The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

AELTXYD

Thursday, December 4, 2025

Words
50
Points
216
Genius
151
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 50 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • added

    verb — To join or unite (e.g. one thing to another, or as several particulars) so as to increase the number, augment the quantity or enlarge the magnitude, or so as to form into one aggregate.

    verb — To sum up; to put together mentally.

    verb — To combine elements of (something) into one quantity.

    verb — To give by way of increased possession (to someone); to bestow (on).

    verb — To append (e,g, a statement); to say further information.

    verb — To make an addition; to augment; to increase.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • addle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • addled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • allayed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • axed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • axled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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 11 recorded puzzles.

  • dale

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • dally

    verb — To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.

    noun — Several wraps of rope around the saddle horn, used to stop animals in roping.

    verb — To wind the lasso rope (ie throw-rope) around the saddle horn (the saddle horn is attached to the pommel of a western style saddle) after the roping of an animal

    verb — To caress, especially of a sexual nature; to fondle or pet

    verb — To delay unnecessarily; to while away.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • data

    noun — (plural: data) A measurement of something on a scale understood by both the recorder (a person or device) and the reader (another person or device). The scale is arbitrarily defined, such as from 1 to 10 by ones, 1 to 100 by 0.1, or simply true or false, on or off, yes, no, or maybe, etc.

    noun — (plural: data) A fact known from direct observation.

    noun — (plural: data) A premise from which conclusions are drawn.

    noun — (plural: datums) A fixed reference point, or a coordinate system.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • date

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • dated

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • dead

    noun — (with "the", a demonstrative, or a possessive) Those who have died.

    noun — (often with "the") Time when coldness, darkness, or stillness is most intense.

    noun — (usually plural) Sterile mining waste, often present as many large rocks stacked inside the workings.

    verb — To prevent by disabling; stop.

    adjective — No longer living.

    adverb — (degree) Exactly.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • deadeye

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • deadly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • deal

    noun — A division, a portion, a share.

    noun — An act of dealing or sharing out.

    verb — To distribute among a number of recipients, to give out as one’s portion or share.

    noun — Wood that is easy to saw (from conifers such as pine or fir).

    adjective — Made of deal.

    noun — (often followed by of) An indefinite quantity or amount; a lot (now usually qualified by great or good).

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • dealt

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • deed

    noun — An action or act; something that is done.

    noun — A brave or noteworthy action; a feat or exploit.

    noun — A legal instrument that is executed under seal or before witnesses.

    noun — Action or fact, as opposed to rhetoric or deliberation.

    verb — To transfer real property by deed.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • deeded

    verb — To transfer real property by deed.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • delay

    noun — A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.

    verb — To put off until a later time; to defer.

    verb — To dilute, temper.

    noun — An audio effects unit that introduces a controlled delay.

    verb — To retard; to stop, detain, or hinder, for a time.

    verb — To allay; to temper.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • delayed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • delete

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • deleted

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • dell

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • delt

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • delta

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • 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 11 recorded puzzles.

  • dyed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • eddy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • elated

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • elatedly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • exalted

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • exaltedly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • eyed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • lade

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • laded

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • ladle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • ladled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • lady

    noun — An aristocratic title for a woman; the wife of a lord and/or a woman who holds the position in her own right; a title for a peeress, the wife of a peer or knight, and the daughters and daughters-in-law of certain peers.

    noun — The mistress of a household.

    noun — A high priestess.

    noun — A woman of breeding or higher class, a woman of authority.

    noun — The feminine of lord.

    noun — A title for someone married to a lord or gentleman.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • lead

    noun — A heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished; both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic number 82, symbol Pb (from Latin plumbum).

    verb — To cover, fill, or affect with lead

    noun — The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction, course

    verb — (heading) To guide or conduct.

    adjective — Foremost.

    noun — A plummet or mass of lead attached to a line, used in sounding depth at sea or to estimate velocity in knots.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • leaded

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • lede

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • tatted

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • tattled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • taxed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • teddy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • teed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • telexed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • texted

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • yelled

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ad×3
  • al×1
  • ax×2
  • da×6
  • de×14
  • dy×2
  • ed×1
  • el×2
  • ex×2
  • ey×1
  • la×5
  • le×3
  • ta×3
  • te×4
  • ye×1

Words by first letter and length

456789Σ
a 1311·· 6
d 10633·· 22
e 2·1111 6
l 422··· 8
t 1222·· 7
y ··1··· 1
Σ 181310711 50

The numbers

Genius today takes 151 points of 216 available. The average answer runs 5.3 letters.

Total points vs. all 433 recorded puzzles
55th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
59th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 19567 recorded answers

418 today34.4% all-time513 today22.9% all-time610 today20.0% all-time77 today12.1% all-time81 today6.2% all-time91 today2.6% all-time101.3% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Friday, November 28, 2025
d ● Tuesday, December 2, 2025 Wednesday, November 19, 2025
e Tuesday, December 2, 2025 Tuesday, November 25, 2025
l Tuesday, December 2, 2025 Sunday, November 23, 2025
t Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Friday, November 7, 2025
x Wednesday, November 26, 2025 first recorded time
y Friday, November 28, 2025 Tuesday, November 11, 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. nene 26
  10. acacia 25
  11. acai 25
  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. aria 23
  22. mitt 23
  23. cancan 23
  24. canna 23
  25. neon 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.