NYT Spelling Bee Answers for June 18, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, e, h, i, l, p |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 42 words |
| Total Points | 248 points |
| Genius Level | 174 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 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 7 |
| E | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| H | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| I | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| L | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| N | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| P | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | Σ | 9 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 42 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CH×2 CI×2 CL×3 |
|---|---|
| E | EP×1 |
| H | HE×3 HI×1 |
| I | IN×4 |
| L | LE×1 LI×5 |
| N | NE×1 NI×6 |
| P | PE×6 PH×2 PI×5 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CHE×1 CHI×1 CIN×2 CLE×1 CLI×2 |
|---|---|
| E | EPI×1 |
| H | HEI×1 HEL×1 HEN×1 HIP×1 |
| I | INC×3 INN×1 |
| L | LEN×1 LIC×1 LIE×1 LIN×3 |
| N | NEN×1 NIC×2 NIE×1 NIN×2 NIP×1 |
| P | PEE×1 PEN×5 PHI×2 PIC×1 PIN×2 PIP×2 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ci....... † | CI9 | An enthusiast of films and the cinema; a cineast. |
| ph.......... † | PH12 | Loving Greece or Greek culture. |
| ch...... | CH8 | An extremely soft and bunchy fabric often used to make sweaters. |
| ch.. | CH4 | The bottom of a face, the typically jutting jawline below the mouth. |
| ci... | CI5 | A simple saddle girth used in Mexico. |
| cl.... | CL6 | To grip or hold fast. |
| cl.... | CL6 | To clasp; to interlock. |
| cl.... | CL6 | A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients. |
| ep..... | EP7 | Of or relating to a class of Greek and Latin nouns that may refer to males or females but have a fixed grammatical gender (feminine, masculine, neuter, etc.). |
| he.... | HE6 | The buttocks. |
| he...... | HE8 | A telephone service (or one using email, SMS, or the Web) which offers help to those who call, as either a public emergency service or customer service. |
| he... | HE5 | from here, from this place, away |
| hi..... | HI7 | The line of a garment around the hips. |
| in.. | IN4 | A unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot, or exactly 2.54 centimetres. |
| in........ | IN10 | A beginning, or first stage. |
| in..... | IN7 | To bend or move (something) out of a given plane or direction, often the horizontal or vertical. |
| in... | IN5 | A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen). |
| le...... | LE8 | Leniency: mercy or forgiveness in the assignment of punishment. |
| li.... | LI6 | Any of many symbiotic organisms, being associations of algae and fungi, often found as white or yellow-to-blue–green patches on rocks, old walls, etc. |
| li.. | LI4 | A tendon. |
| li...... | LI8 | A pin inserted through holes at the end of an axle or shaft, so as to secure a wheel or shaft-mounted device. |
| li.. | LI4 | A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight. |
| li... | LI5 | Thread or cloth made from flax fiber. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957. |
| ni.. | NI4 | Pleasant, satisfactory. |
| ni... | NI5 | A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament. |
| ni... | NI5 | A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece"). |
| ni.. | NI4 | NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9. |
| ni..... | NI7 | The wooden pin used in the game of ninepins; a skittle. |
| ni.... | NI6 | The projection of a mammary gland from which, on female mammals, milk is secreted. |
| pe.. | PE4 | The (often spherical) end of the head of a hammer opposite the main hammering end. |
| pe... | PE5 | plural of penny (the subunit of the pound sterling or Irish pound). |
| pe.... | PE6 | A paintbrush. |
| pe........ | PE10 | Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases. |
| pe.... | PE6 | Pertaining to the penis. |
| pe... | PE5 | A type of short, diagonally cut pasta. |
| ph......... | PH11 | Philhellenic. |
| pi.... | PI6 | An informal social gathering, usually in a natural outdoor setting, to which the participants bring their own food and drink. |
| pi... | PI5 | To squeeze a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt. |
| pi.. | PI4 | Any coniferous tree of the genus Pinus. |
| pi...... | PI8 | A conduit made of pipes used to convey water, gas or petroleum etc. |
| pi.... | PI6 | A seed |
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.
- cinephile† (CI9)
- philhellenic† (PH12)
- chenille (CH8)
- chin (CH4)
- cinch (CI5)
- clench (CL6)
- clinch (CL6)
- clinic (CL6)
- epicene (EP7)
- heinie (HE6)
- helpline (HE8)
- hence (HE5)
- hipline (HI7)
- inch (IN4)
- incipience (IN10)
- incline (IN7)
- innie (IN5)
- lenience (LE8)
- lichen (LI6)
- lien (LI4)
- linchpin (LI8)
- line (LI4)
- linen (LI5)
- nene (NE4)
- nice (NI4)
- niche (NI5)
- niece (NI5)
- nine (NI4)
- ninepin (NI7)
- nipple (NI6)
- peen (PE4)
- pence (PE5)
- pencil (PE6)
- penicillin (PE10)
- penile (PE6)
- penne (PE5)
- philhellene (PH11)
- picnic (PI6)
- pinch (PI5)
- pine (PI4)
- pipeline (PI8)
- pippin (PI6)
Answer Definitions
- cinephile† (noun): An enthusiast of films and the cinema; a cineast.
- philhellenic† (adjective): Loving Greece or Greek culture.
- chenille (noun): An extremely soft and bunchy fabric often used to make sweaters.
- chin (noun): The bottom of a face, the typically jutting jawline below the mouth.
- cinch (noun): A simple saddle girth used in Mexico.
- clench (verb): To grip or hold fast.
- clinch (verb): To clasp; to interlock.
- clinic (noun): A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients.
- epicene (adjective): Of or relating to a class of Greek and Latin nouns that may refer to males or females but have a fixed grammatical gender (feminine, masculine, neuter, etc.).
- heinie (noun): The buttocks.
- helpline (noun): A telephone service (or one using email, SMS, or the Web) which offers help to those who call, as either a public emergency service or customer service.
- hence (adverb): from here, from this place, away
- hipline (noun): The line of a garment around the hips.
- inch (noun): A unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot, or exactly 2.54 centimetres.
- incipience (noun): A beginning, or first stage.
- incline (verb): To bend or move (something) out of a given plane or direction, often the horizontal or vertical.
- innie (noun): A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen).
- lenience (noun): Leniency: mercy or forgiveness in the assignment of punishment.
- lichen (noun): Any of many symbiotic organisms, being associations of algae and fungi, often found as white or yellow-to-blue–green patches on rocks, old walls, etc.
- lien (noun): A tendon.
- linchpin (noun): A pin inserted through holes at the end of an axle or shaft, so as to secure a wheel or shaft-mounted device.
- line (noun): A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
- linen (noun): Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
- nene (noun): The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.
- nice (adjective): Pleasant, satisfactory.
- niche (noun): A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament.
- niece (noun): A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece").
- nine (numeral): NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9.
- ninepin (noun): The wooden pin used in the game of ninepins; a skittle.
- nipple (noun): The projection of a mammary gland from which, on female mammals, milk is secreted.
- peen (noun): The (often spherical) end of the head of a hammer opposite the main hammering end.
- pence (noun): plural of penny (the subunit of the pound sterling or Irish pound).
- pencil (noun): A paintbrush.
- penicillin (noun): Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases.
- penile (adjective): Pertaining to the penis.
- penne (noun): A type of short, diagonally cut pasta.
- philhellene (adjective): Philhellenic.
- picnic (noun): An informal social gathering, usually in a natural outdoor setting, to which the participants bring their own food and drink.
- pinch (verb): To squeeze a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.
- pine (noun): Any coniferous tree of the genus Pinus.
- pipeline (noun): A conduit made of pipes used to convey water, gas or petroleum etc.
- pippin (noun): A seed