NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 25, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, e, l, o, p |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 62 words |
| Total Points | 227 points |
| Genius Level | 159 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 | 1 | - | 8 |
| B | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| E | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 4 |
| L | 5 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 7 |
| N | 11 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 14 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 2 |
| P | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | 13 | Σ | 32 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 62 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×1 AE×1 AL×1 AN×4 AP×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×6 BE×4 BO×4 |
| E | EB×1 EL×1 EN×2 |
| L | LA×1 LE×1 LL×1 LO×4 |
| N | NA×5 NE×3 NO×6 |
| O | OP×2 |
| P | PA×3 PE×4 PL×3 PO×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABA×1 AEO×1 ALO×1 ANA×1 ANN×2 ANO×1 APN×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×1 BAL×2 BAN×3 BEA×3 BEE×1 BON×3 BOO×1 |
| E | EBO×1 ELA×1 ENA×1 ENN×1 |
| L | LAN×1 LEA×1 LLA×1 LOA×2 LON×1 LOO×1 |
| N | NAA×1 NAB×1 NAN×1 NAP×2 NEA×1 NEN×1 NEO×1 NOB×1 NOE×1 NON×1 NOO×2 NOP×1 |
| O | OPE×2 |
| P | PAE×1 PAN×2 PEE×1 PEN×2 PEO×1 PLA×2 PLE×1 POB×1 POL×1 PON×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) |
|---|---|---|
| be...... † | BE8 | A thin pole for supporting bean vines. |
| op...... † | OP8 | Capable of being opened. |
| ab..... | AB7 | An edible univalve mollusc of the genus Haliotis, having a shell lined with mother-of-pearl. |
| ae.. | AE4 | Alternative spelling of eon |
| al... | AL5 | By oneself, solitary. |
| an.. | AN4 | of, related to, intended for or involving the anus. |
| an... | AN5 | The record of a single event or item. |
| an.... | AN6 | To subject to great heat and then (often slow) cooling, and sometimes reheating and further cooling, for the purpose of rendering less brittle; to temper; to toughen. |
| an.. | AN4 | Straight away; at once. |
| ap... | AP5 | The cessation of breathing, most often in reference to transient instances thereof during sleep. |
| ba.... | BA6 | An Old World monkey of the genus Papio, having dog-like muzzles and large canine teeth, cheek pouches, a short tail, and naked callosities on the buttocks. |
| ba.... | BA6 | The bony material that makes up the plates in the mouth of the baleen whale, Mysticeti, which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry. |
| ba..... | BA7 | An inflatable buoyant object, often (but not necessarily) round and flexible. |
| ba... | BA5 | Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh. |
| ba.... | BA6 | An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A cause of misery or death. |
| be.. | BE4 | Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods. |
| be...... | BE8 | A pitch deliberately thrown at the head of the batter. |
| be.. | BE4 | past participle of be. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates. |
| bo.... | BO6 | The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A prayer; petition. |
| eb.. | EB4 | (now poetic) Ebony; an ebony tree. |
| el.. | EL4 | Uncommon spelling of élan. |
| en.... | EN6 | To make somebody able (to do, or to be, something); to give sufficient ability or power to do or to be; to give strength or ability to. |
| en..... | EN7 | To bestow with nobility, honour or grace. |
| la.. | LA4 | A road, street, or similar thoroughfare. |
| le.. | LE4 | To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating. |
| ll... | LL5 | A plain or steppe in parts of Latin America. |
| lo.. | LO4 | An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use. |
| lo...... | LO8 | That may be loaned |
| lo.. | LO4 | Solitary; having no companion. |
| lo.. | LO4 | An idler, a lout. |
| na.. | NA4 | A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine. |
| na... | NA5 | An Indian ruler within the Mogul empire. |
| na.. | NA4 | A banana. |
| na.. | NA4 | The back part of the neck. |
| na...... | NA8 | The franc germinal: a 20-franc gold coin issued under Napoleon I of France. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animals. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The second of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas. |
| no... | NO5 | An aristocrat; one of aristocratic blood. |
| no.. | NO4 | A kind of hymn, or canticle, of mediaeval origin, sung in honor of the birth of Christ; a Christmas carol. |
| no.. | NO4 | Not any of a given number or group. |
| no.. | NO4 | A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| no.. | NO4 | No. |
| op.. | OP4 | Not closed. Able to be accessed. Able to have something pass through or along it. |
| pa... | PA5 | A chant or song, especially a hymn of thanksgiving for deliverance or victory, to Apollo or sometimes another god or goddess; hence any song sung to solicit victory in battle. |
| pa.. | PA4 | An individual sheet of glass in a window, door, etc. |
| pa... | PA5 | A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc. |
| pe.. | PE4 | The (often spherical) end of the head of a hammer opposite the main hammering end. |
| pe... | PE5 | Of or relating to punishment. |
| pe... | PE5 | A type of short, diagonally cut pasta. |
| pe.. | PE4 | A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work. |
| pl.. | PL4 | A drawing showing technical details of a building, machine, etc., with unwanted details omitted, and often using symbols rather than detailed drawing to represent doors, valves, etc. |
| pl... | PL5 | Of a surface: flat or level. |
| pl... | PL5 | A style of Puerto Rican music having a highly syncopated rhythm and often satirical lyrics |
| po..... | PO7 | A mild green chile pepper native to Mexico; when dried, the chilis are called anchos or chiles anchos (“wide chilis”). |
| po.... | PO6 | A fine granular substance produced in flowers. Technically a collective term for pollen grains (microspores) produced in the anthers of flowering plants. (This specific usage dating from mid 18th century.) |
| po.. | PO4 | A writ in law used by the superior courts to remove cases from inferior courts. |
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.
- beanpole† (BE8)
- openable† (OP8)
- abalone (AB7)
- aeon (AE4)
- alone (AL5)
- anal (AN4)
- annal (AN5)
- anneal (AN6)
- anon (AN4)
- apnea (AP5)
- baboon (BA6)
- baleen (BA6)
- balloon (BA7)
- banal (BA5)
- banana (BA6)
- bane (BA4)
- bean (BE4)
- beanball (BE8)
- been (BE4)
- bonbon (BO6)
- bone (BO4)
- bonobo (BO6)
- boon (BO4)
- ebon (EB4)
- elan (EL4)
- enable (EN6)
- ennoble (EN7)
- lane (LA4)
- lean (LE4)
- llano (LL5)
- loan (LO4)
- loanable (LO8)
- lone (LO4)
- loon (LO4)
- naan (NA4)
- nabob (NA5)
- nana (NA4)
- nape (NA4)
- napoleon (NA8)
- neap (NE4)
- nene (NE4)
- neon (NE4)
- noble (NO5)
- noel (NO4)
- none (NO4)
- noob (NO4)
- noon (NO4)
- nope (NO4)
- open (OP4)
- paean (PA5)
- pane (PA4)
- panel (PA5)
- peen (PE4)
- penal (PE5)
- penne (PE5)
- peon (PE4)
- plan (PL4)
- plane (PL5)
- plena (PL5)
- poblano (PO7)
- pollen (PO6)
- pone (PO4)
Answer Definitions
- beanpole† (noun): A thin pole for supporting bean vines.
- openable† (adjective): Capable of being opened.
- abalone (noun): An edible univalve mollusc of the genus Haliotis, having a shell lined with mother-of-pearl.
- aeon (noun): Alternative spelling of eon
- alone (adjective): By oneself, solitary.
- anal (adjective): of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
- annal (noun): The record of a single event or item.
- anneal (verb): To subject to great heat and then (often slow) cooling, and sometimes reheating and further cooling, for the purpose of rendering less brittle; to temper; to toughen.
- anon (adverb): Straight away; at once.
- apnea (noun): The cessation of breathing, most often in reference to transient instances thereof during sleep.
- baboon (noun): An Old World monkey of the genus Papio, having dog-like muzzles and large canine teeth, cheek pouches, a short tail, and naked callosities on the buttocks.
- baleen (noun): The bony material that makes up the plates in the mouth of the baleen whale, Mysticeti, which it uses to trap its food; formerly used in corsetry.
- balloon (noun): An inflatable buoyant object, often (but not necessarily) round and flexible.
- banal (adjective): Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh.
- banana (noun): An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking.
- bane (noun): A cause of misery or death.
- bean (noun): Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.
- beanball (noun): A pitch deliberately thrown at the head of the batter.
- been (verb): past participle of be.
- bonbon (noun): A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy.
- bone (noun): A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
- bonobo (noun): The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river.
- boon (noun): A prayer; petition.
- ebon (noun): (now poetic) Ebony; an ebony tree.
- elan (noun): Uncommon spelling of élan.
- enable (verb): To make somebody able (to do, or to be, something); to give sufficient ability or power to do or to be; to give strength or ability to.
- ennoble (verb): To bestow with nobility, honour or grace.
- lane (noun): A road, street, or similar thoroughfare.
- lean (verb): To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
- llano (noun): A plain or steppe in parts of Latin America.
- loan (noun): An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use.
- loanable (adjective): That may be loaned
- lone (adjective): Solitary; having no companion.
- loon (noun): An idler, a lout.
- naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
- nabob (noun): An Indian ruler within the Mogul empire.
- nana (noun): A banana.
- nape (noun): The back part of the neck.
- napoleon (noun): The franc germinal: a 20-franc gold coin issued under Napoleon I of France.
- neap (noun): The tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animals.
- nene (noun): The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.
- neon (noun): The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The second of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas.
- noble (noun): An aristocrat; one of aristocratic blood.
- noel (noun): A kind of hymn, or canticle, of mediaeval origin, sung in honor of the birth of Christ; a Christmas carol.
- none (pronoun): Not any of a given number or group.
- noob (noun): A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- nope (particle): No.
- open (adjective): Not closed. Able to be accessed. Able to have something pass through or along it.
- paean (noun): A chant or song, especially a hymn of thanksgiving for deliverance or victory, to Apollo or sometimes another god or goddess; hence any song sung to solicit victory in battle.
- pane (noun): An individual sheet of glass in a window, door, etc.
- panel (noun): A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc.
- peen (noun): The (often spherical) end of the head of a hammer opposite the main hammering end.
- penal (adjective): Of or relating to punishment.
- penne (noun): A type of short, diagonally cut pasta.
- peon (noun): A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work.
- plan (noun): A drawing showing technical details of a building, machine, etc., with unwanted details omitted, and often using symbols rather than detailed drawing to represent doors, valves, etc.
- plane (adjective): Of a surface: flat or level.
- plena (noun): A style of Puerto Rican music having a highly syncopated rhythm and often satirical lyrics
- poblano (noun): A mild green chile pepper native to Mexico; when dried, the chilis are called anchos or chiles anchos (“wide chilis”).
- pollen (noun): A fine granular substance produced in flowers. Technically a collective term for pollen grains (microspores) produced in the anthers of flowering plants. (This specific usage dating from mid 18th century.)
- pone (noun): A writ in law used by the superior courts to remove cases from inferior courts.