Thanks to the popular word guessing game "Wordle", an 80-year-old woman who had been held by a burglar for around 20 hours has been freed in the USA.

The daughter of suburban Chicago resident Denyse Holt became suspicious when her mother, contrary to her habit, failed to send her her daily Wordle result.

The daughter, who lives at the other end of the country on the west coast, finally alerted the police, who were able to free Holt.

For the 80-year-old, the dramatic hours began on Sunday night in her home in Lincolnwood, as US media reported.

While she was sleeping, a naked man armed with scissors broke into her home, bleeding from the broken window he had smashed.

"I was in shock," Holt told CBS.

The man threatened her, but also told her that he didn't want to harm her.

"I was just trying to survive."

The 32-year-old, who the police say suffers from mental health problems, even forced Holt to take a bath with him because he was cold.

He then locked her in a bathroom in the basement.

"I didn't think I would survive this," Holt said.

She tried to distract herself with exercise and stretches.

Unread messages and no Wordle result

Meanwhile, relatives began to worry on Sunday.

Her daughter, who lives in Seattle, saw that her mother wasn't reading text messages - and waited in vain for her mother's daily "Wordle" result.

"I didn't wordle my older daughter in the morning," Holt told CBS.

"That was worrying for her."

The daughter finally alerted the police, who checked Holdt's house on Sunday evening and recognized the seriousness of the situation.

The burglar was overwhelmed by a special task force and Holdt was freed.

According to CBS, the 80-year-old was held by the burglar for 17 hours, and the Washington Post even spoke of more than 20 hours.

The 32-year-old is charged with burglary with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping, among other things.

The online game Wordle has gained millions of fans in a short period of time.

The game consists of guessing a five-letter word in just six tries every day.

At the end of January, the "New York Times" announced that it had bought the game, developed by engineer Josh Wardle, for a price in the "low seven-figure range".