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And the Most-Searched Term on Google in 2022 Is…

It beat out searches for "Ukraine," "Queen Elizabeth passing," "elections results" and more.

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Earlier this year, an incredibly popular online word game took the internet by storm — so much so that searches for the term soared above everything else.

Mike Kemp | Getty Images

That's right: "Wordle" is the most-searched word onGooglefor 2022, per ablog postfrom the tech giant on its annualYear in SearchReport, beating out online interest in newsier inquiries like "Ukraine," "Queen Elizabeth passing" and "elections results."

Related:Wordle Players Livid Over News of Acquisition: 'Everything Is Sh*t'

Wordle, developed by Welshsoftware engineerJonathan Wardle and first released in 2018, requires players to guess a five-letter word in six attempts — and it can only be completed once every day.

The New York Timesacquired the game in late January 2022 for an undisclosed amount in "the low-seven figures,"TIMEreported, raising concerns about if Wordle would remain free for all users or be placed behind a paywall.

In an interview withTechCrunchjust before theNYT's acquisition, Wardle revealed that nearly two million users were playing the game.

Related:Are You Better At Wordle Than Bill Gates? See His Strategy

So far, Wordle has remained free — and extremely popular, bringing "tens of millions" of new users to theNYTin the first quarter of 2022, perThe Verge.

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