NYT Spelling Bee Answers for June 16, 2025

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for June 16, 2025

Game Summary

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for June 16, 2025
Center LetterN
Outer Lettersa, f, i, o, t, x
# of Pangrams1 (Perfect: none)
Total Words40 words
Total Points197 points
Genius Level138 points
Bingo?No

Table of Contents

As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!

  1. Spelling Bee Grid
  2. Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
  3. Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
  4. Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
  5. Today's Complete Solution
  6. Answer Definitions

If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for June 16, 2025

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.

45678910Σ
A3131-1110
F11111--5
I211---26
N4-4-1--9
O11-----2
T241-1--8
X--------
Σ13810231340

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.

A
AN×8
AT×1
AX×1
F
FA×1
FI×2
FO×2
I
IN×6
N
NA×5
NO×4
O
ON×2
T
TA×4
TI×2
TO×2
X

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.

A
ANI×1
ANN×2
ANO×2
ANT×3
ATT×1
AXO×1
F
FAI×1
FIN×1
FIX×1
FON×2
I
INF×3
INI×1
INT×2
N
NAA×1
NAI×1
NAN×1
NAT×2
NON×1
NOO×1
NOT×2
O
ONI×1
ONT×1
T
TAI×1
TAN×1
TAX×2
TIN×1
TIT×1
TOO×1
TOX×1
X

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 ().

Word2L RefDefinition (click to reveal)
fi...... FI8The act of fixing.
an...AN5A negatively charged ion.
an.....AN7A tropical American evergreen shrub, Bixa orellana; the lipstick tree; the fruit of the tree.
an........AN10A critical or explanatory commentary or analysis.
an....AN6To smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous substance; also, to spread over, as oil.
an..AN4Straight away; at once.
an..AN4Opposed to something.
an....AN6Alternative letter-case form of Antifa.
an.......AN9A medicine able to neutralize a toxin.
at....AT6To gain (an object or desired result).
ax..AX4A nerve fibre which is a long slender projection of a nerve cell, and which conducts nerve impulses away from the body of the cell to a synapse.
fa...FA5(of a being) Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
fi....FI6Finished; over with.
fo..FO4A receptacle in a church for holy water, especially one used in baptism.
fo.....FO7A pale yellow cheese from Valle d'Aosta in Italy.
in....IN6A very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age, needing almost constant care and attention.
in...IN5To set; to fasten or fix by piercing or thrusting in.
in..IN4information.
in........IN10The act of initiating, or the process of being initiated or introduced
in..IN4To or towards the inside of.
in........IN10The rise and fall of the voice in speaking.
na..NA4A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
na..NA4Alternative spelling of naïf.
na..NA4A banana.
na....NA6floating or swimming (in water)
na....NA6A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
no....NO6Containing no fat; fat-free.
no..NO4The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
no......NO8The act, process, method, or an instance of representing by a system or set of marks, signs, figures, or characters.
no....NO6Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.
on...ON5A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
on..ON4Upon; on top of.
ta...TA5A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food.
ta....TA6Tannic acid or any of its derivatives.
ta......TA8The act of imposing taxes and the fact of being taxed.
ta...TA5A group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit.
ti..TI4A slight coloring.
ti...TI5Something or someone of very large stature, greatness, or godliness.
to..TO4A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
to...TO5A toxic substance, specifically a poison produced by the biological processes of organisms.

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.

  • fixation  (FI8)
  • anion  (AN5)
  • annatto  (AN7)
  • annotation  (AN10)
  • anoint  (AN6)
  • anon  (AN4)
  • anti  (AN4)
  • antifa  (AN6)
  • antitoxin  (AN9)
  • attain  (AT6)
  • axon  (AX4)
  • faint  (FA5)
  • finito  (FI6)
  • font  (FO4)
  • fontina  (FO7)
  • infant  (IN6)
  • infix  (IN5)
  • info  (IN4)
  • initiation  (IN10)
  • into  (IN4)
  • intonation  (IN10)
  • naan  (NA4)
  • naif  (NA4)
  • nana  (NA4)
  • natant  (NA6)
  • nation  (NA6)
  • nonfat  (NO6)
  • noon  (NO4)
  • notation  (NO8)
  • notion  (NO6)
  • onion  (ON5)
  • onto  (ON4)
  • taint  (TA5)
  • tannin  (TA6)
  • taxation  (TA8)
  • taxon  (TA5)
  • tint  (TI4)
  • titan  (TI5)
  • toon  (TO4)
  • toxin  (TO5)

Answer Definitions

  • fixation (noun): The act of fixing.
  • anion (noun): A negatively charged ion.
  • annatto (noun): A tropical American evergreen shrub, Bixa orellana; the lipstick tree; the fruit of the tree.
  • annotation (noun): A critical or explanatory commentary or analysis.
  • anoint (verb): To smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous substance; also, to spread over, as oil.
  • anon (adverb): Straight away; at once.
  • anti (adjective): Opposed to something.
  • antifa (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Antifa.
  • antitoxin (noun): A medicine able to neutralize a toxin.
  • attain (verb): To gain (an object or desired result).
  • axon (noun): A nerve fibre which is a long slender projection of a nerve cell, and which conducts nerve impulses away from the body of the cell to a synapse.
  • faint (adjective): (of a being) Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
  • finito (adjective): Finished; over with.
  • font (noun): A receptacle in a church for holy water, especially one used in baptism.
  • fontina (noun): A pale yellow cheese from Valle d'Aosta in Italy.
  • infant (noun): A very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age, needing almost constant care and attention.
  • infix (verb): To set; to fasten or fix by piercing or thrusting in.
  • info (noun): information.
  • initiation (noun): The act of initiating, or the process of being initiated or introduced
  • into (preposition): To or towards the inside of.
  • intonation (noun): The rise and fall of the voice in speaking.
  • naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
  • naif (adjective): Alternative spelling of naïf.
  • nana (noun): A banana.
  • natant (adjective): floating or swimming (in water)
  • nation (noun): A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
  • nonfat (adjective): Containing no fat; fat-free.
  • noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
  • notation (noun): The act, process, method, or an instance of representing by a system or set of marks, signs, figures, or characters.
  • notion (noun): Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.
  • onion (noun): A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
  • onto (preposition): Upon; on top of.
  • taint (noun): A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food.
  • tannin (noun): Tannic acid or any of its derivatives.
  • taxation (noun): The act of imposing taxes and the fact of being taxed.
  • taxon (noun): A group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit.
  • tint (noun): A slight coloring.
  • titan (noun): Something or someone of very large stature, greatness, or godliness.
  • toon (noun): A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
  • toxin (noun): A toxic substance, specifically a poison produced by the biological processes of organisms.