The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

AHILOYD

Monday, August 11, 2025

Words
30
Points
118
Genius
82
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 30 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • daddy

    noun — (usually childish) Father.

    verb — To father; to sire.

    noun — A male lover.

    noun — An informal term of address for a man.

    noun — A male juvenile delinquent in a reformatory who dominates the other inmates through threats and violence.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • dahlia

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • daily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • dally

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • daylily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • dial

    noun — A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).

    noun — A clock face.

    verb — To control or select something with a dial, or (figuratively) as if with a dial.

    verb — To select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone.

    noun — A sundial.

    noun — A panel on a radio etc showing wavelengths or channels; a knob that is turned to change the wavelength etc.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • diddly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • dildo

    noun — An artificial phallus (penis) for sexual use.

    noun — An idiot, a bore.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • dill

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • dilly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • dillydally

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • dodo

    noun — A large, flightless bird, †Raphus cucullatus, related to the pigeon, that is now extinct (since the 1600s) and was native to Mauritius.

    noun — A person or organisation which is very old or has very old-fashioned views or is not willing to change and adapt.

    noun — Fried plantain.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • doily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • doll

    noun — A toy in the form of a human.

    noun — A term of endearment: darling, sweetheart.

    noun — (sometimes offensive) An attractive young woman

    noun — A dollar.

    noun — (now possibly offensive) A good-natured, cooperative or helpful girl.

    noun — The smallest or pet pig in a litter.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • dolly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • doodad

    noun — A thing (used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one cannot recall); especially an unspecified gadget, device, or part.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • dyad

    noun — A set of two elements treated as one; a pair.

    noun — Any set of two different pitch classes.

    noun — A pair of things standing in particular relation; dyadic relation.

    noun — An element, atom, or radical having a valence or combining power of two.

    noun — A secondary unit of organisation consisting of an aggregate of monads.

    noun — A tensor of order two and rank one.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • hold

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • holiday

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • hood

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • hoodoo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • hyoid

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • idly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • idol

    noun — A cultural icon, or especially popular person.

    noun — (originally Japan) Popular entertainer; usually young, captivating, attractive; and often female, with an image of being close to fans.

    noun — A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.

    noun — An eidolon or phantom; something misleading or elusive.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • idyl

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • idyll

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • lady

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • laid

    verb — To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.

    verb — To produce and deposit an egg.

    verb — To have sex with.

    verb — To install certain building materials, laying one thing on top of another.

    verb — To prepare (a plan, project etc.); to set out, establish (a law, principle).

    verb — To state; to allege.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • load

    noun — A burden; a weight to be carried.

    noun — (often in the plural) A large number or amount.

    noun — A quantity of washing put into a washing machine for a wash cycle.

    verb — To put a load on or in (a means of conveyance or a place of storage).

    verb — To insert (an item or items) into an apparatus so as to ready it for operation, such as a reel of film into a camera, sheets of paper into a printer etc.

    noun — A certain number of articles or quantity of material that can be transported or processed at one time.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • oddly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

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

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • da×5
  • di×6
  • do×5
  • dy×1
  • ho×4
  • hy×1
  • id×4
  • la×2
  • lo×1
  • od×1

Words by first letter and length

456710Σ
d 57311 17
h 2111· 5
i 31··· 4
l 3···· 3
o ·1··· 1
Σ 1310421 30

The numbers

Genius today takes 82 points of 118 available. The average answer runs 5.0 letters.

Total points vs. all 382 recorded puzzles
10th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
15th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17315 recorded answers

413 today34.6% all-time510 today22.8% all-time64 today19.9% all-time72 today12.1% all-time86.3% 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
a Sunday, August 10, 2025 Saturday, July 19, 2025
d ● Friday, August 8, 2025 first recorded time
h Thursday, August 7, 2025 Tuesday, July 22, 2025
i Saturday, August 9, 2025 Saturday, August 9, 2025
l Saturday, August 9, 2025 Saturday, July 26, 2025
o Sunday, August 10, 2025 Thursday, August 7, 2025
y Saturday, August 9, 2025 first recorded time

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.