The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

CILOTUN

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Words
51
Points
260
Genius
182
Pangrams
2

Official answers

Show the 51 answersHide answers

Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • clinic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • coconut

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cocoon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • coin

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • colon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • colonic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • concoct

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • concoction

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • conic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • cotillion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cotton

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • council

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • count

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • icon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • iconic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • into

    preposition — To or towards the inside of.

    preposition — To or towards the region of.

    preposition — Against, especially with force or violence.

    preposition — Indicates transition into another form or substance.

    preposition — After the start of.

    preposition — Interested in or attracted to.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • intuit

    verb — To know intuitively or by immediate perception.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • intuition

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • ionic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • linocut

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • lint

    noun — Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc.

    verb — To perform a static check on (source code) to detect stylistic or programmatic errors.

    noun — A fine material made by scraping cotton or linen cloth; used for dressing wounds.

    noun — The fibrous coat of thick hairs covering the seeds of the cotton plant.

    noun — Raw cotton ready for baling.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • lion

    noun — A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.

    adjective — Of the light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion.

    noun — (by extension) Any of various extant and extinct big cats, especially the mountain lion.

    noun — A Chinese foo dog.

    noun — An individual who shows strength and courage, attributes associated with the lion.

    noun — A famous person regarded with interest and curiosity.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • locution

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • loin

    noun — The part of the body (of humans and quadrupeds) at each side of the backbone, between the ribs and hips

    noun — Any of several cuts of meat taken from this part of an animal

    Appeared in 15 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.

  • lotion

    noun — A low- to medium-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to unbroken skin.

    verb — To cover or treat with a lotion.

    noun — A washing, especially of the skin for the purpose of beautification.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • nonillion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • nonunion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 8 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.

  • notion

    noun — Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.

    noun — A sentiment; an opinion.

    noun — Sense; mind.

    noun — An invention; an ingenious device; a knickknack.

    noun — Any small article used in sewing and haberdashery, either for attachment to garments or as a tool, such as a button, zipper, or thimble.

    noun — Inclination; intention; disposition.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • noun

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • null

    noun — A non-existent or empty value or set of values.

    verb — To nullify; to annul.

    adjective — Having no validity; "null and void"

    noun — Zero quantity of expressions; nothing.

    noun — Something that has no force or meaning.

    noun — The ASCII or Unicode character (␀), represented by a zero value, that indicates no character and is sometimes used as a string terminator.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • nuncio

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • octillion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • onion

    noun — A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.

    noun — The bulb of such a plant.

    noun — The genus as a whole.

    noun — A ball.

    noun — A person from Bermuda or of Bermudian descent.

    Appeared in 30 recorded puzzles.

  • onto

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • tinct

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • tint

    verb — To shade, to color.

    noun — A slight coloring.

    noun — A pale or faint tinge of any color; especially, a variation of a color obtained by adding white (contrast shade)

    noun — A color considered with reference to other very similar colors.

    noun — A shaded effect in engraving, produced by the juxtaposition of many fine parallel lines.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • tonic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • toon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • tuition

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • tunic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • uncoil

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • uncool

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • unction

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • uncut

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • union

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • unit

    noun — An organized group comprising people and/or equipment.

    noun — A measure of housing equivalent to the living quarters of one household; an apartment where a group of apartments is contained in one or more multi-storied buildings or a group of dwellings is in one or more single storey buildings, usually arranged around a driveway.

    noun — A standard measure of a quantity.

    noun — An item which may be sold singly.

    noun — A unit of alcohol.

    noun — The number one.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • unlit

    adjective — Not lit

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • until

    preposition — Up to the time of (something happening).

    conjunction — Up to the time that (a condition becomes true).

    preposition — Up to (a certain place)

    preposition — Before (a time).

    conjunction — Before (a condition becoming true).

    preposition — To; physically towards.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • unto

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

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

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • cl×1
  • co×12
  • ic×2
  • in×3
  • io×1
  • li×3
  • lo×4
  • no×5
  • nu×2
  • oc×1
  • on×2
  • ti×2
  • to×2
  • tu×2
  • un×9

Words by first letter and length

45678910Σ
c 1334·11 13
i 212··1· 6
l 4·111·· 7
n 3·2·11· 7
o 11···1· 3
t 23·1··· 6
u 2421··· 9
Σ 1512107241 51

The numbers

Genius today takes 182 points of 260 available. The average answer runs 5.7 letters.

Total points vs. all 386 recorded puzzles
73rd percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
63rd percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17499 recorded answers

415 today34.6% all-time512 today22.8% all-time610 today19.9% all-time77 today12.1% all-time82 today6.3% all-time94 today2.6% 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
c Tuesday, September 16, 2025 Tuesday, September 16, 2025
i Saturday, September 13, 2025 Friday, September 12, 2025
l Tuesday, September 16, 2025 Wednesday, August 27, 2025
n ● Tuesday, September 16, 2025 Tuesday, September 9, 2025
o Tuesday, September 16, 2025 Sunday, September 14, 2025
t Monday, September 15, 2025 Monday, August 25, 2025
u Tuesday, September 16, 2025 Tuesday, August 12, 2025

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.