Thursday, December 12, 2024

Answers to yesterday's Bee

Jump to answers for


The official answers for today's puzzle are:

Click on the arrow to show the definition.
Click outside the pop-up to close it.



Number of Pangrams: 2

Maximum Puzzle Score: 257

Number of Answers: 47

Points Needed for Genius: 180

Genius requires between 20 and 41 words. You need at least a 10-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 82% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 65% of the remaining points to reach genius.

The button below will reveal a chart with the number of words by each letter. Red bars indicate that there is a pangram(s) starting with that letter.


How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

Today's score of 257 was in the 86th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on December 7, 2024.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 47 possible answers rank it in the 71st percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on December 7, 2024.
The highest number of answers was 81 on June 8, 2019.
The lowest number of answers was 16 on March 27, 2023.

It takes a 10-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on August 9, 2024.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 6.2.
For all Bees, the average word length has been 5.3.



Haven't I seen these letters before?

Hover over a letter to see its first and most recent appearance in the Bee!



Haven't I seen these words before?

The most common words in the Bee are:

  • noon 189
  • loll 180
  • toot 173
  • naan 165
  • nana 165
  • lilt 130
  • till 130
  • tilt 130
  • tint 126
  • mama 121
  • mamma 121
  • nene 119
  • acacia 115
  • acai 115
  • onto 114
  • toon 114
  • anal 110
  • onion 109
  • anon 107
  • boob 106
  • booboo 106
  • olio 103
  • papa 102
  • baba 101
  • lull 101
  • lulu 101
  • dodo 100
  • mitt 100
  • poop 100
  • tact 99
  • allay 97
  • ally 97
  • call 97
  • calla 97
  • ratatat 96
  • tart 96
  • tartar 96
  • attar 95
  • cocci 95
  • tattoo 95
  • tatty 95
  • tutu 95
  • ammo 94
  • momma 94
  • mono 94
  • moon 94
  • epee 93
  • peep 93
  • loon 91
  • roar 91


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 94,348 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,363 unique words.
Below are the distributions of the lengths of these words.



Valid dictionary words not in today's official answers

You may be wondering why these words aren't here*:

  • amazonian
  • ammino
  • ammoniation
  • ammono
  • amnion
  • amotion
  • anatto
  • animato
  • annatto
  • annona
  • anoa
  • antiatom
  • antinomian
  • antiozonant
  • atonia
  • azon
  • imino
  • inanition
  • inion
  • manito
  • mano
  • matzoon
  • matzot
  • momi
  • monition
  • monotint
  • motmot
  • mott
  • mozo
  • nano
  • naoi
  • natation
  • ninon
  • niton
  • noma
  • nomina
  • nomoi
  • nona
  • nonman
  • nota
  • otto
  • ozonation
  • ozonization
  • tanto
  • toit
  • toman
  • toom
  • zona
  • zonation
  • zoomania
  • zoon

*Because the New York Times considers them obscure or offensive.

amazon

noun
  1. A tall, strong, athletic woman.

amino

noun
  1. The amine functional group.
adjective
  1. Relating to an amine.

ammo

noun
  1. Ammunition.
verb
  1. To load up on ammunition.

ammonia

noun
  1. A gaseous compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, NH3, with a pungent smell and taste.
  2. A solution of this compound in water used domestically as a cleaning fluid.

amnio

noun
  1. Amniocentesis

animation

noun
  1. The act of animating, or giving life or spirit.
  2. (in the sense of a cartoon) The technique of making inanimate objects or drawings appear to move in motion pictures or computer graphics; the object (film, computer game, etc.) so produced
  3. The state of being lively, brisk, or full of spirit and vigor; vivacity; spiritedness
  4. The condition of being animate or alive.
  5. Conversion from the inanimate to animate grammatical category

anion

noun
  1. A negatively charged ion.

annotation

noun
  1. A critical or explanatory commentary or analysis
  2. A comment added to a text
  3. The process of writing such comment or commentary
  4. Metadata added to a document or program
  5. Information relating to the genetic structure of sequences of bases

anoint

verb
  1. To smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous substance; also, to spread over, as oil.
  2. To apply oil to or to pour oil upon, etc., as a sacred rite, especially for consecration.
  3. To choose or nominate somebody for a leading or otherwise important position, especially formally or officially, or as an intended successor.
  4. To mark somebody as an official ruler, especially a king or queen, as a part of a religious ceremony.

anon

Etymology 1

adverb
  1. Straight away; at once.
  2. Soon; in a little while.
  3. At another time; then; again.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An anonymous person, especially an author.
  2. A work with an unknown author.
  3. A work without a title.
adjective
  1. Anonymous

atom

noun
  1. 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.
  2. (history of science) A hypothetical particle posited by Greek philosophers as an ultimate and indivisible component of matter.
  3. The smallest, indivisible constituent part or unit of something.
  4. In logical atomism, a fundamental fact that cannot be further broken down.
  5. The smallest medieval unit of time, equal to fifteen ninety-fourths of a second.
  6. A mote of dust in a sunbeam.
  7. A very small amount; a whit.
  8. (Lisp) An individual number or symbol, as opposed to a list; a scalar value.
  9. A non-zero member of a Boolean algebra that is not a union of any other elements. Or, a non-zero member of a Boolean lattice that has only zero below it.
  10. An element of a set that is not itself a set; an urelement.
  11. (usually capitalised as "Atom") A member of an age group division in hockey for ten- to 11-year-olds.

atomization

No Definition Found.

imitation

noun
  1. The act of imitating.
  2. (attributive) A copy or simulation; something that is not the real thing.

initiation

noun
  1. The act of initiating, or the process of being initiated or introduced
  2. The form or ceremony by which a person is introduced into any society; mode of entrance into an organized body; especially, the rite of admission into a secret society or order.
  3. The first step of transcription or of transduction.

intimation

noun
  1. The act of intimating.
  2. The thing intimated.
  3. Announcement; declaration.
  4. A hint; an obscure or indirect suggestion or notice; a remote or ambiguous reference.

into

preposition
  1. To or towards the inside of.
  2. To or towards the region of.
  3. Against, especially with force or violence.
  4. Indicates transition into another form or substance.
  5. After the start of.
  6. Interested in or attracted to.
  7. Expressing the operation of multiplication.
  8. Expressing the operation of division, with the denominator given first. Usually with "goes".
  9. Investigating the subject (of).

intonation

noun
  1. The rise and fall of the voice in speaking.
  2. The act of sounding the tones of the musical scale.
  3. Singing or playing in good tune or otherwise.
  4. Reciting in a musical prolonged tone; intonating or singing of the opening phrase of a plain-chant, psalm, or canticle by a single voice, as of a priest.
  5. A thundering; thunder.

ionization

No Definition Found.

iota

noun
  1. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet.
  2. A jot; a very small, insignificant quantity.

mammon

noun
  1. The desire for wealth personified as an evil spirit or a malign influence.
  2. Often mammon: wealth, material avarice, profit.

matzo

noun
  1. Thin, unleavened bread in Jewish cuisine.
  2. A piece of the above bread.

minimization

noun
  1. The act of lowering something to its smallest value or extent.
  2. The process of finding the minimum value of a function.

minion

noun
  1. The lowest limit.
  2. The smallest amount.
  3. A period of minimum brightness or energy intensity (of a star).
  4. A lower bound of a set which is also an element of that set.
  5. The smallest member of a batch or sample or the lower bound of a probability distribution.
noun
  1. A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
  2. A sycophantic follower.
  3. A loved one; one highly esteemed and favoured.
  4. An ancient form of ordnance with a calibre of about three inches.
  5. The size of type between nonpareil and brevier, standardized as 7-point.
adjective
  1. Favoured, beloved; "pet".

moan

noun
  1. A low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure
verb
  1. To complain about; to bemoan, to bewail; to mourn.
  2. To grieve.
  3. To distress (someone); to sadden.
  4. To make a moan or similar sound.
  5. To say in a moan, or with a moaning voice.
  6. To complain; to grumble.

moat

noun
  1. A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.
  2. An aspect of a business which makes it more "defensible" from competitors, either because of the nature of its products, services, franchise or other reason.
  3. A circular lowland between a resurgent dome and the walls of the caldera surrounding it.
  4. A hill or mound.
verb
  1. To surround with a moat.

momma

noun
  1. Mother
  2. A voluptuous woman.
  3. One's wife or girlfriend.

mono

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A viral infection marked by extreme fatigue, high fever, and swollen lymph nodes.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A bicycle or motorcycle trick where the front wheel is lifted off the ground while riding

Etymology 3

adjective
  1. Monaural or monophonic; having only a single audio channel.

Etymology 4

adjective
  1. Monochrome.

Etymology 5

noun
  1. An injective homomorphism
  2. The absence of sexual dimorphism
  3. A morphism n such that for any other morphisms f and g, if n \circ f = n \circ g then f = g.

Etymology 6

noun
  1. A monogamous person.
adjective
  1. Monoamorous, monogamous.

Etymology 7

adjective
  1. Monosexual.

monomania

noun
  1. Excessive interest or concentration on a singular object or subject.
  2. A pathological obsession with one person, thing or idea.

moon

proper noun
  1. The Earth's moon Luna; the sole natural satellite of the Earth, represented in astronomy and astrology by ☾.
  2. The god of the Moon in Heathenry.
  3. A surname.
  4. The 54th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
noun
  1. (by extension of Moon) Any natural satellite of a planet.
  2. A month, particularly a lunar month.
  3. A crescent-like outwork in a fortification.
  4. The eighteenth trump/major arcana card of the Tarot.
  5. The thirty-second Lenormand card.
  6. In hearts, the action of taking all the point cards in one hand.
verb
  1. To display one's buttocks to, typically as a jest, insult, or protest.
  2. (usually followed by over or after) To fuss over something adoringly; to be infatuated with someone.
  3. To spend time idly, absent-mindedly.
  4. To expose to the rays of the Moon.
  5. To adorn with moons or crescents.
  6. (cryptocurrency) Of a coin or token: to rise in price rapidly.
  7. To shoot the moon.

moot

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A moot court.
  2. A system of arbitration in many areas of Africa in which the primary goal is to settle a dispute and reintegrate adversaries into society rather than assess penalties.
  3. A gathering of Rovers, usually in the form of a camp lasting 2 weeks.
  4. A social gathering of pagans, normally held in a public house.
  5. An assembly (usually for decision-making in a locality).
  6. A ring for gauging wooden pins.
adjective
  1. Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve.
  2. Being an exercise of thought; academic.
  3. Having no practical impact or relevance.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A whisper, or an insinuation, also gossip or rumors.
  2. (rural) Talk.
verb
  1. To bring up as a subject for debate, to propose.
  2. To discuss or debate.
  3. To make or declare irrelevant.
  4. To argue or plead in a supposed case.
  5. To talk or speak.
  6. To say, utter, also insinuate.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Vagina.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. The stump of a tree; the roots and bottom end of a felled tree.
verb
  1. To take root and begin to grow.
  2. To turn up soil or dig up roots, especially an animal with the snout.

motion

noun
  1. A state of progression from one place to another.
  2. A change of position with respect to time.
  3. A change from one place to another.
  4. A parliamentary action to propose something. A similar procedure in any official or business meeting.
  5. An entertainment or show, especially a puppet show.
  6. From κίνησις (kinesis); any change. Traditionally of four types: generation and corruption, alteration, augmentation and diminution, and change of place.
  7. Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or impulse to any action; internal activity.
  8. A formal request, oral or written, made to a judge or court of law to obtain an official court ruling or order for a legal action to be taken by, or on behalf of, the movant.
  9. A movement of the bowels; the product of such movement.
  10. Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts. (Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale. Contrary motion is when parts move in opposite directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique motion is when one part is stationary while another moves. Similar or direct motion is when parts move in the same direction.)
  11. A puppet, or puppet show.
  12. A piece of moving mechanism, such as on a steam locomotive.
verb
  1. To gesture indicating a desired movement.
  2. To introduce a motion in parliamentary procedure.
  3. To make a proposal; to offer plans.

motto

noun
  1. A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
  2. A sentence, phrase, or word, prefixed to an essay, discourse, chapter, canto, or the like, suggestive of its subject matter; a short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle; a maxim.
  3. A paper packet containing a sweetmeat, cracker, etc., together with a scrap of paper bearing a motto.

nation

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
  2. A sovereign state.
  3. An association of students based on its members' birthplace or ethnicity.
  4. A great number; a great deal.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Damnation.
adverb
  1. Extremely, very.

nomination

noun
  1. An act or instance of nominating.
  2. A device or means by which a person or thing is nominated.

noon

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The ninth hour of the day counted from sunrise; around three o'clock in the afternoon.
  2. Time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
  3. The corresponding time in the middle of the night; midnight.
  4. The highest point; culmination.
verb
  1. To relax or sleep around midday

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The letter ن in the Arabic script.

notation

noun
  1. The act, process, method, or an instance of representing by a system or set of marks, signs, figures, or characters.
  2. A system of characters, symbols, or abbreviated expressions used in an art or science or in mathematics or logic to express technical facts or quantities.
  3. A specific note or piece of information written in such a notation.

notion

noun
  1. Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.
  2. A sentiment; an opinion.
  3. Sense; mind.
  4. An invention; an ingenious device; a knickknack.
  5. Any small article used in sewing and haberdashery, either for attachment to garments or as a tool, such as a button, zipper, or thimble.
  6. Inclination; intention; disposition.

omit

verb
  1. To leave out or exclude.
  2. To fail to perform.
  3. To neglect or take no notice of.

onion

noun
  1. A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
  2. The bulb of such a plant.
  3. The genus as a whole.
  4. A ball.
  5. A person from Bermuda or of Bermudian descent.

onto

adjective
  1. (of a function) Assuming each of the values in its codomain; having its range equal to its codomain.
preposition
  1. Upon; on top of.
  2. Aware of.
  3. Being an onto function with a codomain of (see below).

ottoman

noun
  1. An upholstered sofa, without arms or a back, sometimes with a compartment for storing linen, etc.
  2. A low stool or thick cushion used to rest the feet or as a seat.
  3. A fabric with a pronounced ribbed or corded effect, often made of silk or a mixture of cotton and silk-like yarns.

tattoo

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An image made in the skin with ink and a needle.
  2. A method of decorating the skin by inserting colored substances under the surface with a sharp instrument (usually a solenoid-driven needle).
verb
  1. To apply a tattoo to (someone or something).
  2. To hit the ball hard, as if to figuratively leave a tattoo on the ball.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A signal played five minutes before taps (lights out).
  2. A signal by drum or bugle ordering soldiers to return to their quarters.
  3. A military display or pageant.
verb
  1. To tap rhythmically on, to drum.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A breed of pony from India; a pony of that breed.

tomato

noun
  1. A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.
  2. The savory fruit of this plant, red when ripe, treated as a vegetable in horticulture and cooking.
  3. A shade of red, the colour of a ripe tomato.
  4. A desirable-looking woman.
  5. A stupid act or person.
verb
  1. To pelt with tomatoes
  2. To add tomatoes to (a dish)

tomtit

noun
  1. Petroica macrocephala, the miromiro or New Zealand tit, a bird of the Petroicidae (Australasian robin) family.

toon

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
  2. A player's avatar or visible character in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A southeast Asian and Australian tree (Toona ciliata or Toona australis) of the mahogany family with fragrant dark red wood and flowers that yield a dye.
  2. The wood of this tree.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A town.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A melody.
  2. A song, or short musical composition.
  3. The act of tuning or maintenance.
  4. The state or condition of being correctly tuned.
  5. Temper; frame of mind.
  6. A sound; a note; a tone.
  7. Order; harmony; concord.

toot

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The noise of a horn or whistle.
  2. (by extension) A fart; flatus.
  3. Cocaine.
  4. A portion of cocaine that a person snorts.
  5. A spree of drunkness.
  6. (pronounced /tʊt/) Rubbish; tat.
  7. A message on the social networking software Mastodon.
verb
  1. To stand out, or be prominent.
  2. To peep; to look narrowly.
  3. To see; to spy.
  4. To flatulate.
  5. To make the sound of a horn or whistle.
  6. To cause a horn or whistle to make its sound.
  7. To go on a drinking binge.
  8. To snort (a recreational drug).
  9. To post a message on a Mastodon instance (a self-hosted version of the networking software).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A toilet.

zoom

verb
  1. To communicate with someone using the Zoom videoconferencing software.
noun
  1. A humming noise from something moving very fast
  2. A quick ascent
  3. A big increase
  4. An augmentation of a view
verb
  1. To move fast with a humming noise
  2. To fly an airplane straight up
  3. To move rapidly
  4. To go up sharply
  5. To change the focal length of a zoom lens
  6. (used with in or out) to manipulate a display so as to magnify or shrink it
interjection
  1. Representing a humming sound
  2. Suggesting something moving quickly
  3. Suggesting a sudden change, especially an improvement or an increase