The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ADEHKLC

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Words
53
Points
245
Genius
171
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 53 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • 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.

  • ache

    verb — To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.

    noun — Continued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain.

    verb — To cause someone or something to suffer pain.

    noun — The name of the Latin-script letter H.

    noun — Parsley

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • ached

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • alack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cache

    noun — A fast temporary storage where recently or frequently used information is stored to avoid having to reload it from a slower storage medium.

    noun — A store of things that may be required in the future, which can be retrieved rapidly, protected or hidden in some way.

    noun — (geocaching) A container containing treasure in a global treasure-hunt game.

    verb — To place in a cache.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • cached

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cackle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cackled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cake

    noun — A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.

    verb — Coat (something) with a crust of solid material.

    verb — To cackle like a goose.

    noun — A small mass of baked dough, especially a thin loaf from unleavened dough.

    noun — A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake.

    noun — A block of any of various dense materials.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • caked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 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.

  • called

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cede

    verb — To give up; yield to another.

    verb — To give way.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • ceded

    verb — To give up; yield to another.

    verb — To give way.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • cell

    noun — The basic unit of a living organism, consisting of a quantity of protoplasm surrounded by a cell membrane, which is able to synthesize proteins and replicate itself.

    noun — A cellular phone.

    noun — A room in a prison or jail for one or more inmates.

    noun — The unit in a statistical array (a spreadsheet, for example) where a row and a column intersect.

    noun — A device which stores electrical power; used either singly or together in batteries; the basic unit of a battery.

    noun — Each of the small hexagonal compartments in a honeycomb.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • celled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • chad

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • chalk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • chalked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • challah

    noun — A traditional bread eaten by Ashkenazi Jews, usually braided for the Sabbath and round for Yom Tov.

    noun — The commandment to separate a portion of bread or bread dough for the cohanim (Numbers 15:17–21); in contemporary practice, the portion is burned until inedible.

    noun — The portion separated in fulfillment of the above.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • check

    noun — A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.

    verb — To inspect; to examine.

    noun — (usually pluralized) A pattern made up of a grid of squares of alternating colors; a checkered pattern.

    verb — To mark with a check pattern.

    adjective — Divided into small squares by transverse, perpendicular, and horizontal lines.

    noun — An inspection or examination.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • checked

    verb — To inspect; to examine.

    verb — To mark with a check pattern.

    adjective — Having a pattern of checks; checkered.

    verb — To verify the accuracy of a text or translation, usually making some corrections (proofread) or many (copyedit).

    verb — (often used with "off") To mark items on a list (with a checkmark or by crossing them out) that have been chosen for keeping or removal or that have been dealt with (for example, completed or verified as correct or satisfactory).

    verb — To control, limit, or halt.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cheek

    noun — The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.

    verb — To be impudent towards.

    noun — (usually in the plural) The lower part of the buttocks that is often exposed beneath very brief underwear, swimwear, or extremely short shorts.

    noun — Impudence.

    noun — One of the genae, flat areas on the sides of a trilobite's cephalon.

    noun — One of the pieces of a machine, or of timber or stonework, that form corresponding sides or a similar pair.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • clack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • clacked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • clad

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • clade

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • dacha

    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.

  • decal

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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 5 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 5 recorded puzzles.

  • deckle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • each

    pronoun — Every one; every thing.

    adverb — For one; apiece; per.

    noun — (operations) An individual item: the least quantitative unit in a grouping.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • hack

    noun — A tool for chopping.

    verb — To chop or cut down in a rough manner.

    noun — A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.

    verb — To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.

    noun — A horse for hire, especially one which is old and tired.

    verb — To make common or cliched; to vulgarise.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • hacked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • hackle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • headache

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • heck

    noun — Hell.

    noun — The bolt or latch of a door.

    noun — A rack for cattle to feed at.

    noun — A door, especially one partly of latticework.

    noun — A latticework contrivance for catching fish.

    noun — An apparatus for separating the threads of warps into sets, as they are wound upon the reel from the bobbins, in a warping machine.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • heckle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • heckled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • lace

    noun — A cord or ribbon passed through eyelets in a shoe or garment, pulled tight and tied to fasten the shoe or garment firmly. Wp

    noun — A light fabric containing patterns of holes, usually built up from a single thread. Wp

    verb — To fasten (something) with laces.

    verb — To add alcohol, poison, a drug or anything else potentially harmful to (food or drink).

    noun — Spirits added to coffee or another beverage.

    verb — To interweave items.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • laced

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • lack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • lacked

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • leach

    verb — To purge a soluble matter out of something by the action of a percolating fluid.

    verb — To part with soluble constituents by percolation.

    noun — A person who derives profit from others in a parasitic fashion.

    noun — An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of class Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.

    noun — A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.

    noun — A tub or vat for leaching ashes, bark, etc.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • leached

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • lech

    noun — A strong, lecherous desire or craving.

    verb — To behave lecherously

    noun — A lecher.

    noun — The capstone of a cromlech.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • leech

    noun — An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of class Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.

    noun — A person who derives profit from others in a parasitic fashion.

    verb — To drain (resources) without giving back.

    noun — The vertical edge of a square sail.

    noun — The aft edge of a triangular sail.

    noun — A glass tube designed for drawing blood from damaged tissue by means of a vacuum.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • leeched

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

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

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ac×5
  • al×1
  • ca×9
  • ce×4
  • ch×7
  • cl×4
  • da×1
  • de×5
  • ea×1
  • ha×3
  • he×4
  • la×4
  • le×5

Words by first letter and length

45678Σ
a 2211· 6
c 6945· 24
d 123·· 6
e 1···· 1
h 2·311 7
l 3312· 9
Σ 15161291 53

The numbers

Genius today takes 171 points of 245 available. The average answer runs 5.3 letters.

Total points vs. all 440 recorded puzzles
67th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
68th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 19911 recorded answers

415 today34.5% all-time516 today22.9% all-time612 today20.1% all-time79 today12.0% all-time81 today6.2% 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
a Saturday, November 29, 2025 Friday, November 28, 2025
c ● Sunday, November 30, 2025 Tuesday, September 16, 2025
d Monday, December 1, 2025 Wednesday, November 19, 2025
e Saturday, November 29, 2025 Tuesday, November 25, 2025
h Sunday, November 30, 2025 Monday, October 20, 2025
k Monday, December 1, 2025 Friday, November 14, 2025
l Monday, December 1, 2025 Sunday, November 23, 2025

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 45
  2. naan 35
  3. nana 35
  4. toot 32
  5. onion 31
  6. loll 30
  7. mama 28
  8. mamma 28
  9. acacia 26
  10. acai 26
  11. nene 26
  12. imam 25
  13. maim 25
  14. mini 25
  15. minim 25
  16. cocoon 24
  17. lilt 24
  18. till 24
  19. tilt 24
  20. aria 24
  21. mitt 24
  22. onto 24
  23. toon 24
  24. loon 24
  25. olio 24

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.