NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 31, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | T |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, f, m, o, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 28 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 | 8 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| C | 2 | - | 2 | - | - | 4 |
| F | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| M | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| T | 8 | - | 3 | 1 | - | 12 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 17 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 28 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AF×1 AT×1 AU×3 |
|---|---|
| C | CO×2 CU×2 |
| F | FA×2 FO×1 |
| M | MO×3 MU×1 |
| O | |
| T | TA×4 TO×6 TU×2 |
| U |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AFO×1 ATO×1 AUT×3 |
|---|---|
| C | COA×1 COO×1 CUT×2 |
| F | FAC×2 FOO×1 |
| M | MOA×1 MOO×1 MOT×1 MUT×1 |
| O | |
| T | TAC×2 TAT×1 TAU×1 TOC×1 TOF×1 TOM×2 TOO×1 TOU×1 TUF×1 TUT×1 |
| U |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| fa...... † | FA8 | A person having many diverse activities or responsibilities. |
| af... | AF5 | On foot. (means of locomotion, walking) |
| at.. | AT4 | The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons. |
| au.. | AU4 | Clipping of automatic. |
| au..... | AU7 | A vending machine for food. |
| au...... | AU8 | plural of automaton |
| co.. | CO4 | An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms. |
| co.. | CO4 | Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead. |
| cu.... | CU6 | The point at which something terminates or to which it is limited. A cutoff point (cutoff value, threshold value, cutpoint): the amount set by an operational definition as the transition point between states in a discretization or dichotomization. |
| cu.... | CU6 | Alternative form of cut-out |
| fa.. | FA4 | Something actual as opposed to invented. |
| fo.. | FO4 | A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg. |
| mo.. | MO4 | A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve. |
| mo... | MO5 | A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement. |
| mu.. | MU4 | A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin. |
| 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.... | TA6 | An image made in the skin with ink and a needle. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight. |
| to..... | TO7 | A piece of music (usually for a keyboard instrument) designed to emphasise the dexterity of the performer. |
| to.. | TO4 | A protein-rich food made from curdled soy milk. |
| to.... | TO6 | A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit. |
| to.... | TO6 | A tom, an intact male cat. |
| to.. | TO4 | The noise of a horn or whistle. |
| to.. | TO4 | Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way. |
| tu.. | TU4 | A bunch of feathers, grass or hair, etc., held together at the base. |
| tu.. | TU4 | A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting. |
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.
- factotum† (FA8)
- afoot (AF5)
- atom (AT4)
- auto (AU4)
- automat (AU7)
- automata (AU8)
- coat (CO4)
- coot (CO4)
- cutoff (CU6)
- cutout (CU6)
- fact (FA4)
- foot (FO4)
- moat (MO4)
- moot (MO4)
- motto (MO5)
- mutt (MU4)
- taco (TA4)
- tact (TA4)
- tattoo (TA6)
- taut (TA4)
- toccata (TO7)
- tofu (TO4)
- tomato (TO6)
- tomcat (TO6)
- toot (TO4)
- tout (TO4)
- tuft (TU4)
- tutu (TU4)
Answer Definitions
- factotum† (noun): A person having many diverse activities or responsibilities.
- afoot (adverb): On foot. (means of locomotion, walking)
- atom (noun): The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
- auto (adjective): Clipping of automatic.
- automat (noun): A vending machine for food.
- automata (noun): plural of automaton
- coat (noun): An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms.
- coot (noun): Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead.
- cutoff (noun): The point at which something terminates or to which it is limited. A cutoff point (cutoff value, threshold value, cutpoint): the amount set by an operational definition as the transition point between states in a discretization or dichotomization.
- cutout (noun): Alternative form of cut-out
- fact (noun): Something actual as opposed to invented.
- foot (noun): A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg.
- moat (noun): A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.
- moot (adjective): Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve.
- motto (noun): A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
- mutt (noun): A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin.
- 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.
- tattoo (noun): An image made in the skin with ink and a needle.
- taut (adjective): Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.
- toccata (noun): A piece of music (usually for a keyboard instrument) designed to emphasise the dexterity of the performer.
- tofu (noun): A protein-rich food made from curdled soy milk.
- tomato (noun): A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.
- tomcat (noun): A tom, an intact male cat.
- toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.
- tout (noun): Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
- tuft (noun): A bunch of feathers, grass or hair, etc., held together at the base.
- tutu (noun): A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.