NYT Spelling Bee Answers for June 21, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | E |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, g, h, i, k, n |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 34 words |
| Total Points | 164 points |
| Genius Level | 115 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | - | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 5 |
| E | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| G | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
| H | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| I | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| K | 2 | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | 4 |
| N | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 9 | Σ | 11 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 2 | - | 1 | 34 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CH×5 |
|---|---|
| E | EG×1 EK×1 EN×1 |
| G | GE×5 GH×1 |
| H | HE×4 HI×2 |
| I | IN×1 |
| K | KE×2 KN×2 |
| N | NE×5 NI×4 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CHE×3 CHI×2 |
|---|---|
| E | EGG×1 EKI×1 ENG×1 |
| G | GEE×2 GEN×3 GHE×1 |
| H | HEC×1 HEI×1 HEN×2 HIK×1 HIN×1 |
| I | INN×1 |
| K | KEE×2 KNE×2 |
| N | NEC×2 NEI×2 NEN×1 NIC×2 NIE×1 NIN×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ch...... † | CH8 | present participle and gerund of check |
| ch........ † | CH10 | present participle and gerund of chicken |
| ch... | CH5 | A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece. |
| ch... | CH5 | The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity. |
| ch..... | CH7 | A domesticated species of junglefowl (usually, Gallus gallus; sometimes, Gallus gallus domesticus or Gallus domesticus), especially so-called when young. |
| eg.... | EG6 | present participle of egg |
| ek... | EK5 | The act or process of adding. |
| en.... | EN6 | A large construction used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult etc. |
| ge.. | GE4 | A carnival performer specializing in bizarre and unappetizing behavior. |
| ge..... | GE7 | present participle of geek |
| ge.. | GE4 | A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; a gene may take several values and in principle predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color. |
| ge... | GE5 | A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally invisible to the human eye, but who may also appear in animal or human form. |
| ge... | GE5 | plural of genius; guardian spirits |
| gh.. | GH4 | A type of clarified butter used in South Asian cooking; usli ghee. |
| he.. | HE4 | Hell. |
| he.... | HE6 | The buttocks. |
| he... | HE5 | from here, from this place, away |
| he... | HE5 | A prehistoric enclosure in the form of a circle or circular arc defined by a raised circular bank and a circular ditch usually running inside the bank, with one or more entrances leading into the enclosed open space. |
| hi.. | HI4 | A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise. |
| hi... | HI5 | A jointed or flexible device that allows the pivoting of a door etc. |
| in... | IN5 | A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen). |
| ke.. | KE4 | Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested. |
| ke..... | KE7 | Sharp, shrill, especially of a sound. |
| kn.. | KN4 | In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank. |
| kn..... | KN7 | present participle of knee |
| ne.. | NE4 | The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals. |
| ne..... | NE7 | present participle and gerund of neck |
| ne... | NE5 | The cry of a horse. |
| ne...... | NE8 | present participle of neigh |
| 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. |
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.
- checking† (CH8)
- chickening† (CH10)
- check (CH5)
- cheek (CH5)
- chicken (CH7)
- egging (EG6)
- eking (EK5)
- engine (EN6)
- geek (GE4)
- geeking (GE7)
- gene (GE4)
- genie (GE5)
- genii (GE5)
- ghee (GH4)
- heck (HE4)
- heinie (HE6)
- hence (HE5)
- henge (HE5)
- hike (HI4)
- hinge (HI5)
- innie (IN5)
- keen (KE4)
- keening (KE7)
- knee (KN4)
- kneeing (KN7)
- neck (NE4)
- necking (NE7)
- neigh (NE5)
- neighing (NE8)
- nene (NE4)
- nice (NI4)
- niche (NI5)
- niece (NI5)
- nine (NI4)
Answer Definitions
- checking† (verb): present participle and gerund of check
- chickening† (verb): present participle and gerund of chicken
- check (noun): A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.
- cheek (noun): The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.
- chicken (noun): A domesticated species of junglefowl (usually, Gallus gallus; sometimes, Gallus gallus domesticus or Gallus domesticus), especially so-called when young.
- egging (verb): present participle of egg
- eking (noun): The act or process of adding.
- engine (noun): A large construction used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult etc.
- geek (noun): A carnival performer specializing in bizarre and unappetizing behavior.
- geeking (verb): present participle of geek
- gene (noun): A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; a gene may take several values and in principle predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.
- genie (noun): A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally invisible to the human eye, but who may also appear in animal or human form.
- genii (noun): plural of genius; guardian spirits
- ghee (noun): A type of clarified butter used in South Asian cooking; usli ghee.
- heck (interjection): Hell.
- heinie (noun): The buttocks.
- hence (adverb): from here, from this place, away
- henge (noun): A prehistoric enclosure in the form of a circle or circular arc defined by a raised circular bank and a circular ditch usually running inside the bank, with one or more entrances leading into the enclosed open space.
- hike (noun): A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.
- hinge (noun): A jointed or flexible device that allows the pivoting of a door etc.
- innie (noun): A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen).
- keen (adjective): Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.
- keening (adjective): Sharp, shrill, especially of a sound.
- knee (noun): In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.
- kneeing (verb): present participle of knee
- neck (noun): The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.
- necking (verb): present participle and gerund of neck
- neigh (noun): The cry of a horse.
- neighing (verb): present participle of neigh
- 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.