WORST

Meaning

Unfavorable; negative; not good.

“Abducting children is bad for mothers.”

• adjectiveEvil; wicked (of people).
• nounSomething or someone that is the worst
• verbTo make worse.

WORST as a word-puzzle answer

WORST is a 5-letter word with 1 vowel (O) and 4 consonants (W, R, S, T). Every letter is distinct, so it rarely punishes a clean opening guess.

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