The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

BDELMON

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Words
59
Points
264
Genius
184
Pangrams
2

Official answers

Show the 59 answersHide answers

Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • been

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • bellmen

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • bend

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • blend

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • blended

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • blond

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • blonde

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • bonbon

    noun — A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy.

    noun — A small, spherical savory snack or canapé.

    noun — A Christmas cracker.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • bond

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • bonded

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • bone

    noun — A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.

    verb — To prepare (meat, etc) by removing the bone or bones from.

    adjective — Of an off-white colour, like the colour of bone.

    verb — To apprehend, steal.

    verb — To sight along an object or set of objects to check whether they are level or in line.

    noun — A musical instrument in the brass family, having a cylindrical bore, and usually a sliding tube (but sometimes piston valves, and rarely both). Most often refers to the tenor trombone, which is the most common type of trombone and has a fundamental tone of B♭ˌ (contra B♭).

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • boned

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • bonobo

    noun — The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • boon

    noun — A prayer; petition.

    adjective — Good; prosperous.

    noun — The woody portion of flax, separated from the fiber as refuse matter by retting, braking, and scutching.

    noun — That which is asked or granted as a benefit or favor; a gift or benefaction.

    noun — A good thing; a blessing or benefit; a thing to be thankful for.

    noun — An unpaid service due by a tenant to his lord.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • debone

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • deboned

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • demon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • done

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • donee

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • donned

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • ebon

    noun — (now poetic) Ebony; an ebony tree.

    adjective — Made of ebony.

    adjective — Black in colour.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • embolden

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  • emboldened

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  • emend

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • emended

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • ended

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • ennoble

    verb — To bestow with nobility, honour or grace.

    verb — To perform on a fabric the industrial processes of dry-cleaning, printing and embossing, and sizing and finishing.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • ennobled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • lemon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • lend

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • lone

    adjective — Solitary; having no companion.

    adjective — Isolated or lonely; lacking companionship.

    adjective — Sole; being the only one of a type.

    adjective — Situated by itself or by oneself, with no neighbours.

    adjective — Unfrequented by human beings; solitary.

    adjective — Single; unmarried, or in widowhood.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • loon

    noun — An idler, a lout.

    noun — Any of various birds, of the order Gaviiformes, of North America and Europe that dive for fish and have a short tail, webbed feet and a yodeling cry.

    noun — A boy, a lad.

    noun — A harlot; mistress.

    noun — A simpleton.

    noun — A crazy or deranged person.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • melodeon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • melon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • mend

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • mended

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • mondo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • mono

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • moon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • mooned

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • need

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • needed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • needle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • needled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • nene

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • neon

    noun — The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The lightest of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas.

    adjective — (of a color) That resembles a neon light; extremely bright; fluorescent

    noun — A form or sample of the element.

    noun — Neon signs or lights, collectively.

    noun — A neon tetra fish.

    Appeared in 22 recorded puzzles.

  • noble

    noun — An aristocrat; one of aristocratic blood.

    adjective — Having honorable qualities; having moral eminence and freedom from anything petty, mean or dubious in conduct and character.

    noun — A medieval gold coin of England in the 14th and 15th centuries, usually valued at 6s 8d.

    adjective — Grand; stately; magnificent; splendid.

    adjective — Of exalted rank; of or relating to the nobility; distinguished from the masses by birth, station, or title; highborn.

    adjective — (of a polyhedron) Both isohedral and isogonal.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • noblemen

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • nodded

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • node

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • noel

    noun — Christmas

    noun — A kind of hymn, or canticle, of mediaeval origin, sung in honor of the birth of Christ; a Christmas carol.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • none

    noun — A person without religious affiliation.

    adverb — To no extent, in no way.

    pronoun — Not any of a given number or group.

    noun — Those without any religious affiliation: atheists and others outside any organized religion.

    noun — A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day.

    noun — The middle of the afternoon, normally between 2 and 4 pm.

    Appeared in 22 recorded puzzles.

  • noob

    noun — (often pejorative) A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • noodle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • noodled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • noon

    noun — The ninth hour of the day counted from sunrise; around three o'clock in the afternoon.

    verb — To relax or sleep around midday

    noun — The letter ن in the Arabic script.

    noun — Time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.

    noun — The corresponding time in the middle of the night; midnight.

    noun — The highest point; culmination.

    Appeared in 42 recorded puzzles.

  • odeon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • olden

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • omen

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • be×3
  • bl×4
  • bo×7
  • de×3
  • do×3
  • eb×1
  • em×4
  • en×3
  • le×2
  • lo×2
  • me×4
  • mo×4
  • ne×6
  • no×10
  • od×1
  • ol×1
  • om×1

Words by first letter and length

4567810Σ
b 5342·· 14
d 1221·· 6
e 12·221 8
l 31···· 4
m 322·1· 8
n 81421· 16
o 12···· 3
Σ 221312741 59

The numbers

Genius today takes 184 points of 264 available. The average answer runs 5.4 letters.

Total points vs. all 381 recorded puzzles
74th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
81st percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17278 recorded answers

422 today34.6% all-time513 today22.8% all-time612 today19.9% all-time77 today12.1% all-time84 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
b Friday, September 5, 2025 Tuesday, September 2, 2025
d Sunday, September 7, 2025 Sunday, September 7, 2025
e Saturday, September 6, 2025 Sunday, August 3, 2025
l Monday, September 8, 2025 Wednesday, August 27, 2025
m Monday, September 8, 2025 Tuesday, August 26, 2025
n ● Sunday, September 7, 2025 Friday, August 15, 2025
o Sunday, September 7, 2025 Thursday, September 4, 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. loon 23
  11. nene 23
  12. acacia 22
  13. acai 22
  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. lilt 20
  24. till 20
  25. tilt 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.