NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 21, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | T |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, c, k, l, o |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 44 words |
| Total Points | 170 points |
| Genius Level | 119 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 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 |
| B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| C | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 7 |
| K | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| L | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| O | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 17 | Σ | 22 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 44 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×1 AL×2 AT×2 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×3 BL×4 BO×5 |
| C | CA×1 CL×1 CO×5 |
| K | |
| L | LO×2 |
| O | OC×1 |
| T | TA×9 TO×8 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABB×1 ALL×1 ALT×1 ATO×1 ATT×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAC×2 BAL×1 BLA×1 BLO×3 BOA×1 BOB×1 BOL×1 BOO×2 |
| C | CAT×1 CLO×1 COA×1 COB×1 COC×1 COL×1 COO×1 |
| K | |
| L | LOO×1 LOT×1 |
| O | OCT×1 |
| T | TAB×2 TAC×3 TAL×3 TAT×1 TOB×1 TOC×2 TOL×1 TOO×3 TOT×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ba..... † | BA7 | The farthest section of a parking lot. |
| bo....... † | BO9 | A shoeshine boy; a person who shines shoes as an occupation. |
| ab... | AB5 | The superior or head of an abbey or monastery. |
| al... | AL5 | To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot. |
| 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 |
| at.... | AT6 | An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent or enemy. |
| ba...... | BA8 | Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response. |
| ba.... | BA6 | Originally, a small ball placed in a container to cast a vote; now, by extension, a piece of paper or card used for this purpose, or some other means used to signify a vote. |
| bl.. | BL4 | To cry, as a calf or sheep; bleat. |
| bl... | BL5 | To cause to become distended. |
| bl.. | BL4 | A blemish, spot or stain made by a coloured substance. |
| bl.... | BL6 | (Very) drunk or intoxicated. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A craft used for transportation of goods, fishing, racing, recreational cruising, or military use on or in the water, propelled by oars or outboard motor or inboard motor or by wind. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A North American wild cat, Lynx rufus, having tufted ears and a short tail. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a cylindrical body that is threaded, with a larger head on one end. It can be inserted into an unthreaded hole up to the head, with a nut then threaded on the other end; a heavy machine screw. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg. A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football. |
| ca..... | CA7 | A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A thrombus, solidified mass of blood. |
| co.. | CO4 | An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms. |
| co.... | CO6 | A chemical element (symbol Co) with an atomic number of 27: a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal. |
| co...... | CO8 | A bird of the family Cacatuidae with a curved beak and a zygodactyl foot. |
| co.. | CO4 | A young male horse. |
| co.. | CO4 | Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks. |
| lo... | LO5 | a game of chance similar to bingo |
| oc... | OC5 | The number system that uses the eight digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. |
| ta... | TA5 | A pair of tuned hand drums, used in various musical genres of the Indian subcontinent, that are similar to bongos. |
| ta... | TA5 | An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion. |
| ta.. | TA4 | A small nail with a flat head. |
| ta.. | TA4 | A Mexican snack food made of a small tortilla (soft or hard shelled) filled with ingredients such as meat, rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables and salsa. |
| ta.. | TA4 | The sense of touch; feeling. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic. |
| 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 | An image made in the skin with ink and a needle. |
| to..... | TO7 | Any plant of the genus Nicotiana. |
| to..... | TO7 | A piece of music (usually for a keyboard instrument) designed to emphasise the dexterity of the performer. |
| to.. | TO4 | A clicking sound similar to one made by the hands of a clock. |
| to.. | TO4 | Loss or damage incurred through a disaster. |
| to.. | TO4 | simple past tense of take |
| to.. | TO4 | A mechanical device intended to make a task easier. |
| to.. | TO4 | The noise of a horn or whistle. |
| to... | TO5 | An amount obtained by the addition of smaller amounts. |
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.
- backlot† (BA7)
- bootblack† (BO9)
- abbot (AB5)
- allot (AL5)
- alto (AL4)
- atoll (AT5)
- attack (AT6)
- backtalk (BA8)
- ballot (BA6)
- blat (BL4)
- bloat (BL5)
- blot (BL4)
- blotto (BL6)
- boat (BO4)
- bobcat (BO6)
- bolt (BO4)
- boot (BO4)
- catcall (CA7)
- clot (CL4)
- coat (CO4)
- cobalt (CO6)
- cockatoo (CO8)
- colt (CO4)
- coot (CO4)
- loot (LO4)
- lotto (LO5)
- octal (OC5)
- tabla (TA5)
- taboo (TA5)
- tack (TA4)
- taco (TA4)
- tact (TA4)
- talc (TA4)
- talk (TA4)
- tall (TA4)
- tattoo (TA6)
- tobacco (TO7)
- toccata (TO7)
- tock (TO4)
- toll (TO4)
- took (TO4)
- tool (TO4)
- toot (TO4)
- total (TO5)
Answer Definitions
- backlot† (noun): The farthest section of a parking lot.
- bootblack† (noun): A shoeshine boy; a person who shines shoes as an occupation.
- abbot (noun): The superior or head of an abbey or monastery.
- allot (verb): To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot.
- 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
- attack (noun): An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent or enemy.
- backtalk (noun): Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response.
- ballot (noun): Originally, a small ball placed in a container to cast a vote; now, by extension, a piece of paper or card used for this purpose, or some other means used to signify a vote.
- blat (verb): To cry, as a calf or sheep; bleat.
- bloat (verb): To cause to become distended.
- blot (noun): A blemish, spot or stain made by a coloured substance.
- blotto (adjective): (Very) drunk or intoxicated.
- boat (noun): A craft used for transportation of goods, fishing, racing, recreational cruising, or military use on or in the water, propelled by oars or outboard motor or inboard motor or by wind.
- bobcat (noun): A North American wild cat, Lynx rufus, having tufted ears and a short tail.
- bolt (noun): A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a cylindrical body that is threaded, with a larger head on one end. It can be inserted into an unthreaded hole up to the head, with a nut then threaded on the other end; a heavy machine screw.
- boot (noun): A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg. A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football.
- catcall (noun): A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.
- clot (noun): A thrombus, solidified mass of blood.
- coat (noun): An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms.
- cobalt (noun): A chemical element (symbol Co) with an atomic number of 27: a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.
- cockatoo (noun): A bird of the family Cacatuidae with a curved beak and a zygodactyl foot.
- colt (noun): A young male horse.
- coot (noun): Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead.
- loot (noun): A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks.
- lotto (noun): a game of chance similar to bingo
- octal (noun): The number system that uses the eight digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
- tabla (noun): A pair of tuned hand drums, used in various musical genres of the Indian subcontinent, that are similar to bongos.
- taboo (noun): An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion.
- tack (noun): A small nail with a flat head.
- taco (noun): A Mexican snack food made of a small tortilla (soft or hard shelled) filled with ingredients such as meat, rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables and salsa.
- tact (noun): The sense of touch; feeling.
- talc (noun): Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic.
- 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.
- tattoo (noun): An image made in the skin with ink and a needle.
- tobacco (noun): Any plant of the genus Nicotiana.
- toccata (noun): A piece of music (usually for a keyboard instrument) designed to emphasise the dexterity of the performer.
- tock (noun): A clicking sound similar to one made by the hands of a clock.
- toll (noun): Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.
- took (verb): simple past tense of take
- tool (noun): A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.
- toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.
- total (noun): An amount obtained by the addition of smaller amounts.