NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 11, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | D |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | h, i, l, o, y, a |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 30 words |
| Total Points | 118 points |
| Genius Level | 83 points |
| Bingo? | No |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 17 |
| H | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 |
| I | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| L | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| O | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 13 | 10 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 30 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | |
|---|---|
| D | DA×5 DI×6 DO×5 DY×1 |
| H | HO×4 HY×1 |
| I | ID×4 |
| L | LA×2 LO×1 |
| O | OD×1 |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | |
|---|---|
| D | DAD×1 DAH×1 DAI×1 DAL×1 DAY×1 DIA×1 DID×1 DIL×4 DOD×1 DOI×1 DOL×2 DOO×1 DYA×1 |
| H | HOL×2 HOO×2 HYO×1 |
| I | IDL×1 IDO×1 IDY×2 |
| L | LAD×1 LAI×1 LOA×1 |
| O | ODD×1 |
| Y |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ho..... † | HO7 | A day on which a festival, religious event, or national celebration is traditionally observed. |
| da... | DA5 | Father. |
| da.... | DA6 | Any plant of the genus Dahlia, tuberous perennial flowering plants native to Mexico. |
| da... | DA5 | That occurs every day, or at least every working day |
| da... | DA5 | To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle. |
| da..... | DA7 | Any of several perennial plants, of the genus Hemerocallis, that have fleshy roots, grasslike leaves and colourful flowers that bloom for just one day. |
| di.. | DI4 | A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed). |
| di.... | DI6 | A small amount of no worth. |
| di... | DI5 | An artificial phallus (penis) for sexual use. |
| di.. | DI4 | Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed. |
| di... | DI5 | Redolent of dill (the herb). |
| di........ | DI10 | Alternative spelling of dilly-dally |
| do.. | DO4 | A large, flightless bird, †Raphus cucullatus, related to the pigeon, that is now extinct (since the 1600s) and was native to Mauritius. |
| do... | DO5 | A small ornamental piece of lace or linen or paper used to protect a surface from scratches by hard objects such as vases or bowls; or to decorate a plate of food. |
| do.. | DO4 | A toy in the form of a human. |
| do... | DO5 | A doll. |
| do.... | DO6 | Used to refer to something whose name one cannot recall: an unspecified device, gadget, part, or thing. |
| dy.. | DY4 | A set of two elements treated as one; a pair. |
| ho.. | HO4 | To grasp or grip. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A covering for the head attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak. |
| ho.... | HO6 | A set of spiritual practices and traditions created and concealed from slave-owners by enslaved Africans in North America, based on traditional African beliefs. |
| hy... | HY5 | Shaped like a U, or like the letter upsilon. |
| id.. | ID4 | Without specific purpose, intent or effort. |
| id.. | ID4 | A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power. |
| id.. | ID4 | Alternative spelling of idyll |
| id... | ID5 | Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls. |
| la.. | LA4 | The mistress of a household. |
| la.. | LA4 | simple past tense and past participle of lay |
| lo.. | LO4 | A burden; a weight to be carried. |
| od... | OD5 | In a peculiar manner; strangely; unusually. |
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.
- holiday† (HO7)
- daddy (DA5)
- dahlia (DA6)
- daily (DA5)
- dally (DA5)
- daylily (DA7)
- dial (DI4)
- diddly (DI6)
- dildo (DI5)
- dill (DI4)
- dilly (DI5)
- dillydally (DI10)
- dodo (DO4)
- doily (DO5)
- doll (DO4)
- dolly (DO5)
- doodad (DO6)
- dyad (DY4)
- hold (HO4)
- hood (HO4)
- hoodoo (HO6)
- hyoid (HY5)
- idly (ID4)
- idol (ID4)
- idyl (ID4)
- idyll (ID5)
- lady (LA4)
- laid (LA4)
- load (LO4)
- oddly (OD5)
Answer Definitions
- holiday† (noun): A day on which a festival, religious event, or national celebration is traditionally observed.
- daddy (noun): Father.
- dahlia (noun): Any plant of the genus Dahlia, tuberous perennial flowering plants native to Mexico.
- daily (adjective): That occurs every day, or at least every working day
- dally (verb): To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
- daylily (noun): Any of several perennial plants, of the genus Hemerocallis, that have fleshy roots, grasslike leaves and colourful flowers that bloom for just one day.
- dial (noun): A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
- diddly (noun): A small amount of no worth.
- dildo (noun): An artificial phallus (penis) for sexual use.
- dill (noun): Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed.
- dilly (adjective): Redolent of dill (the herb).
- dillydally (verb): Alternative spelling of dilly-dally
- dodo (noun): A large, flightless bird, †Raphus cucullatus, related to the pigeon, that is now extinct (since the 1600s) and was native to Mauritius.
- doily (noun): A small ornamental piece of lace or linen or paper used to protect a surface from scratches by hard objects such as vases or bowls; or to decorate a plate of food.
- doll (noun): A toy in the form of a human.
- dolly (noun): A doll.
- doodad (noun): Used to refer to something whose name one cannot recall: an unspecified device, gadget, part, or thing.
- dyad (noun): A set of two elements treated as one; a pair.
- hold (verb): To grasp or grip.
- hood (noun): A covering for the head attached to a larger garment such as a jacket or cloak.
- hoodoo (noun): A set of spiritual practices and traditions created and concealed from slave-owners by enslaved Africans in North America, based on traditional African beliefs.
- hyoid (adjective): Shaped like a U, or like the letter upsilon.
- idly (adverb): Without specific purpose, intent or effort.
- idol (noun): A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.
- idyl (noun): Alternative spelling of idyll
- idyll (noun): Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls.
- lady (noun): The mistress of a household.
- laid (verb): simple past tense and past participle of lay
- load (noun): A burden; a weight to be carried.
- oddly (adverb): In a peculiar manner; strangely; unusually.