The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ABEFLXI

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Words
37
Points
180
Genius
125
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 37 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • affix

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • alexia

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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.

  • axial

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • axilla

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • axillae

    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.

  • belie

    verb — To contradict, to show (something) to be false.

    verb — To give a false representation of.

    verb — To conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).

    verb — To show, evince, demonstrate: to show (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.

    verb — To tell lies about.

    verb — (of an army) To surround; beleaguer.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • belief

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • biaxial

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • bible

    noun — An exemplar of the Bible.

    noun — A comprehensive manual that describes something. (e.g., handyman’s bible).

    noun — (at certain US universities) A compilation of problems and solutions from previous years of a given course, used by some students to cheat on tests or assignments.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • biff

    noun — A sudden, sharp blow or punch.

    verb — To punch or hit.

    noun — A wipeout.

    verb — To discard; to throw out; to throw away.

    verb — To wipe out; to faceplant; to fall.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • bilabial

    adjective — Articulated with both lips.

    noun — A speech sound articulated with both lips.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • bile

    noun — A bitter brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow secretion produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion.

    noun — Bitterness of temper; ill humour; irascibility.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • bill

    noun — A piece of paper money; a banknote.

    noun — A written note of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; an invoice.

    verb — To charge; to send a bill to.

    noun — A draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.

    noun — The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal.

    noun — Of a cap or hat: the brim or peak, serving as a shade to keep sun off the face and out of the eyes.

    Appeared in 22 recorded puzzles.

  • billable

    adjective — Capable of being billed for.

    noun — Something that is billed for.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • exile

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 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 10 recorded puzzles.

  • fallible

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • fief

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • fife

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • file

    noun — A collection of papers collated and archived together.

    verb — To commit (official papers) to some office.

    noun — A column of people one behind another, whether "single file" or in a large group with many files side by side.

    verb — To move in a file.

    noun — A hand tool consisting of a handle to which a block of coarse metal is attached, and used for removing sharp edges or for cutting, especially through metal.

    verb — To smooth, grind, or cut with a file.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • 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 10 recorded puzzles.

  • fill

    verb — To occupy fully, to take up all of.

    noun — (after a possessive) A sufficient or more than sufficient amount.

    noun — One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.

    verb — To add contents to (a container, cavity or the like) so that it is full.

    verb — To enter (something), making it full.

    verb — To become full.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • fillable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • fixable

    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 10 recorded puzzles.

  • flexible

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • ibex

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • 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.

  • labile

    adjective — Apt or likely to change.

    adjective — (of a compound or bond) Kinetically unstable; rapidly cleaved (and possibly reformed).

    adjective — (of a verb) Able to change valency without changing its form; especially, able to be used both transitively and intransitively without changing its form.

    adjective — Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • liable

    adjective — (as predicate, with "to" and an infinitive) likely.

    adjective — Subject; susceptible.

    adjective — Exposed to a certain contingency or causality, more or less probable.

    adjective — Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • libel

    noun — A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.

    verb — To defame someone, especially in a manner that meets the legal definition of libel.

    noun — The act or crime of displaying such a statement publicly.

    noun — A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of their cause of action, and of the relief they seek.

    noun — Any defamatory writing; a lampoon; a satire.

    noun — A brief writing of any kind, especially a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • libelee

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • life

    noun — The state of organisms preceding their death, characterized by biological processes such as metabolism and reproduction and distinguishing them from inanimate objects; the state of being alive and living.

    noun — The animating principle or force that keeps an inorganic thing or concept metaphorically alive (dynamic, relevant, etc) and makes it a "living document", "living constitution", etc.

    noun — Lifeforms, generally or collectively.

    noun — A living individual; the fact of a particular individual being alive. (Chiefly when indicating individuals were lost (died) or saved.)

    noun — Existence.

    noun — A period of time during which something has existence.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

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

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • af×1
  • al×2
  • ax×3
  • ba×2
  • be×2
  • bi×7
  • ex×1
  • fa×2
  • fi×7
  • fl×2
  • ib×1
  • la×3
  • li×4

Words by first letter and length

45678Σ
a ·321· 6
b 42122 11
e ·1··· 1
f 51113 11
i 1···· 1
l 1231· 7
Σ 119755 37

The numbers

Genius today takes 125 points of 180 available. The average answer runs 5.6 letters.

Total points vs. all 436 recorded puzzles
38th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
29th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 19742 recorded answers

411 today34.4% all-time59 today22.9% all-time67 today20.1% all-time75 today12.1% all-time85 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 Tuesday, November 25, 2025 Monday, November 10, 2025
b Monday, November 24, 2025 Sunday, October 12, 2025
e Tuesday, November 25, 2025 Tuesday, November 25, 2025
f Thursday, November 6, 2025 Thursday, November 6, 2025
i ● Monday, November 24, 2025 Wednesday, November 12, 2025
l Tuesday, November 25, 2025 Sunday, November 23, 2025
x Monday, November 3, 2025 first recorded time

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. mini 25
  13. minim 25
  14. cocoon 24
  15. imam 24
  16. maim 24
  17. onto 24
  18. toon 24
  19. loon 24
  20. olio 24
  21. lilt 23
  22. till 23
  23. tilt 23
  24. aria 23
  25. mitt 23

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.