NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 17, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, d, e, i, t |
| # of Pangrams | 3 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 56 words |
| Total Points | 338 points |
| Genius Level | 237 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 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
| B | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | 12 |
| D | 1 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 21 |
| E | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| I | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 | Σ | 8 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 56 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×3 AC×10 AD×2 AT×1 |
|---|---|
| B | |
| C | CA×6 CE×2 CI×4 |
| D | DE×12 DI×9 |
| E | ED×1 EI×1 |
| I | IC×1 |
| T | TA×4 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABA×1 ABD×2 ACA×2 ACC×2 ACE×3 ACI×2 ACT×1 ADD×2 ATT×1 |
|---|---|
| B | |
| C | CAB×2 CAC×1 CAD×3 CED×2 CIA×1 CIC×1 CIT×2 |
| D | DEC×4 DED×3 DEI×3 DET×2 DIA×1 DIC×5 DID×2 DIE×1 |
| E | EDI×1 EID×1 |
| I | ICE×1 |
| T | TAC×4 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ab...... † | AB8 | To disclaim and expel from the family, as a father his child; to disown; to disinherit. |
| ab....... † | AB9 | simple past tense and past participle of abdicate |
| di...... † | DI8 | Of or pertaining to diabetes, especially diabetes mellitus. |
| ab... | AB5 | plural form of an ancient bead calculator. |
| ac.... | AC6 | A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe. |
| ac.... | AC6 | To approach; to arrive, to come forward. |
| ac..... | AC7 | simple past tense and past participle of accede |
| ac.. | AC4 | simple past tense and past participle of ace |
| ac..... | AC7 | Any salt or ester of acetic acid. |
| ac.... | AC6 | Of, pertaining to, or producing vinegar |
| ac.. | AC4 | Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar. |
| ac.... | AC6 | Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red. |
| ac... | AC5 | simple past tense and past participle of act |
| ad.... | AD6 | A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug |
| ad...... | AD8 | Having a biochemical addiction. |
| at... | AT5 | The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation. |
| ca.... | CA6 | simple past tense and past participle of cab |
| ca.... | CA6 | A cabdriver, someone who drives a taxi. |
| ca... | CA5 | plural of cactus |
| ca.... | CA6 | A golfer's assistant and adviser. |
| ca..... | CA7 | simple past tense and past participle of caddie |
| ca... | CA5 | A student at a military school who is training to be an officer. |
| ce.. | CE4 | To give up; yield to another. |
| ce... | CE5 | simple past tense and past participle of cede |
| ci...... | CI8 | A broad, flat, white Italian bread. |
| ci.... | CI6 | Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. The periodical cicada. |
| ci.. | CI4 | to quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or the words of another. |
| ci... | CI5 | simple past tense and past participle of cite |
| de.... | DE6 | A group, set, or series of ten , particularly: |
| de.... | DE6 | An act or practice intended to deceive; a trick. |
| de.... | DE6 | to resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle |
| de..... | DE7 | simple past tense and past participle of decide |
| de...... | DE8 | To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate. |
| de....... | DE9 | Devoted; loyal; conscientious. |
| de....... | DE9 | Someone to whom something is dedicated. |
| de... | DE5 | To remove the ice from something. |
| de.... | DE6 | simple past tense and past participle of deice |
| de..... | DE7 | The killing of a god or goddess; godslaughter. |
| de.... | DE6 | to discover or find by careful search, examination, or probing |
| de...... | DE8 | Having been noticed. |
| di.. | DI4 | Gaming with one or more dice. |
| di... | DI5 | simple past tense and past participle of dice |
| di... | DI5 | plural of dictum |
| di..... | DI7 | An order or command. |
| di...... | DI8 | simple past and past participle of dictate |
| di.... | DI6 | a didactic person |
| di...... | DI8 | Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality. |
| di...... | DI8 | Relating to diet. |
| ed... | ED5 | A proclamation of law or other authoritative command. |
| ei..... | EI7 | Marked by or resulting from extraordinary ability to recall detailed and vivid mental images of visual images. |
| ic.. | IC4 | With ice added. |
| ta... | TA5 | An instruction indicating silence on the part of the performers of a piece. |
| ta... | TA5 | Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence. |
| ta.. | TA4 | The sense of touch; feeling. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end. |
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.
- abdicate† (AB8)
- abdicated† (AB9)
- diabetic† (DI8)
- abaci (AB5)
- acacia (AC6)
- acai (AC4)
- accede (AC6)
- acceded (AC7)
- aced (AC4)
- acetate (AC7)
- acetic (AC6)
- acid (AC4)
- acidic (AC6)
- acted (AC5)
- addict (AD6)
- addicted (AD8)
- attic (AT5)
- cabbed (CA6)
- cabbie (CA6)
- cacti (CA5)
- caddie (CA6)
- caddied (CA7)
- cadet (CA5)
- cede (CE4)
- ceded (CE5)
- ciabatta (CI8)
- cicada (CI6)
- cite (CI4)
- cited (CI5)
- decade (DE6)
- deceit (DE6)
- decide (DE6)
- decided (DE7)
- dedicate (DE8)
- dedicated (DE9)
- dedicatee (DE9)
- deice (DE5)
- deiced (DE6)
- deicide (DE7)
- detect (DE6)
- detected (DE8)
- dice (DI4)
- diced (DI5)
- dicta (DI5)
- dictate (DI7)
- dictated (DI8)
- didact (DI6)
- didactic (DI8)
- dietetic (DI8)
- edict (ED5)
- eidetic (EI7)
- iced (IC4)
- tacet (TA5)
- tacit (TA5)
- tact (TA4)
- tactic (TA6)
Answer Definitions
- abdicate† (verb): To disclaim and expel from the family, as a father his child; to disown; to disinherit.
- abdicated† (verb): simple past tense and past participle of abdicate
- diabetic† (adjective): Of or pertaining to diabetes, especially diabetes mellitus.
- abaci (noun): plural form of an ancient bead calculator.
- acacia (noun): A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
- acai (noun): Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
- accede (verb): To approach; to arrive, to come forward.
- acceded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of accede
- aced (verb): simple past tense and past participle of ace
- acetate (noun): Any salt or ester of acetic acid.
- acetic (adjective): Of, pertaining to, or producing vinegar
- acid (adjective): Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar.
- acidic (adjective): Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red.
- acted (verb): simple past tense and past participle of act
- addict (noun): A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug
- addicted (adjective): Having a biochemical addiction.
- attic (noun): The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.
- cabbed (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cab
- cabbie (noun): A cabdriver, someone who drives a taxi.
- cacti (noun): plural of cactus
- caddie (noun): A golfer's assistant and adviser.
- caddied (verb): simple past tense and past participle of caddie
- cadet (noun): A student at a military school who is training to be an officer.
- cede (verb): To give up; yield to another.
- ceded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cede
- ciabatta (noun): A broad, flat, white Italian bread.
- cicada (noun): Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. The periodical cicada.
- cite (verb): to quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or the words of another.
- cited (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cite
- decade (noun): A group, set, or series of ten , particularly:
- deceit (noun): An act or practice intended to deceive; a trick.
- decide (verb): to resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle
- decided (verb): simple past tense and past participle of decide
- dedicate (verb): To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate.
- dedicated (adjective): Devoted; loyal; conscientious.
- dedicatee (noun): Someone to whom something is dedicated.
- deice (verb): To remove the ice from something.
- deiced (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deice
- deicide (noun): The killing of a god or goddess; godslaughter.
- detect (verb): to discover or find by careful search, examination, or probing
- detected (adjective): Having been noticed.
- dice (noun): Gaming with one or more dice.
- diced (verb): simple past tense and past participle of dice
- dicta (noun): plural of dictum
- dictate (noun): An order or command.
- dictated (verb): simple past and past participle of dictate
- didact (noun): a didactic person
- didactic (adjective): Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality.
- dietetic (adjective): Relating to diet.
- edict (noun): A proclamation of law or other authoritative command.
- eidetic (adjective): Marked by or resulting from extraordinary ability to recall detailed and vivid mental images of visual images.
- iced (adjective): With ice added.
- tacet (verb): An instruction indicating silence on the part of the performers of a piece.
- tacit (adjective): Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence.
- tact (noun): The sense of touch; feeling.
- tactic (noun): A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.