NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 12, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | U |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, h, o, r, t |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 36 words |
| Total Points | 171 points |
| Genius Level | 120 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | - | 2 | - | 2 | - | 6 |
| C | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| H | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| O | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| R | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 5 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 9 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 12 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 36 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×1 AU×5 |
|---|---|
| C | CH×2 CO×4 CR×2 CU×5 |
| H | HO×1 HU×3 |
| O | OC×1 OU×2 |
| R | RO×1 |
| T | TA×1 TH×1 TO×3 TR×2 TU×2 |
| U |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACT×1 AUR×2 AUT×3 |
|---|---|
| C | CHU×2 COA×1 COU×3 CRO×1 CRU×1 CUR×3 CUT×2 |
| H | HOU×1 HUR×2 HUT×1 |
| O | OCC×1 OUC×1 OUT×1 |
| R | ROU×1 |
| T | TAU×1 THO×1 TOU×3 TRO×1 TRU×1 TUT×2 |
| U |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| co...... † | CO8 | An author who collaborates with another to write something. |
| cu....... † | CU9 | A murderer who slits the throats of victims. |
| ac...... | AC8 | Something that actuates something else. |
| au.. | AU4 | Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something. |
| au.... | AU6 | An atmospheric phenomenon created by charged particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere, creating coloured lights in the sky. It is usually named australis or borealis based on whether it is in the Southern or Northern Hemisphere respectively. |
| au.... | AU6 | The originator or creator of a work, especially of a literary composition. |
| au.. | AU4 | Clipping of automatic. |
| au...... | AU8 | An absolute ruler with infinite power. |
| ch.... | CH6 | A Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place. |
| ch.... | CH6 | A fried pastry from Spain, typically eaten as a dessert and with chocolate beverage. |
| co... | CO5 | An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person. |
| co... | CO5 | An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley. |
| co... | CO5 | Familiar, known; well-known, renowned. |
| cr.... | CR6 | To bend down; to stoop low; to stand close to the ground with legs bent, like an animal when waiting for prey, or someone in fear. |
| cr.... | CR6 | A device to assist in motion as a cane, especially one that provides support under the arm to reduce weight on a leg. |
| cu..... | CU7 | Alternative spelling of curaçao |
| cu..... | CU7 | A person who manages, administers or organizes a collection, either independently or employed by a museum, library, archive or zoo. |
| cu.. | CU4 | Brief or terse, especially to the point of being rude. |
| cu.... | CU6 | Alternative form of cut-out |
| ho.. | HO4 | A time period of sixty minutes; one twenty-fourth of a day. |
| hu.... | HU6 | Expressing approval, appreciation, or happiness. |
| hu.. | HU4 | To cause (a person or animal) physical pain and/or injury. |
| hu... | HU5 | A box, chest, crate, case or cabinet. |
| oc... | OC5 | To happen or take place. |
| ou.. | OU4 | An expression of one's own physical pain. |
| ou... | OU5 | A portion of music at the end of a song; like an intro, but at the end instead of the beginning. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular , a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight. |
| th.. | TH4 | Nominative singular of ye (“you”). |
| to... | TO5 | Primarily physical senses. To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with. |
| to.. | TO4 | A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc. |
| to.. | TO4 | Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way. |
| tr... | TR5 | Any of several species of fish in Salmonidae, closely related to salmon, and distinguished by spawning more than once. |
| tr... | TR5 | True facts, genuine depiction or statements of reality. |
| tu... | TU5 | One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction. |
| tu.. | TU4 | A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting. |
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.
- coauthor† (CO8)
- cutthroat† (CU9)
- actuator (AC8)
- aura (AU4)
- aurora (AU6)
- author (AU6)
- auto (AU4)
- autocrat (AU8)
- church (CH6)
- churro (CH6)
- couch (CO5)
- court (CO5)
- couth (CO5)
- crouch (CR6)
- crutch (CR6)
- curacao (CU7)
- curator (CU7)
- curt (CU4)
- cutout (CU6)
- hour (HO4)
- hurrah (HU6)
- hurt (HU4)
- hutch (HU5)
- occur (OC5)
- ouch (OU4)
- outro (OU5)
- rout (RO4)
- taut (TA4)
- thou (TH4)
- touch (TO5)
- tour (TO4)
- tout (TO4)
- trout (TR5)
- truth (TR5)
- tutor (TU5)
- tutu (TU4)
Answer Definitions
- coauthor† (noun): An author who collaborates with another to write something.
- cutthroat† (noun): A murderer who slits the throats of victims.
- actuator (noun): Something that actuates something else.
- aura (noun): Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something.
- aurora (noun): An atmospheric phenomenon created by charged particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere, creating coloured lights in the sky. It is usually named australis or borealis based on whether it is in the Southern or Northern Hemisphere respectively.
- author (noun): The originator or creator of a work, especially of a literary composition.
- auto (adjective): Clipping of automatic.
- autocrat (noun): An absolute ruler with infinite power.
- church (noun): A Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place.
- churro (noun): A fried pastry from Spain, typically eaten as a dessert and with chocolate beverage.
- couch (noun): An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person.
- court (noun): An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.
- couth (adjective): Familiar, known; well-known, renowned.
- crouch (verb): To bend down; to stoop low; to stand close to the ground with legs bent, like an animal when waiting for prey, or someone in fear.
- crutch (noun): A device to assist in motion as a cane, especially one that provides support under the arm to reduce weight on a leg.
- curacao (noun): Alternative spelling of curaçao
- curator (noun): A person who manages, administers or organizes a collection, either independently or employed by a museum, library, archive or zoo.
- curt (adjective): Brief or terse, especially to the point of being rude.
- cutout (noun): Alternative form of cut-out
- hour (noun): A time period of sixty minutes; one twenty-fourth of a day.
- hurrah (interjection): Expressing approval, appreciation, or happiness.
- hurt (verb): To cause (a person or animal) physical pain and/or injury.
- hutch (noun): A box, chest, crate, case or cabinet.
- occur (verb): To happen or take place.
- ouch (interjection): An expression of one's own physical pain.
- outro (noun): A portion of music at the end of a song; like an intro, but at the end instead of the beginning.
- rout (noun): A group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular , a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone.
- taut (adjective): Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.
- thou (pronoun): Nominative singular of ye (“you”).
- touch (verb): Primarily physical senses. To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with.
- tour (noun): A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc.
- tout (noun): Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
- trout (noun): Any of several species of fish in Salmonidae, closely related to salmon, and distinguished by spawning more than once.
- truth (noun): True facts, genuine depiction or statements of reality.
- tutor (noun): One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction.
- tutu (noun): A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.