Google has released its “Year in Search” annual report for 2022 featuring the most-searched terms of the year.
The report revealed that Wordle topped the global list, making the online game the most popular word in 2022. The game became a worldwide phenomenon at the beginning of the year and searches peaked from Feb. 13 to 19, right after The New York Times acquisition on Jan. 31.
This result is probably due to the global trend the game initiated, which motivated people from all over the world to try to solve the puzzle in under six tries. Since it’s a daily endeavor, players were engaged in competition between friends and colleagues, and a lot of content was created revolving around the word game.
In second place in Google’s searches section of the report came “India vs England,” probably due to the Cricket World Cup in July, when both teams faced each other in the international competition. Third and fourth places featured “Ukraine” and “Queen Elizabeth,” concerning two sad episodes of the year. Last but not least, India appeared again in the “Ind vs SA” term, also regarding cricket matches.
The “Year in Search” report also revealed other search categories, such as news, people, matches, movies, TV shows, and many others. Some terms that appeared in multiple categories as top searches were Queen Elizabeth, Ukraine, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, and Amber Heard.
A lot of people clearly used Google to search for Wordle this year. But whether they were searching for the actual word game or helpful hints to try to solve the daily puzzle is open to interpretation.
