The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

AKOTUWL

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Words
30
Points
100
Genius
70
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 30 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • allot

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • allow

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • alto

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • atoll

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • koala

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • kola

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • loll

    verb — To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.

    verb — To hang extended from the mouth, like the tongue of an animal heated from exertion.

    verb — To let (the tongue) hang from the mouth in this way.

    Appeared in 28 recorded puzzles.

  • look

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • lookout

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • loot

    noun — A kind of scoop or ladle, chiefly used to remove the scum from brine-pans in saltworks.

    noun — The act of plundering.

    verb — To steal, especially as part of war, riot or other group violence.

    noun — Plunder, booty, especially from a ransacked city.

    noun — Any prize or profit received for free, especially Christmas presents

    noun — Items dropped by defeated enemies.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • lotto

    noun — A game of chance similar to bingo

    noun — A lottery

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • lout

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • luau

    noun — An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • lull

    noun — A period of rest or soothing.

    verb — To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm

    noun — A period of reduced activity; a respite

    noun — A period without waves or wind.

    noun — An extended pause between sets of waves.

    verb — To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.

    Appeared in 20 recorded puzzles.

  • lulu

    noun — A remarkable person, object or idea.

    noun — A very attractive or alluring person.

    noun — A very bad mistake or error.

    noun — A fixed allowance paid to a legislator in lieu of reimbursement for actual expenses.

    Appeared in 20 recorded puzzles.

  • outlaw

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • outlook

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • outtalk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • talk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • tall

    adjective — (of a person) Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall.

    adjective — (of a building, etc.) Having its top a long way up; having a great vertical (and often greater than horizontal) extent; high.

    adjective — (of a story) Hard to believe, such as a tall story or a tall tale.

    adjective — (of a cup of coffee) A cup of coffee smaller than grande, usually 8 ounces.

    noun — (possibly nonstandard) Someone or something that is tall.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • tallow

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • toll

    noun — Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.

    verb — To impose a fee for the use of.

    noun — The act or sound of tolling

    verb — To ring (a bell) slowly and repeatedly.

    verb — To draw; pull; tug; drag.

    verb — To take away; to vacate; to annul.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • tool

    noun — A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.

    verb — To work on or shape with tools, e.g., hand-tooled leather.

    noun — Equipment used in a profession, e.g., tools of the trade.

    noun — Something to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.

    noun — A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.

    noun — A person or group which is used or controlled, usually unwittingly, by another person or group.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • total

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • walk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • walkout

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • wall

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • wallow

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • waul

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • wool

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

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

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • al×3
  • at×1
  • ko×2
  • lo×6
  • lu×3
  • ou×3
  • ta×3
  • to×3
  • wa×5
  • wo×1

Words by first letter and length

4567Σ
a 13·· 4
k 11·· 2
l 71·1 9
o ··12 3
t 411· 6
w 4·11 6
Σ 17634 30

The numbers

Genius today takes 70 points of 100 available. The average answer runs 4.8 letters.

Total points vs. all 383 recorded puzzles
5th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
15th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17359 recorded answers

417 today34.7% all-time56 today22.8% all-time63 today19.9% all-time74 today12.1% all-time86.3% 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 Sunday, August 17, 2025 Saturday, July 19, 2025
k Thursday, August 7, 2025 first recorded time
l ● Monday, August 18, 2025 Saturday, July 26, 2025
o Tuesday, August 19, 2025 Tuesday, August 19, 2025
t Tuesday, August 19, 2025 Friday, August 8, 2025
u Saturday, August 16, 2025 Tuesday, August 12, 2025
w Monday, July 28, 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. lull 20
  24. lulu 20
  25. lilt 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.