NYT Spelling Bee Answers for February 21, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | H |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | i, l, n, o, r, t |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 20 words |
| Total Points | 88 points |
| Genius Level | 62 points |
| Bingo? | No |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| L | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| N | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 8 | Σ | 7 | 9 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 20 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| H | HI×3 HO×5 |
|---|---|
| I | |
| L | LI×1 |
| N | NI×1 NO×1 |
| O | |
| R | RH×1 |
| T | TH×3 TI×2 TO×1 TR×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| H | HIL×2 HIN×1 HOL×1 HON×1 HOO×1 HOR×2 |
|---|---|
| I | |
| L | LIT×1 |
| N | NIN×1 NOR×1 |
| O | |
| R | RHI×1 |
| T | THI×1 THO×1 THR×1 TIL×1 TIN×1 TOO×1 TRI×1 TRO×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) |
|---|---|---|
| tr........ † | TR10 | The ordinal form of the number one trillion. |
| hi.. | HI4 | An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain. |
| hi.. | HI4 | The handle of a sword, consisting of grip, guard, and pommel, designed to facilitate use of the blade and afford protection to the hand. |
| hi.. | HI4 | A clue. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A small piece of woodland or a woody hill; a copse. |
| ho... | HO5 | recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration |
| ho.. | HO4 | A derisive cry or shout. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired. |
| ho.... | HO6 | An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance. |
| li... | LI5 | Clipping of lithographic. |
| ni... | NI5 | The ordinal form of the number nine. |
| no... | NO5 | One of the four major compass points, specifically 0°, directed toward the North Pole, and conventionally upwards on a map (or even, sometimes used instead of the relative directional term up), abbreviated as N. |
| rh... | RH5 | Money. |
| th.. | TH4 | Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite. |
| th... | TH5 | A sharp protective spine of a plant. |
| th.... | TH6 | To suddenly excite someone, or to give someone great pleasure; to electrify; to experience such a sensation. |
| ti... | TI5 | Agricultural labour; husbandry. |
| ti..... | TI7 | Cheap, inferior; pretentious. |
| to... | TO5 | A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for eating. |
| tr... | TR5 | An oath, pledge, or promise. A pledge or promise to marry someone. The state of being thus pledged; betrothal, engagement. |
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.
- trillionth† (TR10)
- hill (HI4)
- hilt (HI4)
- hint (HI4)
- holt (HO4)
- honor (HO5)
- hoot (HO4)
- horn (HO4)
- horror (HO6)
- litho (LI5)
- ninth (NI5)
- north (NO5)
- rhino (RH5)
- thin (TH4)
- thorn (TH5)
- thrill (TH6)
- tilth (TI5)
- tinhorn (TI7)
- tooth (TO5)
- troth (TR5)
Answer Definitions
- trillionth† (adjective): The ordinal form of the number one trillion.
- hill (noun): An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain.
- hilt (noun): The handle of a sword, consisting of grip, guard, and pommel, designed to facilitate use of the blade and afford protection to the hand.
- hint (noun): A clue.
- holt (noun): A small piece of woodland or a woody hill; a copse.
- honor (noun): recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration
- hoot (noun): A derisive cry or shout.
- horn (noun): A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
- horror (noun): An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance.
- litho (adjective): Clipping of lithographic.
- ninth (adjective): The ordinal form of the number nine.
- north (noun): One of the four major compass points, specifically 0°, directed toward the North Pole, and conventionally upwards on a map (or even, sometimes used instead of the relative directional term up), abbreviated as N.
- rhino (noun): Money.
- thin (adjective): Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.
- thorn (noun): A sharp protective spine of a plant.
- thrill (verb): To suddenly excite someone, or to give someone great pleasure; to electrify; to experience such a sensation.
- tilth (noun): Agricultural labour; husbandry.
- tinhorn (adjective): Cheap, inferior; pretentious.
- tooth (noun): A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for eating.
- troth (noun): An oath, pledge, or promise. A pledge or promise to marry someone. The state of being thus pledged; betrothal, engagement.