The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

BCFIKLA

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Words
49
Points
234
Genius
163
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 49 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • abaci

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • aback

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • 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.

  • alack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 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.

  • alkali

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • baba

    noun — A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.

    noun — (esp. among people of East European ancestry) A grandmother.

    noun — An old woman, especially a traditional old woman from an eastern European culture.

    noun — (esp. among people of Indian ancestry) A father.

    noun — (Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism) A holy man, a spiritual leader.

    noun — A baby, child.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • babka

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • bacilli

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • back

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • backfill

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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.

  • balalaika

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • balk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 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.

  • biblical

    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.

  • 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.

  • black

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • blackball

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cabal

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • cabala

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • calf

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • call

    noun — A telephone conversation.

    verb — (heading) To use one's voice.

    noun — A decision or judgement.

    noun — The characteristic cry of a bird or other animal.

    noun — A cry or shout.

    noun — A short visit, usually for social purposes.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • calla

    noun — The calla lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica.

    noun — A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • callback

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cilia

    noun — Hairs or similar protrusions along the margin of a plant organ.

    noun — A hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a unicellular organism or one cell of a multicelled organism). These structures serve either for locomotion by moving or as sensors.

    noun — One of the fine hairs along an insect's wing.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • clack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • facial

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 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.

  • fallback

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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.

  • flab

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

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • flack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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.

  • flak

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • iliac

    adjective — Of or pertaining to the ilium.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • kickback

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • kickball

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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.

  • lack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • laic

    noun — A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.

    adjective — Lay, relating to laypersons, as opposed to clerical.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • laical

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • lilac

    noun — A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink or purple flowers.

    adjective — Having a pale purple colour.

    noun — A flower of the lilac shrub.

    noun — (color) A pale purple color, the color of some lilac flowers.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ab×2
  • ac×2
  • al×4
  • ba×10
  • bi×2
  • bl×3
  • ca×6
  • ci×1
  • cl×1
  • fa×4
  • fi×1
  • fl×4
  • il×1
  • ki×2
  • la×5
  • li×1

Words by first letter and length

456789Σ
a 1421·· 8
b 62·232 15
c 241·1· 8
f 422·1· 9
i ·1···· 1
k ····2· 2
l 222··· 6
Σ 15157372 49

The numbers

Genius today takes 163 points of 234 available. The average answer runs 5.6 letters.

Total points vs. all 387 recorded puzzles
63rd percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
56th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17524 recorded answers

415 today34.6% all-time515 today22.8% all-time67 today19.9% all-time73 today12.1% all-time87 today6.3% all-time92 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 ● Thursday, October 16, 2025 Tuesday, October 7, 2025
b Sunday, October 19, 2025 Sunday, October 12, 2025
c Wednesday, October 22, 2025 Tuesday, September 16, 2025
f Sunday, October 19, 2025 Wednesday, October 1, 2025
i Wednesday, October 22, 2025 Tuesday, September 30, 2025
k Friday, October 10, 2025 Friday, August 29, 2025
l Wednesday, October 22, 2025 Friday, October 17, 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.