The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ABFINYL

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Words
48
Points
206
Genius
144
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 48 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • ably

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • affably

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • alfalfa

    noun — A plant, principally of Medicago sativa, grown as a pasture crop.

    noun — A type or breed of this plant.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • alibi

    noun — The plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove being in another place when the alleged act was committed

    verb — To provide an excuse for.

    verb — To provide an alibi for.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • allay

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • ally

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • anal

    adjective — Of a person, compulsive and stubborn, obsessed with neatness and accuracy, supposedly from not having progressed beyond the anal stage.

    adjective — Of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.

    adjective — Of the stage in psychosexual development when the child's interest is alleged to be concentrated on the anal region.

    noun — Anal sex.

    noun — Any of the anal scales of a reptile.

    adjective — (of a vein) Proximate to the thorax.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • anally

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • annal

    noun — The record of a single event or item.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • bail

    noun — Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.

    noun — Release from imprisonment on payment of such money.

    verb — To exit quickly.

    verb — To fail to meet a commitment.

    noun — A hoop, ring or handle (especially of a kettle or bucket).

    verb — To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • bailiff

    noun — (law enforcement) An officer of the court, particularly:

    noun — A public administrator, particularly:

    noun — A private administrator, particularly

    noun — Any debt collector, regardless of his or her official status.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • ball

    noun — A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.

    noun — A round or ellipsoidal object.

    verb — To play basketball.

    noun — A very enjoyable time.

    verb — To form or wind into a ball.

    noun — A formal dance.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • banal

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • banally

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • bialy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • bilabial

    adjective — Articulated with both lips.

    noun — A speech sound articulated with both lips.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • bill

    noun — A piece of paper money; a banknote.

    noun — A written note of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; an invoice.

    verb — To charge; to send a bill to.

    noun — A draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.

    noun — The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal.

    noun — Of a cap or hat: the brim or peak, serving as a shade to keep sun off the face and out of the eyes.

    Appeared in 22 recorded puzzles.

  • billy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • blab

    verb — To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.

    noun — Gossip; prattle.

    noun — One who blabs; a babbler; a telltale; a gossip or gossiper.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • blabby

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • blin

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • blini

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • fail

    noun — Poor quality; substandard workmanship.

    verb — To be unsuccessful.

    adjective — That is a failure.

    noun — A piece of turf cut from grassland.

    noun — A failure (condition of being unsuccessful)

    noun — A failure (something incapable of success)

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • fall

    noun — The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.

    verb — (heading) To be moved downwards.

    noun — The chasing of a hunted whale.

    noun — A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc.

    noun — The time of the year when the leaves typically fall from the trees; autumn; the season of the year between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.

    noun — A loss of greatness or status.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • fallibly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • filial

    adjective — Pertaining to or befitting a son or daughter.

    adjective — Respectful of the duties and attitudes of a son or daughter toward their parents.

    adjective — Of a generation or generations descending from a specific previous one.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • filially

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • fill

    verb — To occupy fully, to take up all of.

    noun — (after a possessive) A sufficient or more than sufficient amount.

    noun — One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.

    verb — To add contents to (a container, cavity or the like) so that it is full.

    verb — To enter (something), making it full.

    verb — To become full.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • filly

    noun — A young female horse.

    noun — A young attractive female.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • final

    noun — A final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class.

    adjective — Last; ultimate.

    noun — The last round, game or match in a contest, after which the winner is determined.

    noun — A contest that narrows a field of contestants (finalists) to ranked positions, usually in numbered places (1st place/prize, 2nd place/prize, etc.) or a winner and numbered runners-up (1st runner-up, etc.).

    noun — The final part of a syllable, the combination of medial and rime in phonetics and phonology.

    noun — The tonic or keynote of a Gregorian mode, and hence the final note of any conventional melody played in that mode.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • finally

    adverb — At the end or conclusion; ultimately.

    adverb — (sequence) To finish (with); lastly (in the present).

    adverb — (manner) Definitively, comprehensively.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • finial

    noun — The knot or bunch of foliage, or foliated ornament, that forms the upper extremity of a pinnacle in Gothic architecture.

    noun — Any decorative fitting at the peak of a gable, or on the top of a flagpole, fence post or staircase newel post.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • flab

    noun — Soft, loose flesh on a person's body; fat.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • flabby

    adjective — Yielding to the touch, and easily moved or shaken; hanging loose by its own weight; lacking firmness; flaccid.

    adjective — (of wine) Having a slight lack of acidity; having mild sweetness.

    adjective — (of writing, etc.) overwrought.

    adjective — Which forms a surjection from the domain to every open subset of the codomain.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • flail

    noun — A tool used for threshing, consisting of a long handle with a shorter stick attached with a short piece of chain, thong or similar material.

    verb — To beat using a flail or similar implement.

    noun — A weapon which has the (usually spherical) striking part attached to the handle with a flexible joint such as a chain.

    verb — To wave or swing vigorously

    verb — To thresh.

    verb — To move like a flail.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • flan

    noun — Baked tart with sweet or savoury filling in an open-topped pastry case. (Compare quiche.)

    noun — A fan of the U.S. TV series Firefly.

    noun — (Belize) A dessert of congealed custard, often topped with caramel, especially popular in Spanish-speaking countries.

    noun — A coin die. (Compare planchet.)

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • flay

    noun — A fright; a scare.

    verb — To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening).

    verb — To strip skin off

    noun — Fear; a source of fear; a formidable matter; a fearsome or repellent-looking individual.

    verb — To frighten; scare; terrify.

    verb — To be fear-stricken.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • flyby

    noun — A flight past a celestial object in order to make observations.

    noun — A low-level ceremonial flight, typically in connection with an airshow or a military parade.

    noun — A brief visit.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • illy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • infallibly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • infill

    noun — That which fills in a space, hole or gap.

    verb — To fill in a space, hole or gap.

    noun — Infiltration, the act of going into a place.

    noun — The redecoration of a fingernail or toenail after it has grown, to prevent an unsightly gap.

    verb — To rededicate land in an urban environment to new construction.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • inlay

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • labia

    noun — The folds of tissue at the opening of the vulva, at either side of the vagina.

    noun — A liplike structure; especially one of the two pairs of folds of skin either side of the vulva.

    noun — The lip of a labiate corolla.

    noun — The lip against which pressured air is driven to produce sound in a recorder and in a pipe organ with flue pipes.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • labial

    adjective — Of or pertaining to the lips or labia.

    adjective — Articulated by the lips, as the consonants b, m and w.

    noun — A consonant articulated by the lips.

    adjective — Of an incisor or canine, on the side facing the lips. See mesial.

    noun — Any of the scales bordering the mouth opening of a reptile.

    noun — An organ pipe having a lip that influences its sound.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • lain

    verb — To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

    verb — To be placed or situated.

    verb — To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition.

    verb — Used with with: to have sexual relations with.

    verb — Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist.

    verb — Used with on/upon: to be incumbent (on); to be the responsibility of a person.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • lanai

    noun — (Florida) A Hawaiian-style roofed patio.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • lily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • nail

    noun — The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.

    noun — A spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials. The nail is generally driven through two or more layers of material by means of impacts from a hammer or other device. It is then held in place by friction.

    verb — To fix (an object) to another object using a nail.

    verb — To drive a nail.

    verb — To nail down: to make certain, or confirm.

    verb — To accomplish (a task) completely and successfully.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ab×1
  • af×1
  • al×4
  • an×3
  • ba×5
  • bi×4
  • bl×4
  • fa×3
  • fi×7
  • fl×6
  • il×1
  • in×3
  • la×4
  • li×1
  • na×1

Words by first letter and length

4567810Σ
a 3312·· 9
b 54121· 13
f 64312· 16
i 111··1 4
l 221··· 5
n 1····· 1
Σ 18147531 48

The numbers

Genius today takes 144 points of 206 available. The average answer runs 5.3 letters.

Total points vs. all 387 recorded puzzles
49th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
54th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17524 recorded answers

418 today34.6% all-time514 today22.8% all-time67 today19.9% all-time75 today12.1% all-time83 today6.3% all-time92.6% all-time101 today1.2% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a Monday, July 21, 2025 Saturday, July 19, 2025
b Tuesday, July 22, 2025 Tuesday, July 1, 2025
f Friday, July 11, 2025 first recorded time
i Wednesday, July 23, 2025 Friday, July 18, 2025
l ● Monday, July 21, 2025 Thursday, July 10, 2025
n Monday, July 21, 2025 first recorded time
y Thursday, July 17, 2025 first recorded time

Other days with this pangram

Same seven letters

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 42
  2. onion 30
  3. naan 30
  4. nana 30
  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. olio 23
  15. bill 22
  16. neon 22
  17. none 22
  18. lilt 21
  19. till 21
  20. tilt 21
  21. aria 21
  22. onto 21
  23. toon 21
  24. cancan 21
  25. canna 21

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.