The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ABDEITC

Sunday, August 17, 2025

Words
56
Points
338
Genius
236
Pangrams
3

Official answers

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Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • abaci

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • abdicate

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • abdicated

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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.

  • accede

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • acceded

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • aced

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • acetate

    noun — Any salt or ester of acetic acid.

    noun — Cellulose acetate.

    noun — A transparent sheet used for overlays.

    noun — Ellipsis of acetate disc: a disc of aluminium covered in a wax used to make demonstration copies of a phonograph record.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • acetic

    adjective — Of, pertaining to, or producing vinegar

    adjective — Of or pertaining to acetic acid or its derivatives

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • acid

    noun — A sour substance.

    adjective — Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar.

    noun — Any of several classes of compound having the following properties:

    noun — Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

    adjective — Sour-tempered.

    adjective — Of or pertaining to an acid; acidic.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • acidic

    adjective — Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red.

    adjective — Containing a high percentage of silica; opposed to basic.

    adjective — Of or relating to acid; having the character of an acid.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • acted

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • addict

    noun — A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug

    verb — To deliver (someone or something) following a judicial decision.

    noun — An adherent or fan (of something)

    verb — To devote (oneself) to a given activity, occupation, thing etc.

    verb — To bind (a person or thing) to the service of something.

    verb — To devote or pledge (oneself) to a given person, cause etc.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • addicted

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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.

  • cabbed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cabbie

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 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.

  • caddie

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • caddied

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cadet

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cede

    verb — To give up; yield to another.

    verb — To give way.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • ceded

    verb — To give up; yield to another.

    verb — To give way.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • ciabatta

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cicada

    noun — Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • cite

    verb — To quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or the words of another.

    noun — A citation

    verb — To list the source(s) from which one took information, words or literary or verbal context.

    verb — To summon officially or authoritatively to appear in court.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • cited

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • decade

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • deceit

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • decide

    verb — To resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle

    verb — To make a judgment, especially after deliberation

    verb — To cause someone to come to a decision

    verb — To cut off; to separate

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • decided

    verb — To resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle

    verb — To make a judgment, especially after deliberation

    adjective — Clear; unmistakable

    adjective — Determined; resolute

    verb — To cause someone to come to a decision

    verb — To cut off; to separate

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • dedicate

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • dedicated

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • dedicatee

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • deice

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • deiced

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • deicide

    noun — The killing of a god or goddess; godslaughter.

    noun — The killer of a god or goddess.

    noun — The crucifixion of Jesus viewed as a crime.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • detect

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • detected

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • diabetic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • dice

    verb — To cut into small cubes.

    noun — A regular polyhedron, usually a cube, with numbers or symbols on each side and used in games of chance.

    verb — To play dice.

    noun — That which has been diced.

    noun — (plural also dies) An oblong chip fractured from a semiconductor wafer engineered to perform as an independent device or integrated circuit.

    noun — Gaming with one or more dice.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • diced

    verb — To cut into small cubes.

    verb — To play dice.

    verb — To ornament with squares, diamonds, or cubes.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • dicta

    noun — An authoritative statement; a dogmatic saying; a maxim, an apothegm.

    noun — A judicial opinion expressed by judges on points that do not necessarily arise in the case, and are not involved in it.

    noun — The report of a judgment made by one of the judges who has given it.

    noun — An arbitrament or award.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • dictate

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • dictated

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • didact

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • didactic

    noun — A treatise on teaching or education.

    adjective — Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality.

    adjective — Excessively moralizing.

    adjective — Teaching from textbooks rather than laboratory demonstration and clinical application.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • dietetic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • edict

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • eidetic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • iced

    adjective — With ice added.

    adjective — Covered with icing.

    adjective — Very cold, but not necessarily containing ice.

    verb — To cover with icing (frosting made of sugar and milk or white of egg); to frost; as cakes, tarts, etc.

    verb — To cool with ice, as a beverage.

    verb — To murder.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • tacet

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 8 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.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ab×3
  • ac×10
  • ad×2
  • at×1
  • ca×6
  • ce×2
  • ci×4
  • de×12
  • di×9
  • ed×1
  • ei×1
  • ic×1
  • ta×4

Words by first letter and length

456789Σ
a 335221 16
c 24411· 12
d 136362 21
e ·1·1·· 2
i 1····· 1
t 121··· 4
Σ 81316793 56

The numbers

Genius today takes 236 points of 338 available. The average answer runs 6.1 letters.

Total points vs. all 384 recorded puzzles
93rd percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
74th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17432 recorded answers

48 today34.6% all-time513 today22.8% all-time616 today20.0% all-time77 today12.1% all-time89 today6.3% all-time93 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 Saturday, August 16, 2025 Saturday, July 19, 2025
b Thursday, August 14, 2025 Thursday, July 31, 2025
c ● Saturday, August 16, 2025 Wednesday, July 30, 2025
d Thursday, August 14, 2025 Monday, August 11, 2025
e Friday, August 15, 2025 Sunday, August 3, 2025
i Saturday, August 16, 2025 Thursday, August 14, 2025
t Friday, August 15, 2025 Friday, August 8, 2025

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.