The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

AILNTUC

Saturday, July 12, 2025

Words
53
Points
290
Genius
203
Pangrams
2

Official answers

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Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • acacia

    noun — A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.

    noun — (history) A roll or bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.

    noun — The thickened or dried juice of several species in Acacieae, in particular Vachellia nilotica (syn. Acacia nilotica), the Egyptian acacia.

    noun — A false acacia; robinia tree, Robinia pseudoacacia.

    noun — Gum arabic; gum acacia.

    noun — Any of several related trees, such as the locust tree.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • acai

    noun — The fruit of these trees, harvested for its juice.

    noun — Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • actual

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • antic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • attic

    noun — The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • cacti

    noun — Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.

    noun — Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • calculi

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • call

    noun — A telephone conversation.

    verb — (heading) To use one's voice.

    noun — A decision or judgement.

    noun — The characteristic cry of a bird or other animal.

    noun — A cry or shout.

    noun — A short visit, usually for social purposes.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • calla

    noun — The calla lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica.

    noun — A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • canal

    noun — An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.

    noun — A tubular channel within the body.

    verb — To dig an artificial waterway in or to (a place), especially for drainage

    verb — To travel along a canal by boat

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • cancan

    noun — A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.

    verb — To dance the cancan.

    noun — (motocross) A trick where one leg is brought over the seat, so that both legs are on one side.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • canna

    noun — Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.

    noun — A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • cannula

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cant

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • cantata

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • cantina

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • catcall

    noun — A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.

    verb — To make such an exclamation.

    noun — In the Eiffel programming language, a run-time error caused by use of the wrong data type.

    noun — A shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature, usually made toward a passing woman.

    noun — A whistle blown by a theatre-goer to express disapproval.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • cattail

    noun — Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, that have long flat leaves, and grow in marshy places

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • caul

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cilia

    noun — Hairs or similar protrusions along the margin of a plant organ.

    noun — A hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a unicellular organism or one cell of a multicelled organism). These structures serve either for locomotion by moving or as sensors.

    noun — One of the fine hairs along an insect's wing.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • clan

    noun — A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief.

    noun — Any group defined by family ties with some sort of political unity.

    noun — A group of players who habitually play on the same team in multiplayer games.

    noun — A traditional social group of families in the Scottish Highlands having a common hereditary chieftain

    noun — A badger colony.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • clinic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • clinical

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • clinician

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • cull

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • cult

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cultic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • iliac

    adjective — Of or pertaining to the ilium.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • illicit

    noun — A banned or unlawful item.

    adjective — Not approved by law, but not invalid.

    adjective — Breaking social norms.

    adjective — Unlawful.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • incant

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • intact

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • italic

    noun — A typeface in which the letters slant to the right.

    adjective — (of a typeface or font) Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.

    noun — An oblique handwriting style, such as used by Italian calligraphers of the Renaissance.

    adjective — (of a typeface or font) Having letters that slant or lean to the right; oblique.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • lactic

    adjective — Of, relating to, or derived from milk

    adjective — (of fermentation) That produces lactic acid

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • lacuna

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • laic

    noun — A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.

    adjective — Lay, relating to laypersons, as opposed to clerical.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • laical

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • licit

    adjective — Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.

    adjective — Explicitly established or constituted by law.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • lilac

    noun — A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink or purple flowers.

    adjective — Having a pale purple colour.

    noun — A flower of the lilac shrub.

    noun — (color) A pale purple color, the color of some lilac flowers.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • lunatic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • nautical

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • niacin

    noun — A water-soluble vitamin, a component of vitamin B complex, found in meat, yeast, and dairy products; it is essential to metabolism.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • tacit

    adjective — Expressed in silence; implied, but not made explicit; silent.

    adjective — Not derived from formal principles of reasoning; based on induction rather than deduction.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • tact

    noun — The sense of touch; feeling.

    verb — To use a tact (a kind of verbal operant; see noun sense).

    noun — A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.

    noun — The stroke in beating time.

    noun — Sensitive mental touch; special skill or faculty; keen perception or discernment; ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances; the ability to say the right thing.

    noun — A verbal operant which is controlled by a nonverbal stimulus (such as an object, event, or property of an object) and is maintained by nonspecific social reinforcement (praise).

    Appeared in 19 recorded puzzles.

  • tactic

    noun — A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.

    adjective — Tactical; of or relating to the art of military and naval tactics.

    noun — A maneuver used against an enemy.

    noun — A sequence of moves that limits the opponent's options and results in an immediate and tangible advantage, typically in the form of material.

    adjective — Describing a polymer whose repeat units are identical.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • tactical

    noun — A combinator of proof tactics.

    adjective — Of, or relating to tactics

    noun — A private war reenactment event involving mock battles or skirmishes.

    adjective — Of, or relating to military operations that are smaller or more local than strategic ones

    adjective — Adroit, skilful or ingenious

    adjective — Having a military appearance, typically with accessories such as a bipod, adjustable stock, detachable magazine or black coloration

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • tactician

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • tactual

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • talc

    noun — Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic.

    verb — To apply talc to.

    noun — A microscope slide made of a plate of mica, generally in use from the start of modern microscopy until the early nineteenth century, after which glass slides became the standard medium.

    noun — A soft mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate, that has a soapy feel and a greenish, whitish, or grayish color, and usually occurs in foliated masses.

    noun — Talcum powder.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • tannic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • tinct

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • titanic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • tunic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • uncut

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

lunatic is a perfect pangram — all seven letters, each used exactly once.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ac×3
  • an×1
  • at×1
  • ca×14
  • ci×1
  • cl×4
  • cu×3
  • il×2
  • in×2
  • it×1
  • la×4
  • li×2
  • lu×1
  • na×1
  • ni×1
  • ta×8
  • ti×2
  • tu×1
  • un×1

Words by first letter and length

456789Σ
a 122··· 5
c 653611 22
i ·131·· 5
l 1231·· 7
n ··1·1· 2
t 232211 11
u ·1···· 1
Σ 1014141032 53

The numbers

Genius today takes 203 points of 290 available. The average answer runs 5.8 letters.

Total points vs. all 384 recorded puzzles
83rd percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
67th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17432 recorded answers

410 today34.6% all-time514 today22.8% all-time614 today20.0% all-time710 today12.1% all-time83 today6.3% all-time92 today2.6% all-time101.2% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a Friday, July 11, 2025 first recorded time
c ● Sunday, July 6, 2025 Friday, July 4, 2025
i Thursday, July 10, 2025 Sunday, July 6, 2025
l Friday, July 11, 2025 Thursday, July 10, 2025
n Thursday, July 10, 2025 first recorded time
t Thursday, July 10, 2025 Wednesday, July 9, 2025
u Monday, July 7, 2025 first recorded time

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 42
  2. naan 30
  3. nana 30
  4. onion 29
  5. toot 28
  6. loll 28
  7. mama 25
  8. mamma 25
  9. cocoon 23
  10. acacia 23
  11. acai 23
  12. loon 23
  13. nene 23
  14. bill 22
  15. neon 22
  16. none 22
  17. olio 22
  18. aria 21
  19. onto 21
  20. toon 21
  21. cancan 21
  22. canna 21
  23. lull 20
  24. lulu 20
  25. lilt 20

Valid words the Bee rejected

Dictionary words the Bee never takes

Legitimate words (per the ENABLE list) that fit the letters but aren't official answers — usually judged too obscure.