NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 12, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | A |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | g, i, l, n, o, z |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 62 words |
| Total Points | 334 points |
| Genius Level | 234 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 | 11 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 4 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 19 |
| G | 7 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 20 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| L | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 11 |
| N | 3 | - | - | 3 | - | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Z | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | 5 | Σ | 16 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 62 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AG×4 AI×2 AL×5 AN×8 |
|---|---|
| G | GA×16 GL×2 GO×2 |
| I | |
| L | LA×6 LL×1 LO×4 |
| N | NA×5 NO×2 |
| O | |
| Z | ZA×1 ZI×3 ZO×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AGA×1 AGI×1 AGO×2 AIL×1 AIO×1 ALG×2 ALI×2 ALO×1 ANA×3 ANG×2 ANI×1 ANN×1 ANO×1 |
|---|---|
| G | GAG×2 GAI×2 GAL×5 GAN×5 GAZ×2 GLA×1 GLI×1 GOA×1 GON×1 |
| I | |
| L | LAG×2 LAI×1 LAN×2 LAZ×1 LLA×1 LOA×2 LOG×1 LON×1 |
| N | NAA×1 NAG×1 NAI×2 NAN×1 NON×2 |
| O | |
| Z | ZAG×1 ZIG×2 ZIN×1 ZON×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) |
|---|---|---|
| an......... † | AN11 | present participle of analogize |
| ga....... † | GA9 | An unspecified large number (of). |
| ag... | AG5 | Another time; once more. |
| ag... | AG5 | present participle of age |
| ag.. | AG4 | In eager desire, eager, astir. |
| ag....... | AG9 | Causing physical or mental agony. |
| ai.... | AI6 | An ailment. |
| ai... | AI5 | A type of sauce, similar to mayonnaise, made from garlic, egg, lemon juice and olive oil. |
| al.. | AL4 | Any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms, including the seaweeds, whose size ranges from a single cell to giant kelps and whose biochemistry and forms are very diverse, some being eukaryotic. |
| al... | AL5 | Pertaining to, or like, algae. |
| al... | AL5 | To form a line; to fall into line. |
| al...... | AL8 | present participle of align |
| al... | AL5 | By the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to. |
| an.. | AN4 | of, related to, intended for or involving the anus. |
| an.... | AN6 | In which the value of a data item (such as time) is represented by a continuous(ly) variable physical quantity that can be measured (such as the shadow of a sundial). |
| an.... | AN6 | An inflammatory infection of the throat, particularly quinsy. |
| an..... | AN7 | present participle of angle |
| an... | AN5 | A negatively charged ion. |
| an... | AN5 | The record of a single event or item. |
| an.. | AN4 | Straight away; at once. |
| ga.. | GA4 | Mentally senile. |
| ga..... | GA7 | present participle of gag |
| ga.. | GA4 | To acquire possession of. |
| ga..... | GA7 | present participle of gain |
| ga.. | GA4 | Celebratory; festive. |
| ga...... | GA8 | Any of several east Asian plants of genera Alpinia and Kaempferia in the ginger family, used as a spice, but principally Alpinia galanga. |
| ga.. | GA4 | Bile, especially that of an animal; the greenish, profoundly bitter-tasting fluid found in bile ducts and gall bladders, structures associated with the liver. |
| ga..... | GA7 | Vexing, humiliating; eliciting indignation or bitterness. |
| ga.... | GA6 | A unit of volume, equivalent to eight pints |
| ga.. | GA4 | To go; walk; proceed. |
| ga..... | GA7 | a leader used to attach a fishhook to the main line, especially in commercial fishing |
| ga..... | GA7 | plural of ganglion – clusters of nerves |
| ga...... | GA8 | Awkwardly tall and thin, ungraceful. |
| ga...... | GA8 | An encapsulated collection of nerve cell bodies, typically linked by synapses, and often forming a swelling on a nerve fiber. |
| ga.... | GA6 | present participle of gaze |
| gl..... | GL7 | present participle of glaze |
| gl.. | GL4 | The network of glial cells that supports nervous system tissue. |
| go.. | GO4 | A result that one is attempting to achieve. |
| go... | GO5 | Contraction of going to when followed by an infinitive verb: used to express a future action. |
| la..... | LA7 | falling behind, not keeping up the pace |
| la.... | LA6 | A shallow body of water separated from deeper sea by a bar. |
| la.. | LA4 | past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”) |
| la... | LA5 | A Hawaiian-style roofed patio. |
| la..... | LA7 | A greasy yellow substance chemically akin to wax that is secreted from wooly animals, with a variety of uses from rust prevention, lubrication and waterproofing to cosmetics and skin ointments. |
| la.... | LA6 | present participle of laze |
| ll... | LL5 | A plain or steppe in parts of Latin America. |
| lo.. | LO4 | An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use. |
| lo..... | LO7 | present participle of loan |
| lo.... | LO6 | A roofed, open gallery, usually on an upper level. |
| lo.... | LO6 | An evergreen tree, Dimocarpus longan, of the Sapindaceae family, native to southern China. |
| na.. | NA4 | A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine. |
| na..... | NA7 | present participle of nag |
| na.. | NA4 | The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals. |
| na..... | NA7 | present participle of nail |
| na.. | NA4 | A banana. |
| no..... | NO7 | A polygon with nine sides and nine angles; an enneagon. |
| no....... | NO9 | Having nine sides and nine angles |
| za..... | ZA7 | present participle of zag |
| zi.... | ZI6 | A line or path that proceeds by sharp turns in alternating directions. |
| zi........ | ZI10 | present participle of zigzag |
| zi.... | ZI6 | Any of several brightly coloured flowering plants, of the genus Zinnia, native to tropical America; old maid |
| zo... | ZO5 | Divided into zones. |
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.
- analogizing† (AN11)
- gazillion† (GA9)
- again (AG5)
- aging (AG5)
- agog (AG4)
- agonizing (AG9)
- ailing (AI6)
- aioli (AI5)
- alga (AL4)
- algal (AL5)
- align (AL5)
- aligning (AL8)
- along (AL5)
- anal (AN4)
- analog (AN6)
- angina (AN6)
- angling (AN7)
- anion (AN5)
- annal (AN5)
- anon (AN4)
- gaga (GA4)
- gagging (GA7)
- gain (GA4)
- gaining (GA7)
- gala (GA4)
- galangal (GA8)
- gall (GA4)
- galling (GA7)
- gallon (GA6)
- gang (GA4)
- ganging (GA7)
- ganglia (GA7)
- gangling (GA8)
- ganglion (GA8)
- gazing (GA6)
- glazing (GL7)
- glia (GL4)
- goal (GO4)
- gonna (GO5)
- lagging (LA7)
- lagoon (LA6)
- lain (LA4)
- lanai (LA5)
- lanolin (LA7)
- lazing (LA6)
- llano (LL5)
- loan (LO4)
- loaning (LO7)
- loggia (LO6)
- longan (LO6)
- naan (NA4)
- nagging (NA7)
- nail (NA4)
- nailing (NA7)
- nana (NA4)
- nonagon (NO7)
- nonagonal (NO9)
- zagging (ZA7)
- zigzag (ZI6)
- zigzagging (ZI10)
- zinnia (ZI6)
- zonal (ZO5)
Answer Definitions
- analogizing† (verb): present participle of analogize
- gazillion† (noun): An unspecified large number (of).
- again (adverb): Another time; once more.
- aging (verb): present participle of age
- agog (adjective): In eager desire, eager, astir.
- agonizing (adjective): Causing physical or mental agony.
- ailing (noun): An ailment.
- aioli (noun): A type of sauce, similar to mayonnaise, made from garlic, egg, lemon juice and olive oil.
- alga (noun): Any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms, including the seaweeds, whose size ranges from a single cell to giant kelps and whose biochemistry and forms are very diverse, some being eukaryotic.
- algal (adjective): Pertaining to, or like, algae.
- align (verb): To form a line; to fall into line.
- aligning (verb): present participle of align
- along (preposition): By the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to.
- anal (adjective): of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
- analog (adjective): In which the value of a data item (such as time) is represented by a continuous(ly) variable physical quantity that can be measured (such as the shadow of a sundial).
- angina (noun): An inflammatory infection of the throat, particularly quinsy.
- angling (verb): present participle of angle
- anion (noun): A negatively charged ion.
- annal (noun): The record of a single event or item.
- anon (adverb): Straight away; at once.
- gaga (adjective): Mentally senile.
- gagging (verb): present participle of gag
- gain (verb): To acquire possession of.
- gaining (verb): present participle of gain
- gala (adjective): Celebratory; festive.
- galangal (noun): Any of several east Asian plants of genera Alpinia and Kaempferia in the ginger family, used as a spice, but principally Alpinia galanga.
- gall (noun): Bile, especially that of an animal; the greenish, profoundly bitter-tasting fluid found in bile ducts and gall bladders, structures associated with the liver.
- galling (adjective): Vexing, humiliating; eliciting indignation or bitterness.
- gallon (noun): A unit of volume, equivalent to eight pints
- gang (verb): To go; walk; proceed.
- ganging (noun): a leader used to attach a fishhook to the main line, especially in commercial fishing
- ganglia (noun): plural of ganglion – clusters of nerves
- gangling (adjective): Awkwardly tall and thin, ungraceful.
- ganglion (noun): An encapsulated collection of nerve cell bodies, typically linked by synapses, and often forming a swelling on a nerve fiber.
- gazing (verb): present participle of gaze
- glazing (verb): present participle of glaze
- glia (noun): The network of glial cells that supports nervous system tissue.
- goal (noun): A result that one is attempting to achieve.
- gonna (contraction): Contraction of going to when followed by an infinitive verb: used to express a future action.
- lagging (adjective): falling behind, not keeping up the pace
- lagoon (noun): A shallow body of water separated from deeper sea by a bar.
- lain (verb): past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”)
- lanai (noun): A Hawaiian-style roofed patio.
- lanolin (noun): A greasy yellow substance chemically akin to wax that is secreted from wooly animals, with a variety of uses from rust prevention, lubrication and waterproofing to cosmetics and skin ointments.
- lazing (verb): present participle of laze
- llano (noun): A plain or steppe in parts of Latin America.
- loan (noun): An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use.
- loaning (verb): present participle of loan
- loggia (noun): A roofed, open gallery, usually on an upper level.
- longan (noun): An evergreen tree, Dimocarpus longan, of the Sapindaceae family, native to southern China.
- naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
- nagging (verb): present participle of nag
- nail (noun): The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
- nailing (verb): present participle of nail
- nana (noun): A banana.
- nonagon (noun): A polygon with nine sides and nine angles; an enneagon.
- nonagonal (adjective): Having nine sides and nine angles
- zagging (verb): present participle of zag
- zigzag (noun): A line or path that proceeds by sharp turns in alternating directions.
- zigzagging (verb): present participle of zigzag
- zinnia (noun): Any of several brightly coloured flowering plants, of the genus Zinnia, native to tropical America; old maid
- zonal (adjective): Divided into zones.