The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

CDENOUK

Friday, August 29, 2025

Words
45
Points
189
Genius
132
Pangrams
3

Official answers

Show the 45 answersHide answers

Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • cock

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cocked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • coke

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • conk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • conked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cook

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cooked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cuckoo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cuckooed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cuke

    noun — A cucumber.

    noun — A cucoloris.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • deck

    noun — Any raised flat surface that can be walked on: a balcony; a porch; a raised patio; a flat rooftop.

    verb — To furnish with a deck, as a vessel.

    verb — (sometimes with out) To dress (someone) up, to clothe with more than ordinary elegance

    noun — The floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks.

    noun — A main aeroplane surface, especially of a biplane or multiplane.

    noun — A pack or set of playing cards.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • decked

    verb — To furnish with a deck, as a vessel.

    verb — (sometimes with out) To dress (someone) up, to clothe with more than ordinary elegance

    adjective — Adorned or embellished.

    verb — To knock someone to the floor, especially with a single punch.

    verb — To cause a player to run out of cards to draw and usually lose the game as a result.

    verb — (sometimes with out) To decorate (something).

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • deke

    noun — A feint, fake, or other move made by the player with the puck to deceive a goaltender or defenceman.

    verb — To avoid, go around, or dodge an object, person, or conversation topic; often by using trickery.

    noun — As in hockey, a fake or other move to confuse other players on a team.

    noun — A quick detour.

    verb — To execute a deke in ice hockey or other sports.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • deked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • dock

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • docked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • duck

    verb — To quickly lower the head or body in order to prevent it from being struck by something.

    noun — An aquatic bird of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet.

    noun — A person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled.

    noun — A tightly-woven cotton fabric used as sailcloth.

    noun — A term of endearment; pet; darling.

    verb — To quickly lower (the head) in order to prevent it from being struck by something.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • ducked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • duke

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • duked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • dunk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • dunked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • eked

    verb — Chiefly in the form eke out: to add to, to augment; to increase; to lengthen.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • keen

    adjective — Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.

    adjective — Having a fine edge or point; sharp.

    adjective — Acute of mind, having or expressing mental acuteness; penetrating, sharp.

    adjective — Of cold, wind, etc.: cutting, penetrating, piercing, sharp.

    adjective — Fierce, intense, vehement.

    adjective — Of prices, extremely low as to be competitive.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • keened

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • kendo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • keno

    noun — A gambling game, a variety of the game of lotto, played with balls or knobs, numbered, and cards also numbered.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • knee

    noun — In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.

    noun — The part of a garment that covers the knee.

    noun — An act of kneeling, especially to show respect or courtesy.

    verb — To poke or strike with the knee.

    verb — To move on the knees; to use the knees to move.

    noun — A blow made with the knee; a kneeing.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • kneed

    verb — To kneel to.

    adjective — Having a knee or knees, or, in combination, the stated type of knee or knees.

    verb — To poke or strike with the knee.

    verb — To move on the knees; to use the knees to move.

    adjective — Having angular joints like the knee.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • knock

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • knocked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • kook

    noun — An eccentric, strange or crazy person.

    noun — (kiteboarding, wakeboarding) A boardsport participant who lacks style or skill; a newbie who acts as if they are better at the sport than they are.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • kudu

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • neck

    noun — The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.

    verb — To hang by the neck; strangle; kill, eliminate

    noun — The corresponding part in some other anatomical contexts.

    noun — The part of a shirt, dress etc., which fits a person's neck.

    noun — The tapered part of a bottle toward the opening.

    noun — The slender tubelike extension atop an archegonium, through which the sperm swim to reach the egg.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • necked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • nock

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • nocked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • nook

    noun — A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.

    verb — To withdraw into a nook.

    noun — A hidden or secluded spot; a secluded retreat.

    noun — A recess, cove or hollow.

    noun — An English unit of land area, originally 1/4 of a yardland but later 12 1/2 or 20 acres.

    noun — A corner of a piece of land; an angled piece of land, especially one extending into other land.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • nuke

    noun — A nuclear weapon.

    verb — To use a nuclear weapon on a target.

    noun — A nucleus colony; a small bee colony created from a larger colony.

    noun — The spinal cord.

    noun — A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.

    noun — (by extension) Something that destroys or negates, especially on a catastrophic scale.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • nuked

    verb — To use a nuclear weapon on a target.

    verb — To destroy or erase completely.

    verb — (by extension) To carry out a denial-of-service attack against (an IRC user).

    verb — To expose to some form of radiation.

    verb — To cook in a microwave oven.

    verb — To over-analyze or overly despair over something.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • uncock

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • uncocked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • uncooked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • undock

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • undocked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • co×7
  • cu×3
  • de×4
  • do×2
  • du×6
  • ek×1
  • ke×4
  • kn×4
  • ko×1
  • ku×1
  • ne×2
  • no×3
  • nu×2
  • un×5

Words by first letter and length

45678Σ
c 5·4·1 10
d 624·· 12
e 1···· 1
k 5311· 10
n 412·· 7
u ··2·3 5
Σ 2161314 45

The numbers

Genius today takes 132 points of 189 available. The average answer runs 5.1 letters.

Total points vs. all 425 recorded puzzles
43rd percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
49th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 19174 recorded answers

421 today34.4% all-time56 today23.0% all-time613 today20.0% all-time71 today12.1% all-time84 today6.3% all-time92.6% 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
c Thursday, August 28, 2025 Thursday, August 28, 2025
d Wednesday, August 27, 2025 Monday, August 11, 2025
e Thursday, August 28, 2025 Sunday, August 3, 2025
k ● Wednesday, August 20, 2025 first recorded time
n Thursday, August 28, 2025 Friday, August 15, 2025
o Thursday, August 28, 2025 Tuesday, August 19, 2025
u Tuesday, August 26, 2025 Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 45
  2. naan 34
  3. nana 34
  4. onion 31
  5. toot 31
  6. loll 29
  7. mama 27
  8. mamma 27
  9. acacia 25
  10. acai 25
  11. nene 25
  12. cocoon 24
  13. mini 24
  14. minim 24
  15. loon 24
  16. olio 24
  17. aria 23
  18. imam 23
  19. maim 23
  20. mitt 23
  21. onto 23
  22. toon 23
  23. cancan 23
  24. canna 23
  25. neon 23

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.