NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 21, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | T |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | e, k, m, n, p, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 33 words |
| Total Points | 133 points |
| Genius Level | 93 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| K | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 3 |
| M | 4 | - | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| N | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| P | 3 | - | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| T | 6 | 4 | 2 | - | 1 | 13 |
| U | - | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | 6 | Σ | 14 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 33 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| E | EN×1 |
|---|---|
| K | KE×3 |
| M | ME×4 MU×2 |
| N | |
| P | PE×1 PU×3 |
| T | TE×9 TU×4 |
| U | UM×1 UN×5 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| E | ENT×1 |
|---|---|
| K | KEM×1 KEN×1 KEP×1 |
| M | MEE×2 MEN×1 MET×1 MUT×2 |
| N | |
| P | PEN×1 PUN×1 PUP×1 PUT×1 |
| T | TEE×3 TEM×2 TEN×3 TEP×1 TUN×2 TUT×2 |
| U | UMP×1 UNK×2 UNM×2 UNT×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) |
|---|---|---|
| un..... † | UN7 | Uncombed; dishevelled. |
| en..... | EN7 | An informal alliance or friendly understanding between two states. |
| ke... | KE5 | neat and tidy; especially used of hair |
| ke... | KE5 | A type of fabric made of interwoven cloth strips, native to Ghana. |
| ke.. | KE4 | simple past tense and past participle of keep |
| me.. | ME4 | To make contact (with) while in proximity. To come face to face with by accident; to encounter. |
| me.... | ME6 | An arranged informal meeting. |
| me.... | ME6 | A person who is being mentored |
| me.. | ME4 | To measure. |
| mu.. | MU4 | Not having the power of speech; dumb. |
| mu.. | MU4 | A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin. |
| pe.. | PE4 | Confinement; concealment. |
| pu.. | PU4 | A pontoon; a narrow shallow boat propelled by a pole. |
| pu.... | PU6 | Any small model of a person or animal able to be moved by strings or rods, or in the form of a glove. |
| pu.. | PU4 | The act of tapping a golf ball lightly on a putting green. |
| te.. | TE4 | To be stocked to overflowing. |
| te.. | TE4 | Synonym of teenager: a person between 13 and 19 years old. |
| te.... | TE6 | A cone-shaped tent traditionally used by many native peoples of the Great Plains of North America. |
| te.. | TE4 | Abbreviation of temperature. |
| te... | TE5 | To provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice. |
| te...... | TE8 | A building that is rented to multiple tenants, especially a low-rent, run-down one. |
| te... | TE5 | An opinion, belief, or principle that is held as absolute truth by someone or especially an organization. |
| te.. | TE4 | A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather. |
| te... | TE5 | Alternative form of teepee |
| tu.. | TU4 | A melody. |
| tu.... | TU6 | Alternative form of tune-up |
| tu... | TU5 | A student of a tutor. |
| tu.. | TU4 | A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting. |
| um..... | UM7 | Relatively large but unspecified in number. |
| un.... | UN6 | Not kept . |
| un... | UN5 | Not met; unfulfilled; not achieved |
| un.... | UN6 | To restore the sound output (on a speaker or other audio device), having previously muted it. |
| un.... | UN6 | To cause (something) to be out of tune; to make incapable of harmony, or of harmonious action. |
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.
- unkempt† (UN7)
- entente (EN7)
- kempt (KE5)
- kente (KE5)
- kept (KE4)
- meet (ME4)
- meetup (ME6)
- mentee (ME6)
- mete (ME4)
- mute (MU4)
- mutt (MU4)
- pent (PE4)
- punt (PU4)
- puppet (PU6)
- putt (PU4)
- teem (TE4)
- teen (TE4)
- teepee (TE6)
- temp (TE4)
- tempt (TE5)
- tenement (TE8)
- tenet (TE5)
- tent (TE4)
- tepee (TE5)
- tune (TU4)
- tuneup (TU6)
- tutee (TU5)
- tutu (TU4)
- umpteen (UM7)
- unkept (UN6)
- unmet (UN5)
- unmute (UN6)
- untune (UN6)
Answer Definitions
- unkempt† (adjective): Uncombed; dishevelled.
- entente (noun): An informal alliance or friendly understanding between two states.
- kempt (adjective): neat and tidy; especially used of hair
- kente (noun): A type of fabric made of interwoven cloth strips, native to Ghana.
- kept (verb): simple past tense and past participle of keep
- meet (verb): To make contact (with) while in proximity. To come face to face with by accident; to encounter.
- meetup (noun): An arranged informal meeting.
- mentee (noun): A person who is being mentored
- mete (verb): To measure.
- mute (adjective): Not having the power of speech; dumb.
- mutt (noun): A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin.
- pent (noun): Confinement; concealment.
- punt (noun): A pontoon; a narrow shallow boat propelled by a pole.
- puppet (noun): Any small model of a person or animal able to be moved by strings or rods, or in the form of a glove.
- putt (noun): The act of tapping a golf ball lightly on a putting green.
- teem (verb): To be stocked to overflowing.
- teen (noun): Synonym of teenager: a person between 13 and 19 years old.
- teepee (noun): A cone-shaped tent traditionally used by many native peoples of the Great Plains of North America.
- temp (noun): Abbreviation of temperature.
- tempt (verb): To provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice.
- tenement (noun): A building that is rented to multiple tenants, especially a low-rent, run-down one.
- tenet (noun): An opinion, belief, or principle that is held as absolute truth by someone or especially an organization.
- tent (noun): A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather.
- tepee (noun): Alternative form of teepee
- tune (noun): A melody.
- tuneup (noun): Alternative form of tune-up
- tutee (noun): A student of a tutor.
- tutu (noun): A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.
- umpteen (determiner): Relatively large but unspecified in number.
- unkept (adjective): Not kept .
- unmet (adjective): Not met; unfulfilled; not achieved
- unmute (verb): To restore the sound output (on a speaker or other audio device), having previously muted it.
- untune (verb): To cause (something) to be out of tune; to make incapable of harmony, or of harmonious action.