Word of the day · Thursday, November 5, 2026

emblem

noun

A design or object that stands for an idea, a group or a person, such as a badge, crest or symbol.

Where it comes from

From Greek emblema, an inlaid ornament, from emballein, to throw in or insert.

Worth knowing

In the 1500s, emblem books paired a picture with a motto and a short poem, and they were bestsellers across Europe. The word only later came to mean any symbol.

By the letters

• 6letters
• 2vowels (A E I O U)
• noneuncommon letters
• 4different letters

Playing it

EMBLEM repeats both E and M, so it can be built from a modest pile of letters. EMBLEMS is the only easy extension.

Hooks

One letter added to make a new word (what is a hook), at the end: EMBLEMS.

In Unsaid

EMBLEM was word of the day number 18 in Unsaid, a falling-letter word game where every player gets the same word on the same date. As a word it scores 900 points. Under the current rules, spelling it as the word of the day is worth a bonus of 9,800 reading down or 7,350 reading across, before any streak. How the bonus works.