NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 25, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | o, p, x, e, h, i |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 26 words |
| Total Points | 94 points |
| Genius Level | 66 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | - | - | - | - | - |
| H | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| I | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| N | 6 | - | - | 1 | 7 |
| O | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | 5 |
| P | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| X | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | Σ | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 26 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| E | |
|---|---|
| H | HE×1 HO×1 |
| I | IN×1 |
| N | NE×2 NI×2 NO×3 |
| O | ON×1 OP×3 OX×1 |
| P | PE×3 PH×3 PI×3 PO×1 |
| X | XE×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| E | |
|---|---|
| H | HEI×1 HON×1 |
| I | INN×1 |
| N | NEN×1 NEO×1 NIN×2 NON×1 NOO×1 NOP×1 |
| O | ONI×1 OPE×1 OPI×2 OXE×1 |
| P | PEE×1 PEN×1 PEO×1 PHO×3 PIN×2 PIP×1 PON×1 |
| X | XEN×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ph..... † | PH7 | A mythological bird, said to be the only one of its kind, which lives for 500 years and then dies by burning to ashes on a pyre of its own making, ignited by the sun. It then arises anew from the ashes. |
| he.... | HE6 | The buttocks. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A sharpening stone composed of extra-fine grit used for removing the burr or curl from the blade of a razor or some other edge tool. |
| in... | IN5 | A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen). |
| ne.. | NE4 | The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The second of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas. |
| ni.. | NI4 | NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9. |
| ni..... | NI7 | The wooden pin used in the game of ninepins; a skittle. |
| no.. | NO4 | Not any of a given number or group. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| no.. | NO4 | No. |
| on... | ON5 | A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice. |
| op.. | OP4 | Not closed. Able to be accessed. Able to have something pass through or along it. |
| op... | OP5 | To have or express an opinion; to state as an opinion; to suppose, consider (that). |
| op..... | OP7 | A belief, judgment or perspective that a person has formed, either through objective or subjective reasoning, about a topic, issue, person or thing. |
| ox.. | OX4 | plural of ox |
| pe.. | PE4 | The (often spherical) end of the head of a hammer opposite the main hammering end. |
| pe... | PE5 | A type of short, diagonally cut pasta. |
| pe.. | PE4 | A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work. |
| ph... | PH5 | A device for transmitting conversations and other sounds in real time across distances, now often a small portable unit also capable of running software etc. |
| ph... | PH5 | A phonograph. |
| pi.. | PI4 | Any coniferous tree of the genus Pinus. |
| pi.... | PI6 | A wing. |
| pi.... | PI6 | A seed |
| po.. | PO4 | A writ in law used by the superior courts to remove cases from inferior courts. |
| xe... | XE5 | The chemical element (symbol Xe) with an atomic number of 54. It is a colorless, odorless, unreactive noble gas, used notably in camera flash technology. |
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.
- phoenix† (PH7)
- heinie (HE6)
- hone (HO4)
- innie (IN5)
- nene (NE4)
- neon (NE4)
- nine (NI4)
- ninepin (NI7)
- none (NO4)
- noon (NO4)
- nope (NO4)
- onion (ON5)
- open (OP4)
- opine (OP5)
- opinion (OP7)
- oxen (OX4)
- peen (PE4)
- penne (PE5)
- peon (PE4)
- phone (PH5)
- phono (PH5)
- pine (PI4)
- pinion (PI6)
- pippin (PI6)
- pone (PO4)
- xenon (XE5)
Answer Definitions
- phoenix† (noun): A mythological bird, said to be the only one of its kind, which lives for 500 years and then dies by burning to ashes on a pyre of its own making, ignited by the sun. It then arises anew from the ashes.
- heinie (noun): The buttocks.
- hone (noun): A sharpening stone composed of extra-fine grit used for removing the burr or curl from the blade of a razor or some other edge tool.
- innie (noun): A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen).
- nene (noun): The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.
- neon (noun): The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The second of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas.
- nine (numeral): NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9.
- ninepin (noun): The wooden pin used in the game of ninepins; a skittle.
- none (pronoun): Not any of a given number or group.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- nope (particle): No.
- onion (noun): A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
- open (adjective): Not closed. Able to be accessed. Able to have something pass through or along it.
- opine (verb): To have or express an opinion; to state as an opinion; to suppose, consider (that).
- opinion (noun): A belief, judgment or perspective that a person has formed, either through objective or subjective reasoning, about a topic, issue, person or thing.
- oxen (noun): plural of ox
- peen (noun): The (often spherical) end of the head of a hammer opposite the main hammering end.
- penne (noun): A type of short, diagonally cut pasta.
- peon (noun): A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work.
- phone (noun): A device for transmitting conversations and other sounds in real time across distances, now often a small portable unit also capable of running software etc.
- phono (noun): A phonograph.
- pine (noun): Any coniferous tree of the genus Pinus.
- pinion (noun): A wing.
- pippin (noun): A seed
- pone (noun): A writ in law used by the superior courts to remove cases from inferior courts.
- xenon (noun): The chemical element (symbol Xe) with an atomic number of 54. It is a colorless, odorless, unreactive noble gas, used notably in camera flash technology.