NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 23, 2025

Game Summary

| Center Letter | E |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, i, k, l, m, o |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 36 words |
| Total Points | 135 points |
| Genius Level | 95 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 | 9 | 10 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 3 | 6 | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 12 |
| E | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| I | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| K | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| L | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
| M | 7 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| O | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 17 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 36 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| B | BE×3 BI×4 BL×1 BO×4 |
|---|---|
| E | EM×1 |
| I | IM×2 |
| K | KE×1 KI×1 |
| L | LE×1 LI×4 LO×1 |
| M | ME×4 MI×4 MO×2 |
| O | OB×1 OL×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| B | BEL×3 BIB×1 BIK×1 BIL×1 BIO×1 BLO×1 BOB×1 BOM×1 BOO×2 |
|---|---|
| E | EMB×1 |
| I | IMB×1 IMM×1 |
| K | KEE×1 KIB×1 |
| L | LEE×1 LIB×2 LIK×1 LIM×1 LOB×1 |
| M | MEE×1 MEL×1 MEM×2 MIK×1 MIL×1 MIM×2 MOB×1 MOL×1 |
| O | OBO×1 OLE×1 OLL×1 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| bo........ † | BO10 | A mobile library; especially, a large van designed to transport a portion of some library's collection. |
| be... | BE5 | To lie around; encompass. |
| be.. | BE4 | A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck. |
| be... | BE5 | An attractive woman. |
| bi... | BI5 | Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“a specific version, edition, translation, or copy of the Christian religious text”) |
| bi.. | BI4 | Clipping of bicycle. |
| bi.. | BI4 | 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. |
| bi... | BI5 | Any major regional biological community such as that of forest or desert |
| bl... | BL5 | An exemplar of a certain masculine, independent male archetype. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A furry ball attached on top of a hat. |
| bo... | BO5 | A dessert made from ice cream frozen in a (generally spherical or hemispherical) mold. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A bookmaker, being a person who, or business which, takes bets from the general public on sporting events and similar. |
| em.... | EM6 | A representative symbol, such as a trademark or logo. |
| im.... | IM6 | To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages). |
| im...... | IM8 | not mobile, not movable |
| ke.. | KE4 | A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern. |
| ki.... | KI6 | To grind coarsely. |
| le.. | LE4 | The vegetable Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion. |
| li... | LI5 | A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation. |
| li..... | LI7 | The party against which a libel (hostile handbill) has been filed by a libelant. |
| li.. | LI4 | To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of. |
| li.. | LI4 | Any inorganic material containing calcium, usually calcium oxide (quicklime) or calcium hydroxide (slaked lime). |
| lo.. | LO4 | Any projection or division, especially one of a somewhat rounded form. |
| me.. | ME4 | Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or self-effacing. |
| me... | ME5 | A battle fought at close range; hand-to-hand combat; brawling. |
| me.. | ME4 | Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes. |
| me.. | ME4 | A short note; a memorandum. |
| mi.. | MI4 | Alternative letter-case form of Mike of the ICAO/NATO radiotelephony alphabet. |
| mi.. | MI4 | The international mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 1.609344 kilometers established by treaty among Anglophone nations in 1959, divided into 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards. |
| mi.. | MI4 | A form of acting without words; pantomime. |
| mi... | MI5 | A mimeograph. |
| mo.... | MO6 | Capable of being moved, especially on wheels. |
| mo.. | MO4 | A pigmented spot on the skin, a naevus, slightly raised, and sometimes hairy. |
| ob.. | OB4 | A soprano and melody wind instrument in the modern orchestra and wind ensemble. It is a smaller instrument and generally made of grenadilla wood. It is a member of the double reed family. |
| ol.. | OL4 | A type of energy-absorbing landing gear strut in which sudden compression or extension of the strut causes a gas-filled chamber to push or pull a piston which forces oil through a small orifice, resulting in absorption of energy through viscous effects. |
| ol... | OL5 | An aerial maneuver in which one catches air by leaping off the ground with the skateboard and into the air. |
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.
- bookmobile† (BO10)
- belie (BE5)
- bell (BE4)
- belle (BE5)
- bible (BI5)
- bike (BI4)
- bile (BI4)
- biome (BI5)
- bloke (BL5)
- bobble (BO6)
- bombe (BO5)
- bookie (BO6)
- emblem (EM6)
- imbibe (IM6)
- immobile (IM8)
- keel (KE4)
- kibble (KI6)
- leek (LE4)
- libel (LI5)
- libelee (LI7)
- like (LI4)
- lime (LI4)
- lobe (LO4)
- meek (ME4)
- melee (ME5)
- meme (ME4)
- memo (ME4)
- mike (MI4)
- mile (MI4)
- mime (MI4)
- mimeo (MI5)
- mobile (MO6)
- mole (MO4)
- oboe (OB4)
- oleo (OL4)
- ollie (OL5)
Answer Definitions
- bookmobile† (noun): A mobile library; especially, a large van designed to transport a portion of some library's collection.
- belie (verb): To lie around; encompass.
- bell (noun): A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck.
- belle (noun): An attractive woman.
- bible (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“a specific version, edition, translation, or copy of the Christian religious text”)
- bike (noun): Clipping of bicycle.
- 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.
- biome (noun): Any major regional biological community such as that of forest or desert
- bloke (noun): An exemplar of a certain masculine, independent male archetype.
- bobble (noun): A furry ball attached on top of a hat.
- bombe (noun): A dessert made from ice cream frozen in a (generally spherical or hemispherical) mold.
- bookie (noun): A bookmaker, being a person who, or business which, takes bets from the general public on sporting events and similar.
- emblem (noun): A representative symbol, such as a trademark or logo.
- imbibe (verb): To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages).
- immobile (adjective): not mobile, not movable
- keel (noun): A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern.
- kibble (verb): To grind coarsely.
- leek (noun): The vegetable Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.
- libel (noun): A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.
- libelee (noun): The party against which a libel (hostile handbill) has been filed by a libelant.
- like (verb): To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
- lime (noun): Any inorganic material containing calcium, usually calcium oxide (quicklime) or calcium hydroxide (slaked lime).
- lobe (noun): Any projection or division, especially one of a somewhat rounded form.
- meek (adjective): Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or self-effacing.
- melee (noun): A battle fought at close range; hand-to-hand combat; brawling.
- meme (noun): Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes.
- memo (noun): A short note; a memorandum.
- mike (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Mike of the ICAO/NATO radiotelephony alphabet.
- mile (noun): The international mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 1.609344 kilometers established by treaty among Anglophone nations in 1959, divided into 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards.
- mime (noun): A form of acting without words; pantomime.
- mimeo (noun): A mimeograph.
- mobile (adjective): Capable of being moved, especially on wheels.
- mole (noun): A pigmented spot on the skin, a naevus, slightly raised, and sometimes hairy.
- oboe (noun): A soprano and melody wind instrument in the modern orchestra and wind ensemble. It is a smaller instrument and generally made of grenadilla wood. It is a member of the double reed family.
- oleo (noun): A type of energy-absorbing landing gear strut in which sudden compression or extension of the strut causes a gas-filled chamber to push or pull a piston which forces oil through a small orifice, resulting in absorption of energy through viscous effects.
- ollie (noun): An aerial maneuver in which one catches air by leaping off the ground with the skateboard and into the air.