NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 22, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | P |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, h, l, o, t |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 47 words |
| Total Points | 163 points |
| Genius Level | 114 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 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | 5 |
| C | 6 | 1 | - | 2 | - | 9 |
| H | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | 3 |
| L | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | 3 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| P | 14 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| T | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | Σ | 25 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 47 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AL×3 AP×1 AT×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×3 CH×2 CL×2 CO×2 |
| H | HO×3 |
| L | LA×1 LO×2 |
| O | OP×1 |
| P | PA×9 PH×2 PL×3 PO×10 |
| T | TA×1 TO×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ALC×1 ALP×2 APP×1 ATO×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAP×2 CAT×1 CHA×1 CHO×1 CLA×1 CLO×1 COO×2 |
| H | HOO×2 HOT×1 |
| L | LAP×1 LOL×1 LOO×1 |
| O | OPA×1 |
| P | PAC×1 PAL×4 PAP×2 PAT×2 PHA×1 PHO×1 PLA×1 PLO×2 POA×1 POL×2 POO×4 POP×1 POT×2 |
| T | TAP×1 TOP×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) |
|---|---|---|
| po...... † | PO8 | A ceremony amongst certain indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest in which gifts are bestowed upon guests and personal property is destroyed in a show of generosity and wealth. |
| al..... | AL7 | An alcoholic drink that looks and tastes like a soft drink. |
| al.... | AL6 | A sheep-like animal of the Andes, Vicugna pacos, in the camel family, closely related to the llama, guanaco, and vicuña. |
| al... | AL5 | The name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α, α), followed by beta. In the Latin alphabet it is the predecessor to A. |
| ap.... | AP6 | To fill with horror; to dismay. |
| at.. | AT4 | On the top of. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A movable bar placed across the fingerboard of a guitar used to raise the pitch of all strings. |
| ca..... | CA7 | Alternative letter-case form of CAPTCHA |
| ca..... | CA7 | Any tree of the genus Catalpa, in the family Bignoniaceae. The two North American species, the southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides, and the northern catalpa, Catalpa speciosa — along with the yellow catalpa, Catalpa ovata, from China — are often planted as ornamentals because of their showy flowers and decorative bean pods, though others regard the bean pods as a nuisance. |
| ch.. | CH4 | A man, a fellow. |
| ch.. | CH4 | A cut of meat, often containing a section of a rib. |
| cl.. | CL4 | The act of striking the palms of the hands, or any two surfaces, together. |
| cl.. | CL4 | The sound of a horse's shod hoof striking the ground. |
| co.. | CO4 | A basket, pen or enclosure for birds or small animals. |
| co... | CO5 | Alternative spelling of co-opt |
| ho.. | HO4 | A circular band of metal used to bind a barrel. |
| ho.... | HO6 | A bustling to-do, excited speech or noise. |
| ho.... | HO6 | Alternative spelling of hot pot. |
| la.... | LA6 | A laptop computer. |
| lo.... | LO6 | To walk or move with a bouncing or undulating motion and at an unhurried pace. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening. |
| op.. | OP4 | A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO2·nH2O. A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone found in the opal-silica mineral substrate (potch) |
| pa.. | PA4 | An agreement; a compact; a covenant. |
| pa.... | PA6 | An open-sided dwelling with a thatched roof made of dried palm leaves. |
| pa..... | PA7 | Pertaining to the palate. |
| pa.. | PA4 | Senses relating to cloth. Fine cloth, especially purple cloth used for robes. A heavy cloth laid over a coffin or tomb; a shroud laid over a corpse. A piece of cardboard, covered with linen and embroidered on one side, used to cover the chalice during the Eucharist. A cloth used for various purposes on the altar in a church, such as a corporal (“cloth on which elements of the Eucharist are placed”) or frontal (“drapery covering the front of an altar”). |
| pa.. | PA4 | Synonym of pedipalp. |
| pa.. | PA4 | Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father. |
| pa... | PA5 | Having to do with the pope or the papacy. |
| pa... | PA5 | A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a hole. |
| pa.. | PA4 | A trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians. |
| ph.. | PH4 | Excellent; cool; very good. |
| ph... | PH5 | A photograph. |
| pl.. | PL4 | A plot of land; a lot. |
| pl.. | PL4 | A sound or action like liquid hitting a hard surface, or an object falling into a body of water. |
| pl.. | PL4 | The course of a story, comprising a series of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means. |
| po... | PO5 | To cook something in simmering liquid. |
| po.. | PO4 | A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion. |
| po.. | PO4 | A ball game where two teams of players on horseback use long-handled mallets to propel the ball along the ground and into their opponent's goal. |
| po... | PO5 | A dog. |
| po.. | PO4 | Expressing dismissal, contempt, impatience, etc. |
| po.. | PO4 | A small and rather deep area of (usually) fresh water, as one supplied by a spring, or occurring in the course of a stream or river; a reservoir for water. |
| po.. | PO4 | To make a short blast on a horn. |
| po... | PO5 | father, papa. |
| po.... | PO6 | The tuber of a plant, Solanum tuberosum, eaten as a starchy vegetable, particularly in the Americas and Europe; this plant. |
| ta.. | TA4 | A kind of cloth prepared by the Polynesians from the inner bark of the paper mulberry. |
| to..... | TO7 | A light overcoat. |
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.
- potlatch† (PO8)
- alcopop (AL7)
- alpaca (AL6)
- alpha (AL5)
- appall (AP6)
- atop (AT4)
- capo (CA4)
- captcha (CA7)
- catalpa (CA7)
- chap (CH4)
- chop (CH4)
- clap (CL4)
- clop (CL4)
- coop (CO4)
- coopt (CO5)
- hoop (HO4)
- hoopla (HO6)
- hotpot (HO6)
- laptop (LA6)
- lollop (LO6)
- loop (LO4)
- opal (OP4)
- pact (PA4)
- palapa (PA6)
- palatal (PA7)
- pall (PA4)
- palp (PA4)
- papa (PA4)
- papal (PA5)
- patch (PA5)
- path (PA4)
- phat (PH4)
- photo (PH5)
- plat (PL4)
- plop (PL4)
- plot (PL4)
- poach (PO5)
- poll (PO4)
- polo (PO4)
- pooch (PO5)
- pooh (PO4)
- pool (PO4)
- poop (PO4)
- poppa (PO5)
- potato (PO6)
- tapa (TA4)
- topcoat (TO7)
Answer Definitions
- potlatch† (noun): A ceremony amongst certain indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest in which gifts are bestowed upon guests and personal property is destroyed in a show of generosity and wealth.
- alcopop (noun): An alcoholic drink that looks and tastes like a soft drink.
- alpaca (noun): A sheep-like animal of the Andes, Vicugna pacos, in the camel family, closely related to the llama, guanaco, and vicuña.
- alpha (noun): The name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α, α), followed by beta. In the Latin alphabet it is the predecessor to A.
- appall (verb): To fill with horror; to dismay.
- atop (preposition): On the top of.
- capo (noun): A movable bar placed across the fingerboard of a guitar used to raise the pitch of all strings.
- captcha (noun): Alternative letter-case form of CAPTCHA
- catalpa (noun): Any tree of the genus Catalpa, in the family Bignoniaceae. The two North American species, the southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides, and the northern catalpa, Catalpa speciosa — along with the yellow catalpa, Catalpa ovata, from China — are often planted as ornamentals because of their showy flowers and decorative bean pods, though others regard the bean pods as a nuisance.
- chap (noun): A man, a fellow.
- chop (noun): A cut of meat, often containing a section of a rib.
- clap (noun): The act of striking the palms of the hands, or any two surfaces, together.
- clop (noun): The sound of a horse's shod hoof striking the ground.
- coop (noun): A basket, pen or enclosure for birds or small animals.
- coopt (verb): Alternative spelling of co-opt
- hoop (noun): A circular band of metal used to bind a barrel.
- hoopla (noun): A bustling to-do, excited speech or noise.
- hotpot (noun): Alternative spelling of hot pot.
- laptop (noun): A laptop computer.
- lollop (verb): To walk or move with a bouncing or undulating motion and at an unhurried pace.
- loop (noun): A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening.
- opal (noun): A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO2·nH2O. A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone found in the opal-silica mineral substrate (potch)
- pact (noun): An agreement; a compact; a covenant.
- palapa (noun): An open-sided dwelling with a thatched roof made of dried palm leaves.
- palatal (adjective): Pertaining to the palate.
- pall (noun): Senses relating to cloth. Fine cloth, especially purple cloth used for robes. A heavy cloth laid over a coffin or tomb; a shroud laid over a corpse. A piece of cardboard, covered with linen and embroidered on one side, used to cover the chalice during the Eucharist. A cloth used for various purposes on the altar in a church, such as a corporal (“cloth on which elements of the Eucharist are placed”) or frontal (“drapery covering the front of an altar”).
- palp (noun): Synonym of pedipalp.
- papa (noun): Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father.
- papal (adjective): Having to do with the pope or the papacy.
- patch (noun): A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a hole.
- path (noun): A trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians.
- phat (adjective): Excellent; cool; very good.
- photo (noun): A photograph.
- plat (noun): A plot of land; a lot.
- plop (noun): A sound or action like liquid hitting a hard surface, or an object falling into a body of water.
- plot (noun): The course of a story, comprising a series of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means.
- poach (verb): To cook something in simmering liquid.
- poll (noun): A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.
- polo (noun): A ball game where two teams of players on horseback use long-handled mallets to propel the ball along the ground and into their opponent's goal.
- pooch (noun): A dog.
- pooh (interjection): Expressing dismissal, contempt, impatience, etc.
- pool (noun): A small and rather deep area of (usually) fresh water, as one supplied by a spring, or occurring in the course of a stream or river; a reservoir for water.
- poop (verb): To make a short blast on a horn.
- poppa (noun): father, papa.
- potato (noun): The tuber of a plant, Solanum tuberosum, eaten as a starchy vegetable, particularly in the Americas and Europe; this plant.
- tapa (noun): A kind of cloth prepared by the Polynesians from the inner bark of the paper mulberry.
- topcoat (noun): A light overcoat.