NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 20, 2025

Aug 20, 2025 · 7 min read · spelling bee ·

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Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for August 20, 2025

Game Summary

Center Letter	L
Outer Letters	a, k, o, t, u, w
# of Pangrams	1 (Perfect: 1)
Total Words	30 words
Total Points	100 points
Genius Level	70 points
Bingo?	No

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	Σ
A	1	3	-	-	4
K	1	1	-	-	2
L	7	1	-	1	9
O	-	-	1	2	3
T	4	1	1	-	6
U	-	-	-	-	-
W	4	-	1	1	6
Σ	17	6	3	4	30

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.

A	AL×3 AT×1
K	KO×2
L	LO×6 LU×3
O	OU×3
T	TA×3 TO×3
U
W	WA×5 WO×1

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.

A	ALL×2 ALT×1 ATO×1
K	KOA×1 KOL×1
L	LOL×1 LOO×3 LOT×1 LOU×1 LUA×1 LUL×2
O	OUT×3
T	TAL×3 TOL×1 TOO×1 TOT×1
U
W	WAL×4 WAU×1 WOO×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)
wa..... ^†	WA7	A sudden stoppage of work.
al...	AL5	To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot.
al...	AL5	To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have.
al..	AL4	A musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody.
at...	AT5	a type of island consisting of a ribbon reef that nearly or entirely surrounds a lagoon and supports, in most cases, one to many islets on the reef platform. Atolls have a unique geology, so not all islands with a reef and a lagoon are atolls
ko...	KO5	A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.
ko..	KO4	A tree, genus Cola, bearing large brown seeds ("nuts") that are the source of cola extract.
lo..	LO4	To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
lo..	LO4	To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes.
lo.....	LO7	A vantage point with a view of the surrounding area.
lo..	LO4	A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks.
lo...	LO5	a game of chance similar to bingo
lo..	LO4	A troublemaker, often violent; a rude violent person; a yob.
lu..	LU4	An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment.
lu..	LU4	A period of rest or soothing.
lu..	LU4	A remarkable person, object or idea.
ou....	OU6	A fugitive from the law.
ou.....	OU7	A place from which something can be viewed.
ou.....	OU7	To overpower, outdo, or surpass in talking.
ta..	TA4	To communicate, usually by means of speech.
ta..	TA4	Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall.
ta....	TA6	A hard animal fat obtained from suet, etc.; used in cooking as well as to make candles, soap and lubricants.
to..	TO4	Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.
to..	TO4	A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.
to...	TO5	An amount obtained by the addition of smaller amounts.
wa..	WA4	To move on the feet by alternately setting each foot (or pair or group of feet, in the case of animals with four or more feet) forward, with at least one foot on the ground at all times. Compare run.
wa..	WA4	A rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes.
wa....	WA6	To roll oneself about in something dirty, for example in mud.
wa..	WA4	To wail, to cry plaintively.
wo..	WO4	The hair of the sheep, llama and some other ruminants.

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.

walkout^† (WA7)
allot (AL5)
allow (AL5)
alto (AL4)
atoll (AT5)
koala (KO5)
kola (KO4)
loll (LO4)
look (LO4)
lookout (LO7)
loot (LO4)
lotto (LO5)
lout (LO4)
luau (LU4)
lull (LU4)
lulu (LU4)
outlaw (OU6)
outlook (OU7)
outtalk (OU7)
talk (TA4)
tall (TA4)
tallow (TA6)
toll (TO4)
tool (TO4)
total (TO5)
walk (WA4)
wall (WA4)
wallow (WA6)
waul (WA4)
wool (WO4)

Answer Definitions

walkout^† (noun): A sudden stoppage of work.
allot (verb): To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot.
allow (verb): To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have.
alto (noun): A musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody.
atoll (noun): a type of island consisting of a ribbon reef that nearly or entirely surrounds a lagoon and supports, in most cases, one to many islets on the reef platform. Atolls have a unique geology, so not all islands with a reef and a lagoon are atolls
koala (noun): A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.
kola (noun): A tree, genus Cola, bearing large brown seeds ("nuts") that are the source of cola extract.
loll (verb): To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
look (verb): To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes.
lookout (noun): A vantage point with a view of the surrounding area.
loot (noun): A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks.
lotto (noun): a game of chance similar to bingo
lout (noun): A troublemaker, often violent; a rude violent person; a yob.
luau (noun): An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment.
lull (noun): A period of rest or soothing.
lulu (noun): A remarkable person, object or idea.
outlaw (noun): A fugitive from the law.
outlook (noun): A place from which something can be viewed.
outtalk (verb): To overpower, outdo, or surpass in talking.
talk (verb): To communicate, usually by means of speech.
tall (adjective): Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall.
tallow (noun): A hard animal fat obtained from suet, etc.; used in cooking as well as to make candles, soap and lubricants.
toll (noun): Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.
tool (noun): A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.
total (noun): An amount obtained by the addition of smaller amounts.
walk (verb): To move on the feet by alternately setting each foot (or pair or group of feet, in the case of animals with four or more feet) forward, with at least one foot on the ground at all times. Compare run.
wall (noun): A rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes.
wallow (verb): To roll oneself about in something dirty, for example in mud.
waul (verb): To wail, to cry plaintively.
wool (noun): The hair of the sheep, llama and some other ruminants.