NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 4, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | I |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, d, e, h, l, p |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 56 words |
| Total Points | 239 points |
| Genius Level | 167 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
Table of Contents
As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!
- Spelling Bee Grid
- Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
- Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
- Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
- Today's Complete Solution
- Answer Definitions
If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).
Spelling Bee Grid
The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| D | 4 | - | 4 | 2 | - | 10 |
| E | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | 3 |
| H | 4 | - | 3 | 1 | - | 8 |
| I | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 4 |
| L | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | 6 |
| P | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 19 | Σ | 20 | 12 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 56 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AI×3 AL×1 AP×2 |
|---|---|
| D | DA×2 DE×1 DI×7 |
| E | ED×1 EL×2 |
| H | HA×2 HE×1 HI×5 |
| I | ID×4 |
| L | LA×2 LI×4 |
| P | PA×5 PH×2 PI×9 PL×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AID×2 AIL×1 ALL×1 APH×1 APP×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DAH×1 DAL×1 DEL×1 DIA×2 DID×2 DIE×1 DIL×1 DIP×1 |
| E | EDD×1 ELI×2 |
| H | HAI×2 HEL×1 HID×1 HIE×1 HIL×2 HIP×1 |
| I | IDE×2 IDL×2 |
| L | LAD×1 LAI×1 LID×1 LIE×1 LIP×2 |
| P | PAI×2 PAL×1 PAP×2 PHA×1 PHI×1 PID×2 PIE×1 PIL×4 PIP×2 PLA×1 PLI×2 |
Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)
The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.
Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.
Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| he..... † | HE7 | A small landing place for helicopters, denoted by a large "H". |
| ai.. | AI4 | An assistant. |
| ai... | AI5 | simple past tense and past participle of aid |
| ai... | AI5 | simple past and past participle of ail |
| al.... | AL6 | simple past and past participle of ally |
| ap... | AP5 | Sapsucking pest insect of the superfamily Aphidoidea; an aphidian. |
| ap..... | AP7 | Put into practical use. |
| da.... | DA6 | Any plant of the genus Dahlia, tuberous perennial flowering plants native to Mexico. |
| da..... | DA7 | simple past and past participle of dally |
| de.. | DE4 | A shop that sells cooked or prepared food ready for serving. |
| di.. | DI4 | A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed). |
| di.... | DI6 | simple past and past participle of dial |
| di.... | DI6 | In percussion, two consecutive notes played by the same hand (either RR or LL), similar to the drag, except that by convention diddles are played the same speed as the context in which they are placed. |
| di..... | DI7 | simple past tense and past participle of diddle |
| di.. | DI4 | simple past tense and past participle of die |
| di.. | DI4 | Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed. |
| di.... | DI6 | simple past tense and past participle of dip |
| ed.... | ED6 | simple past tense and past participle of eddy |
| el... | EL5 | To leave out or omit (something). |
| el.... | EL6 | simple past tense and past participle of elide |
| ha.. | HA4 | Balls or pieces of ice falling as precipitation, often in connection with a thunderstorm. |
| ha.... | HA6 | simple past tense and past participle of hail |
| hi.. | HI4 | To put (something) in a place where it will be harder to discover or out of sight. |
| hi.. | HI4 | simple past tense and past participle of hie |
| hi.. | HI4 | An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain. |
| hi.... | HI6 | simple past tense and past participle of hill |
| hi.... | HI6 | A teenager who imitated the beatniks. |
| id.. | ID4 | An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples. |
| id... | ID5 | Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea. |
| id.. | ID4 | Empty, vacant. |
| id... | ID5 | simple past tense and past participle of idle |
| la.... | LA6 | A small boy. |
| la.. | LA4 | simple past tense and past participle of lay |
| li.... | LI6 | simple past tense and past participle of lid |
| li.. | LI4 | An art song, usually sung solo in German and accompanied on the piano. |
| li... | LI5 | Any of a group of organic compounds including the fats, oils, waxes, sterols, and triglycerides. Lipids are characterized by being insoluble in water, and account for most of the fat present in the human body. |
| li.... | LI6 | Having a raised lip. |
| pa.. | PA4 | simple past tense and past participle of pay |
| pa.. | PA4 | A vessel of wood, tin, plastic, etc., usually cylindrical and having a handle -- used especially for carrying liquids, for example water or milk; a bucket (sometimes with a cover). |
| pa.... | PA6 | Appearing weak, pale, or wan. |
| pa..... | PA7 | A nipple-like protuberance on a part or organ of the body. A vascular process of connective tissue extending into and nourishing the root of a hair, feather, or developing tooth. Any of the vascular protuberances of the dermal layer of the skin extending into the epidermal layer and often containing tactile corpuscles. Any of the small protuberances on the upper surface of the tongue often containing taste buds. |
| pa...... | PA8 | plural of papilla |
| ph.... | PH6 | plural of phallus |
| ph... | PH5 | A glass vessel or bottle, especially a small bottle for medicines. |
| pi.... | PI6 | Piss: urine. |
| pi..... | PI7 | simple past and past participle of piddle |
| pi.. | PI4 | Having two or more colors, especially black and white. |
| pi.. | PI4 | A mass of things heaped together; a heap. |
| pi... | PI5 | simple past and past participle of pile |
| pi.. | PI4 | A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication. |
| pi.... | PI6 | Pilled-up, intoxicated on pills. |
| pi.. | PI4 | Meanings relating to a wind instrument. A wind instrument consisting of a tube, often lined with holes to allow for adjustment in pitch, sounded by blowing into the tube. A tube used to produce sound in an organ; an organ pipe. The key or sound of the voice. A high-pitched sound, especially of a bird. |
| pi... | PI5 | simple past tense and past participle of pipe |
| pl... | PL5 | A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern. |
| pl.. | PL4 | Alternative spelling of plié |
| pl... | PL5 | simple past and past participle of ply |
Today's Complete Solution
The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.
Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.
- helipad† (HE7)
- aide (AI4)
- aided (AI5)
- ailed (AI5)
- allied (AL6)
- aphid (AP5)
- applied (AP7)
- dahlia (DA6)
- dallied (DA7)
- deli (DE4)
- dial (DI4)
- dialed (DI6)
- diddle (DI6)
- diddled (DI7)
- died (DI4)
- dill (DI4)
- dipped (DI6)
- eddied (ED6)
- elide (EL5)
- elided (EL6)
- hail (HA4)
- hailed (HA6)
- hide (HI4)
- hied (HI4)
- hill (HI4)
- hilled (HI6)
- hippie (HI6)
- idea (ID4)
- ideal (ID5)
- idle (ID4)
- idled (ID5)
- laddie (LA6)
- laid (LA4)
- lidded (LI6)
- lied (LI4)
- lipid (LI5)
- lipped (LI6)
- paid (PA4)
- pail (PA4)
- pallid (PA6)
- papilla (PA7)
- papillae (PA8)
- phalli (PH6)
- phial (PH5)
- piddle (PI6)
- piddled (PI7)
- pied (PI4)
- pile (PI4)
- piled (PI5)
- pill (PI4)
- pilled (PI6)
- pipe (PI4)
- piped (PI5)
- plaid (PL5)
- plie (PL4)
- plied (PL5)
Answer Definitions
- helipad† (noun): A small landing place for helicopters, denoted by a large "H".
- aide (noun): An assistant.
- aided (verb): simple past tense and past participle of aid
- ailed (verb): simple past and past participle of ail
- allied (verb): simple past and past participle of ally
- aphid (noun): Sapsucking pest insect of the superfamily Aphidoidea; an aphidian.
- applied (adjective): Put into practical use.
- dahlia (noun): Any plant of the genus Dahlia, tuberous perennial flowering plants native to Mexico.
- dallied (verb): simple past and past participle of dally
- deli (noun): A shop that sells cooked or prepared food ready for serving.
- dial (noun): A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
- dialed (verb): simple past and past participle of dial
- diddle (noun): In percussion, two consecutive notes played by the same hand (either RR or LL), similar to the drag, except that by convention diddles are played the same speed as the context in which they are placed.
- diddled (verb): simple past tense and past participle of diddle
- died (verb): simple past tense and past participle of die
- dill (noun): Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed.
- dipped (verb): simple past tense and past participle of dip
- eddied (verb): simple past tense and past participle of eddy
- elide (verb): To leave out or omit (something).
- elided (verb): simple past tense and past participle of elide
- hail (noun): Balls or pieces of ice falling as precipitation, often in connection with a thunderstorm.
- hailed (verb): simple past tense and past participle of hail
- hide (verb): To put (something) in a place where it will be harder to discover or out of sight.
- hied (verb): simple past tense and past participle of hie
- hill (noun): An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain.
- hilled (verb): simple past tense and past participle of hill
- hippie (noun): A teenager who imitated the beatniks.
- idea (noun): An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples.
- ideal (adjective): Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea.
- idle (adjective): Empty, vacant.
- idled (verb): simple past tense and past participle of idle
- laddie (noun): A small boy.
- laid (verb): simple past tense and past participle of lay
- lidded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of lid
- lied (noun): An art song, usually sung solo in German and accompanied on the piano.
- lipid (noun): Any of a group of organic compounds including the fats, oils, waxes, sterols, and triglycerides. Lipids are characterized by being insoluble in water, and account for most of the fat present in the human body.
- lipped (adjective): Having a raised lip.
- paid (verb): simple past tense and past participle of pay
- pail (noun): A vessel of wood, tin, plastic, etc., usually cylindrical and having a handle -- used especially for carrying liquids, for example water or milk; a bucket (sometimes with a cover).
- pallid (adjective): Appearing weak, pale, or wan.
- papilla (noun): A nipple-like protuberance on a part or organ of the body. A vascular process of connective tissue extending into and nourishing the root of a hair, feather, or developing tooth. Any of the vascular protuberances of the dermal layer of the skin extending into the epidermal layer and often containing tactile corpuscles. Any of the small protuberances on the upper surface of the tongue often containing taste buds.
- papillae (noun): plural of papilla
- phalli (noun): plural of phallus
- phial (noun): A glass vessel or bottle, especially a small bottle for medicines.
- piddle (noun): Piss: urine.
- piddled (verb): simple past and past participle of piddle
- pied (adjective): Having two or more colors, especially black and white.
- pile (noun): A mass of things heaped together; a heap.
- piled (verb): simple past and past participle of pile
- pill (noun): A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.
- pilled (adjective): Pilled-up, intoxicated on pills.
- pipe (noun): Meanings relating to a wind instrument. A wind instrument consisting of a tube, often lined with holes to allow for adjustment in pitch, sounded by blowing into the tube. A tube used to produce sound in an organ; an organ pipe. The key or sound of the voice. A high-pitched sound, especially of a bird.
- piped (verb): simple past tense and past participle of pipe
- plaid (noun): A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern.
- plie (noun): Alternative spelling of plié
- plied (verb): simple past and past participle of ply