SMOCK

Meaning

A type of undergarment worn by women; a shift or slip.

• verbTo provide with, or clothe in, a smock or a smock frock.
• adjectiveOf or pertaining to a smock; resembling a smock

SMOCK as a word-puzzle answer

SMOCK is a 5-letter word with 1 vowel (O) and 4 consonants (S, M, C, K). Every letter is distinct, so it rarely punishes a clean opening guess.

It leans on high-frequency letters (S, O), so a strong vowel-and-common-consonant opener tends to light up quickly. Watch for the less-common letter K — saving a guess to test it once the vowels are placed is usually the fastest route.

SMOCK by the numbers

Across the 1,734 curated answers in the Wordocious bank, O appears in 30% of answers (the 5th most common letter), S appears in 28% of answers (the 7th most common letter), C appears in 19% of answers (the 10th most common letter). 10 other answers share the opening “SM-”, so two green tiles up front still leave real guessing to do.

Difficulty: 3/5 — moderate, because it uses at least one genuinely rare letter.

Near misses

One letter away in the answer bank: SHOCK, STOCK, SMACK. Each of these turns four tiles green against SMOCK — the classic endgame squeeze where spending a guess on the differing letter beats burning attempts on hope.

Put it to use

Words like SMOCK are exactly what the daily puzzles throw at you. Warm up in Practice, race the clock in the Daily Challenge, or study the best starting words before your next run. New to the multi-board modes? The mode guides cover all nine.