hearts, you might like " lovecore ." If you are a big fan of the mystical, ethereal and magical, " fairycore " could be for you (think butterflies, sparkles and flowers).

Sometimes a "-core" can be hyper-specific, relating to a particular celebrity versus a more general vibe. A "Harry Styles-core" aesthetic might include cherries , pearls and Pleasing merchandise. A "Taylor Swift-core" aesthetic may vary depending on your favorite " era ," or it could feature mirror (disco) balls .

How to use 'core'

Here is how to use "-core" in a conversation:

• "I love your top, it's so balletcore ."
• "I'm not a fan of minimalism. I prefer cluttercore ."
• "Ever since she started watching 'Bridgerton', her aesthetic is very royalcore ."

Just Curious for more? We've got you covered

USA TODAY is exploring the questions you and others ask every day. From " What is the olive theory? " to " What is a 'stan'? " to " How many Zodiac signs are there? " − we're striving to find answers to the most common questions you ask every day. Head to our  Just Curious section  to see what else we can answer.

More From Forbes

Nyt ‘strands’ hints, spangram and answers for friday, march 22.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Individual Strands Join to Form One Fabric, Network, Business, Family

Looking for Thursday’s Strands hints, spangram and answers? You can find them here:

Alright I will admit this is probably the single hardest Strands that I’ve done since I started playing, not that the game is all that old at this point. Some days it’s kind of a joke, other days? I am baffled for a good long while, and if you’re here, maybe you are too.

How To Play Strands

The New York Times’ Strands puzzle is a play on the classic word search. It’s in beta for now, which means it’ll only stick around if enough people play it every day.

There’s a new game of Strands to play every day. The game will present you with a six by eight grid of letters. The aim is to find a group of words that have something in common, and you’ll get a clue as to what that theme is. When you find a theme word, it will remain highlighted in blue.

You’ll also need to find a special word called a spangram. This tells you what the words have in common. The spangram links two opposite sides of the board. While the theme words will not be a proper name, the spangram can be a proper name. When you find the spangram, it will remain highlighted in yellow.

The Best Gaming Laptops Under $1,000: Boost Your Games For Less

Be warned: You’ll need to be on your toes.

“Some themes are fill-in-the-blank phrases. They may also be steps in a process, items that all belong to the same category, synonyms or homophones,” The New York Times notes. “Just as she varies the difficulty of Wordle puzzles within a week, [Wordle and Strands editor Tracy] Bennett plans to throw Strands solvers curveballs every once in a while.”

What Is Today’s Strands Hint?

Scroll slow. The official hint for the puzzle can be found below and I am going to invent a second one that helps you further after that.

The official theme hint for today’s Strand puzzle is...

Animal sounds

And my own hint? I guess I’m perhaps being overly helpful here but...

Not literal sounds

What Are Today’s Strands Answers?

Spoilers follow. Here are the answers, starting with the spangram and then moving into the full list of all the puzzle worlds. This may also be a word you have to look up by itself if you don’t actually know what it is.

That fits into the grid from one side to the other right here:

Now we have the full list of answers which were difficult, I have to say.

So yeah, I was pretty lost on this for a good long while. My first hint gave me WAIL, but even knowing what the idea was from there, words that sound like animals but are spelled differently, that was still extremely hard.

More hints got me MOUSSE, which I kept trying to spell MOUSE with initially. Then GRISLY. Then I eventually got the other ones and the spangram, HOMOPHONES was actually the literal last thing I got. I suppose I didn’t need it with the theme all figured out.

I had a tough time with this one, so if you did too, don’t feel bad. It happens to us all.

Follow me on Twitter , Threads , YouTube , and Instagram .

Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions