NYT Spelling Bee Answers for February 20, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | O |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, f, g, i, n, r |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 53 words |
| Total Points | 247 points |
| Genius Level | 173 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 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| F | 2 | 2 | - | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| G | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 15 |
| I | 2 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| N | 3 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 5 |
| O | - | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | 7 |
| R | 3 | 1 | - | 2 | - | 6 | Σ | 17 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 53 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AF×1 AG×2 AN×3 AR×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FA×2 FO×6 FR×1 |
| G | GO×10 GR×5 |
| I | IG×1 IN×1 IR×2 |
| N | NO×5 |
| O | OA×1 OF×1 ON×2 OR×3 |
| R | RI×1 RO×5 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AFR×1 AGO×2 ANG×1 ANI×1 ANO×1 ARG×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FAR×2 FOG×1 FOR×5 FRO×1 |
| G | GOI×1 GON×3 GOO×3 GOR×3 GRI×1 GRO×4 |
| I | IGN×1 INF×1 IRO×2 |
| N | NOG×1 NOI×1 NON×1 NOO×1 NOR×1 |
| O | OAR×1 OFF×1 ONG×1 ONI×1 ORA×1 ORG×1 ORI×1 |
| R | RIG×1 ROA×3 ROO×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) |
|---|---|---|
| fo...... † | FO8 | present participle of forage |
| af.. | AF4 | hairstyle characterized by tightly curled locks and a rounded shape. |
| ag.. | AG4 | In eager desire, eager, astir. |
| ag... | AG5 | A place for gathering. |
| an.... | AN6 | An angora cat. |
| an... | AN5 | A negatively charged ion. |
| an.. | AN4 | Straight away; at once. |
| ar... | AR5 | The chemical element (symbol Ar) with an atomic number of 18. The third most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere, it is a colourless, odourless, inert noble gas. |
| fa..... | FA7 | A collection containing a confused variety of miscellaneous things. |
| fa... | FA5 | Emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum). |
| fo..... | FO7 | present participle of fog |
| fo.. | FO4 | plural of forum (alternative form of forums). |
| fo..... | FO7 | present participle of forge |
| fo... | FO5 | To let pass, to leave alone, to let go. |
| fo...... | FO8 | present participle of forgo |
| fr.. | FR4 | Any of a class of small tailless amphibians of the order Anura that typically hop. |
| go... | GO5 | present participle of go |
| go.. | GO4 | A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a sonorous sound when struck with a soft hammer. |
| go..... | GO7 | present participle of gong |
| go... | GO5 | Contraction of going to when followed by an infinitive verb: used to express a future action. |
| go.. | GO4 | A mistake or error. |
| go..... | GO7 | present participle of goof |
| go.. | GO4 | A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon'). |
| go..... | GO7 | present participle of gorge |
| go.... | GO6 | A vicious female monster from Greek mythology with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes. One of the three sisters: Medusa, Stheno and Euryale |
| go.... | GO6 | present participle of gore |
| gr..... | GR7 | Alternative form of griffin (legendary creature) |
| gr... | GR5 | A low, mournful sound uttered in pain or grief. |
| gr...... | GR8 | That groans. |
| gr.. | GR4 | An alcoholic beverage made with rum and water, especially that once issued to sailors of the Royal Navy. |
| gr... | GR5 | The crease or depression of the human body at the junction of the trunk and the thigh, together with the surrounding region. |
| ig...... | IG8 | present participle of ignore |
| in.. | IN4 | information. |
| ir.. | IR4 | A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel. |
| ir..... | IR7 | present participle of iron |
| no.... | NO6 | A small mug, cup or ladle. |
| no.. | NO4 | Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre |
| no..... | NO7 | A polygon with nine sides and nine angles; an enneagon. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| no.. | NO4 | A type of seaweed, a red alga, laver (genus Pyropia, including species P. yezoensis and P. tenera). |
| oa.... | OA6 | present participle and gerund of oar |
| of.... | OF6 | The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen in the distance from land, excluding the parts nearest the shore, and beyond the anchoring ground. |
| on..... | ON7 | Continuing, permanent, lasting. |
| on... | ON5 | A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice. |
| or... | OR5 | An orangutan. |
| or... | OR5 | The larger part of an organism, composed of tissues that perform similar functions. |
| or.... | OR6 | The beginning of something. |
| ri... | RI5 | US spelling of rigour |
| ro.. | RO4 | Especially of a horse, having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in |
| ro.. | RO4 | To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion. |
| ro..... | RO7 | Intensive; extreme. |
| ro.. | RO4 | The external covering at the top of a building. |
| ro..... | RO7 | Material used on the outside of a roof, such as shingles. |
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.
- foraging† (FO8)
- afro (AF4)
- agog (AG4)
- agora (AG5)
- angora (AN6)
- anion (AN5)
- anon (AN4)
- argon (AR5)
- farrago (FA7)
- farro (FA5)
- fogging (FO7)
- fora (FO4)
- forging (FO7)
- forgo (FO5)
- forgoing (FO8)
- frog (FR4)
- going (GO5)
- gong (GO4)
- gonging (GO7)
- gonna (GO5)
- goof (GO4)
- goofing (GO7)
- goon (GO4)
- gorging (GO7)
- gorgon (GO6)
- goring (GO6)
- griffon (GR7)
- groan (GR5)
- groaning (GR8)
- grog (GR4)
- groin (GR5)
- ignoring (IG8)
- info (IN4)
- iron (IR4)
- ironing (IR7)
- noggin (NO6)
- noir (NO4)
- nonagon (NO7)
- noon (NO4)
- nori (NO4)
- oaring (OA6)
- offing (OF6)
- ongoing (ON7)
- onion (ON5)
- orang (OR5)
- organ (OR5)
- origin (OR6)
- rigor (RI5)
- roan (RO4)
- roar (RO4)
- roaring (RO7)
- roof (RO4)
- roofing (RO7)
Answer Definitions
- foraging† (verb): present participle of forage
- afro (noun): hairstyle characterized by tightly curled locks and a rounded shape.
- agog (adjective): In eager desire, eager, astir.
- agora (noun): A place for gathering.
- angora (noun): An angora cat.
- anion (noun): A negatively charged ion.
- anon (adverb): Straight away; at once.
- argon (noun): The chemical element (symbol Ar) with an atomic number of 18. The third most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere, it is a colourless, odourless, inert noble gas.
- farrago (noun): A collection containing a confused variety of miscellaneous things.
- farro (noun): Emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum).
- fogging (verb): present participle of fog
- fora (noun): plural of forum (alternative form of forums).
- forging (verb): present participle of forge
- forgo (verb): To let pass, to leave alone, to let go.
- forgoing (verb): present participle of forgo
- frog (noun): Any of a class of small tailless amphibians of the order Anura that typically hop.
- going (verb): present participle of go
- gong (noun): A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a sonorous sound when struck with a soft hammer.
- gonging (verb): present participle of gong
- gonna (contraction): Contraction of going to when followed by an infinitive verb: used to express a future action.
- goof (noun): A mistake or error.
- goofing (verb): present participle of goof
- goon (noun): A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon').
- gorging (verb): present participle of gorge
- gorgon (noun): A vicious female monster from Greek mythology with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes. One of the three sisters: Medusa, Stheno and Euryale
- goring (verb): present participle of gore
- griffon (noun): Alternative form of griffin (legendary creature)
- groan (noun): A low, mournful sound uttered in pain or grief.
- groaning (adjective): That groans.
- grog (noun): An alcoholic beverage made with rum and water, especially that once issued to sailors of the Royal Navy.
- groin (noun): The crease or depression of the human body at the junction of the trunk and the thigh, together with the surrounding region.
- ignoring (verb): present participle of ignore
- info (noun): information.
- iron (noun): A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel.
- ironing (verb): present participle of iron
- noggin (noun): A small mug, cup or ladle.
- noir (adjective): Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre
- nonagon (noun): A polygon with nine sides and nine angles; an enneagon.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- nori (noun): A type of seaweed, a red alga, laver (genus Pyropia, including species P. yezoensis and P. tenera).
- oaring (verb): present participle and gerund of oar
- offing (noun): The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen in the distance from land, excluding the parts nearest the shore, and beyond the anchoring ground.
- ongoing (adjective): Continuing, permanent, lasting.
- onion (noun): A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
- orang (noun): An orangutan.
- organ (noun): The larger part of an organism, composed of tissues that perform similar functions.
- origin (noun): The beginning of something.
- rigor (noun): US spelling of rigour
- roan (adjective): Especially of a horse, having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
- roar (verb): To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.
- roaring (adjective): Intensive; extreme.
- roof (noun): The external covering at the top of a building.
- roofing (noun): Material used on the outside of a roof, such as shingles.