Show all 100 words (91 more)
Early Presidents
Later Presidents
The Job of President
White House
Washington and Lincoln
Early Presidents, continued
Pierce The 14th president, 1853 to 1857, born in New Hampshire, the son of a governor. Polk The 11th president, 1845 to 1849. In his single term Texas joined the Union and the country grew to reach the Pacific. Taylor The 12th president, a career army officer and war hero who died in 1850, 16 months into his term. Tyler The 10th president, 1841 to 1845, the first vice president to take over on the death of a president. Washington The 1st president, 1789 to 1797. He led the Continental Army, and the capital city and a state carry his name.
Later Presidents 20
Arthur The 21st president, 1881 to 1885. He had been vice president and took over when the 20th president died. Carter The 39th president, 1977 to 1981, a former governor of Georgia. He lived to 100, longer than any other president. Cleveland The 22nd and 24th president, the first to serve two terms that were not back to back. Coolidge The 30th president, 1923 to 1929, born on the Fourth of July. His quiet manner earned him the nickname Silent Cal. Eisenhower The 34th president, 1953 to 1961, a five-star general who commanded the Allied Expeditionary Force in World War II. Ford The 38th president, 1974 to 1977. He sat in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1973 and was vice president when Nixon resigned. Garfield The 20th president, 1881, the only sitting member of the House of Representatives ever elected to the office. Grant The 18th president, 1869 to 1877, the general who led the Union Army to victory in 1865. Harding The 29th president, 1921 to 1923. Before politics he built a newspaper, The Marion Star, into a success. Hayes The 19th president, 1877 to 1881. He brought the Easter egg roll to the White House lawn in 1878. Hoover The 31st president, 1929 to 1933, one of the first graduates of Stanford University. The Great Depression filled his term. Johnson The family name of Andrew, the 17th president, who followed Lincoln, and of Lyndon, the 36th, who followed Kennedy. Kennedy The 35th president, 1961 to 1963. At 43 he was the youngest person ever elected to the office. McKinley The 25th president, 1897 to 1901, the last to have served in the Civil War. Hawaii was annexed in his term. Nixon The 37th president, 1969 to 1974, the only one to resign. The first Moon landing came during his term. Reagan The 40th president, 1981 to 1989, born in February 1911. He had been a sports broadcaster and a film actor. Roosevelt The family name of Theodore, the 26th president, for whom the teddy bear is named, and of Franklin, the 32nd, who served longest. Taft The 27th president, 1909 to 1913, who built the first Oval Office. He later became chief justice, the only person to hold both posts. Truman The 33rd president, 1945 to 1953. He took office when Franklin Roosevelt died, and he backed the founding of NATO. Wilson The 28th president, 1913 to 1921. He led the country through World War I and had been head of Princeton University.
The Job of President 20
Ballot The paper or screen on which a voter marks a choice. Bill A proposed law. Once Congress passes it, the president has ten days, not counting Sundays, to sign it. Cabinet The president's main advisers, the heads of the departments. They meet in a room next to the Oval Office. Chief A leader or head. The president's personal anthem, played by the Marine Band, hails the president by this title. Commander A person in charge of armed forces. The president holds the highest such post in the country. Congress The Senate and the House of Representatives together. A president may refuse a law they pass, but they can overrule the refusal. Constitution The nation's highest law. It says a president must be at least 35, a citizen from birth and 14 years a resident. Election The nationwide choosing of a president, held every four years. Electors The 538 people who meet in December, after the nation has voted, to choose the president formally. Executive The branch of government that the president leads. Orders a president gives to that branch carry this name too. Inauguration The ceremony at which a new term begins. Since 1937 the term has begun at noon on January 20. Oath The promise every president makes before using any powers. Its exact words are written into the Constitution. Pardon To forgive a crime officially. Each Thanksgiving a turkey at the White House is jokingly given one. President The head of state and of the government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. The job pays 400,000 dollars a year. Senate The upper house of Congress, which must approve the department heads a president chooses. Term A president's spell in office: four years. Since 1951 nobody may be elected to more than two. Treaty A formal agreement between countries, that the president is empowered to make. Veto The president's power to refuse a bill. Congress can overturn it with two thirds of the votes in each house. Vice The word that goes before president in the title of the second-highest office, first in line if the top job falls empty. Vote One person's choice in an election. In the Electoral College, 270 of these win the presidency.
White House 20
Airplane Air Force One is the call sign of any Air Force one carrying the president, most often a specially fitted jumbo jet. Avenue A wide street. The White House stands at number 1600 on the one named for Pennsylvania. Bowling A game of rolling a ball at pins. Richard Nixon had a single lane for it put in the White House basement. Capitol The white domed building where Congress meets, at the east end of the National Mall. Its first parts were finished in 1800. Desk The president's is made of oak from the British ship Resolute, a gift from Queen Victoria in 1880. Helicopter Any Marine Corps one takes the call sign Marine One while the president is aboard. House A home. The president's holds 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms, with 412 doors and 147 windows. Lawn A stretch of mown grass. The South one lies behind the White House, and the North one faces Pennsylvania Avenue. Library The National Archives keeps the papers of every president since Herbert Hoover, most of them in a building of this kind. Limousine The president's long armored car, a custom-built vehicle nicknamed the Beast. Office A room to work in, or a post of duty. The president's is in the West Wing's southeast corner. Oval Shaped like an egg. The president's office has had this shape since 1909. Pennsylvania The state whose name is on the avenue where the White House stands. Gettysburg is one of its towns. Retreat A quiet place to get away to. The president's is Camp David, in the Maryland mountains, about 62 miles from the capital. Rooms The White House has 132 of these, along with 28 fireplaces, eight staircases and three elevators. Rose A thorny flower. The garden named for it, beside the Oval Office, is used for receptions and announcements. Sandstone The pale rock from Virginia that the White House walls are built of, under the paint. Secret The first word in the name of the Service that has guarded presidents since 1901. Its first job was to stop fake money. White The color of the president's house, and since 1901 the first word of its official name. Wing A part of a building that stands out to one side. The West one, built in 1902, holds the president's staff.
Washington and Lincoln 26
Beard Lincoln grew one after Grace Bedell, a girl of 11, wrote him a letter encouraging it. Birthday The federal name of the holiday is still Washington's this. He was born February 22, 1732. Cabin A small house built of logs. Lincoln was born in one with a single room, in Kentucky. Cherry A small red fruit. In a tale first told by Parson Weems, young Washington chops down his father's tree. Its pie is the day's treat. Delaware The river Washington's army crossed on the night of December 25, 1776, to win the Battle of Trenton. Dollar The bill with Washington's portrait on the front, based on a painting made by Gilbert Stuart in 1796. Emancipation Setting people free. Lincoln's proclamation of January 1, 1863, declared enslaved people in the rebel states free. February The month of the holiday. Washington was born on its 22nd day in 1732, and Lincoln on its 12th in 1809. Federal Belonging to the national government. A 1968 law moved this and other such holidays to Mondays from 1971. General The top rank of army officer. Washington commanded the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783. Gettysburg The Pennsylvania town where Lincoln gave a speech of just 271 words on November 19, 1863. Holiday A day off by law. This one began in 1879, the first to honor an American president, and was kept on February 22 until 1970. Honest Truthful. With Abe after it, this was Lincoln's nickname. Illinois The state where Lincoln lived and practiced law before he was elected. Its capital is Springfield. Kentucky The state where Lincoln was born in 1809. His family moved on to Indiana in 1816. Lawyer A person trained in the law. Lincoln taught himself from books and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1836. Memorial Lincoln's, at the west end of the National Mall, was dedicated in 1922. It is pictured on the five-dollar bill's back. Monday The holiday is the third one of February, so it falls from the 15th to the 21st and never on the 22nd. Monument Washington's is a 555-foot obelisk on the National Mall, the tallest structure in the world from 1884 to 1889. Penny The one-cent coin. Lincoln's face first appeared on it in 1909, a hundred years after his birth. Quarter The 25-cent coin. Washington's profile first appeared on it in 1932, two hundred years after his birth. Rushmore The South Dakota mountain carved from 1927 to 1941 with the faces of four presidents, each 60 feet tall. Stovepipe A tall top hat with straight sides. Lincoln made the style famous and often carried letters inside his. Surveyor A person who measures and maps land. Washington was licensed as one in 1749, at the age of 17. Vernon Washington's home on the Potomac River in Virginia is called Mount this. He died there in 1799. Virginia The state where Washington was born, at Popes Creek, and where he farmed, died and is buried.
How this list was compiled: 100 Presidents' Day words chosen and defined for this site, in five themed lists (early presidents, Washington to Lincoln; later presidents, Andrew Johnson to Reagan; the job of president; the White House; Washington and Lincoln, with the holiday itself) plus three cross-cutting lists: 24 favorites that open the page, the 26 short words of 4 or 5 letters and the 37 long words of 8 to 12 letters. Every entry is a single word of 3 to 12 letters with no spaces, hyphens or apostrophes. No clue contains its own word, because the clue replaces the word in clue mode. People: the 34 surnames stand for 38 of the 40 United States presidents who have died, since Adams, Harrison, Johnson and Roosevelt each stand for two men and the clue names both. The two left out are Van Buren (8th, died 1862), whose surname is two words, and Bush, a surname shared by the 41st president (died 2018) and the living 43rd. No living president is listed (Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden were living when this was checked). Each clue gives the man's number, years in office and one deed from the introduction of his English Wikipedia article. Other people named in clues have also died (Queen Victoria, Parson Weems 1759 to 1825, Gilbert Stuart, Grace Bedell 1848 to 1936). No clue quotes anyone. Definitions are our own wording for readers of about 7 to 12. Facts were checked on 2026-09-19 against English Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents%27_Day (federal name Washington's Birthday; third Monday of February, the 15th to the 21st, never the 22nd; 1879 and 1885; kept on February 22 until 1970; Uniform Monday Holiday Act signed 1968, in effect 1971; cherry pie; spellings), the article on each president named (ordinals, years, life dates and deeds), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington (born February 22, 1732 at Popes Creek, Virginia; surveyor's license 1749 and Culpeper County at 17; commander in chief 1775 to 1783; died at Mount Vernon in 1799; capital and state named for him), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington%27s_crossing_of_the_Delaware_River , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vernon , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_Locke_Weems (source of the cherry tree tale), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln (one-room log cabin in Kentucky; Indiana 1816; self-taught, Illinois bar 1836; Springfield; Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863; Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Bedell , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_hat (stovepipe, letters carried inside), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address (271 words), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States (head of state and government, commander in chief; four-year term; Twenty-second Amendment 1951; veto and two-thirds override; ten days to sign; treaties; salary; at least 35, natural-born citizen, 14 years resident; 538 electors, 270 to win, meeting in December; noon on January 20 since 1937), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_office_of_the_president_of_the_United_States , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_United_States , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_the_United_States , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_order , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_to_the_Chief , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Thanksgiving_Turkey_Presentation , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; named officially in 1901; Aquia Creek sandstone from Virginia; 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms; 412 doors and 147 windows; 28 fireplaces; eight staircases and three elevators; West Wing 1902; first Oval Office 1909 under Taft; Nixon's bowling lane; John Adams the first resident), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oval_Office , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolute_desk , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Lawn , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Rose_Garden , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_rolling (Hayes, 1878), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_One , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_One , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_VC-25 , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_state_car , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Capitol , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_library_system , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_cent (first struck 1909), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_quarter (first struck 1932), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_one-dollar_bill , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_five-dollar_bill , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rushmore (1927 to 1941, 60 feet), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument (555 feet; tallest structure 1884 to 1889) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial (dedicated 1922). Rechecked 2026-09-20 after the truth review: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_library_system (thirteen libraries run fully or partly by the National Archives; the Obama, Trump and Biden libraries are listed as digital, in NARA facilities), so the Library clue says the Archives keeps the papers of every president since Hoover, most of them in a building of this kind. The Limousine and Airplane clues no longer name a car maker or an aircraft maker (the family rule: no brands). Review fix 2026-09-20 (round 3), checked live that day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Semiquincentennial_coinage (of the five quarter obverses struck for 2026 only one shows Washington; the others show two Pilgrims, Jefferson, Madison and Lincoln; cents for circulation stopped in November 2025), so the Quarter and Penny clues give the first year and do not say "since". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Ford (House from January 3, 1949, to December 6, 1973; vice president from December 6, 1973, to August 9, 1974). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_inauguration (the term begins at noon on January 20; the public ceremony moved to January 21 in 1957, 1985 and 2013). Favorites: Holiday gave its place to Constitution. Licence: own work