Sunday, May 11, 2025

Answers to yesterday's Bee

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The official answers for today's puzzle are:

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Number of Pangrams: 2

Maximum Puzzle Score: 158

Number of Answers: 35

Points Needed for Genius: 111

Genius requires between 15 and 31 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 88% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 63% 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 158 was in the 45th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on May 9, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 35 possible answers rank it in the 40th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on May 9, 2025.
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 7-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on May 10, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.3.
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 199
  • loll 193
  • toot 186
  • naan 171
  • nana 171
  • lilt 138
  • till 138
  • tilt 138
  • tint 136
  • nene 131
  • mama 130
  • mamma 130
  • acacia 123
  • acai 123
  • onto 122
  • toon 122
  • onion 119
  • anal 115
  • olio 113
  • anon 112
  • boob 111
  • booboo 111
  • baba 108
  • tact 108
  • dodo 107
  • papa 107
  • lull 105
  • lulu 105
  • poop 105
  • call 104
  • calla 104
  • ratatat 104
  • tart 104
  • tartar 104
  • attar 103
  • mitt 103
  • mono 103
  • moon 103
  • tatty 102
  • tattoo 101
  • allay 100
  • ally 100
  • ammo 100
  • momma 100
  • tutu 100
  • cocci 98
  • epee 98
  • peep 98
  • loon 97
  • loot 95


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 101,045 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,585 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*:

  • ackee
  • akee
  • akene
  • ananke
  • apeak
  • apeek
  • ekka
  • kaka
  • kana
  • kanaka
  • kane
  • kapa
  • kapeek
  • keck
  • kecked
  • keek
  • keeked
  • kenned
  • kepped
  • keppen
  • knacked
  • knap
  • knapped
  • kneepan
  • pekan

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

cake

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.
  2. A small mass of baked dough, especially a thin loaf from unleavened dough.
  3. A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake.
  4. A block of any of various dense materials.
  5. A trivially easy task or responsibility; from a piece of cake.
  6. Money.
  7. Used to describe the doctrine of having one's cake and eating it too.
  8. A buttock, especially one that is exceptionally plump.
verb
  1. Coat (something) with a crust of solid material.
  2. To form into a cake, or mass.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To cackle like a goose.

caked

verb
  1. Coat (something) with a crust of solid material.
  2. To form into a cake, or mass.
verb
  1. To cackle like a goose.
adjective
  1. (smoking, of a pipe) Empty with nothing left to smoke but ash.

dank

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Moisture; humidity; water.
adjective
  1. Dark, damp and humid.
  2. (of marijuana) Highly potent.
  3. (often ironic) Great, awesome.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To moisten, dampen; used of mist, dew etc.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A small silver coin formerly used in Persia.

deck

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Any raised flat surface that can be walked on: a balcony; a porch; a raised patio; a flat rooftop.
  2. The floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks.
  3. A main aeroplane surface, especially of a biplane or multiplane.
  4. A pack or set of playing cards.
  5. (by extension) A set of cards owned by each individual player and from which they draw when playing.
  6. A set of slides for a presentation.
  7. A heap or store.
  8. A folded paper used for distributing illicit drugs.
  9. The floor.
verb
  1. To furnish with a deck, as a vessel.
  2. To knock someone to the floor, especially with a single punch.
  3. To cause a player to run out of cards to draw and usually lose the game as a result.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. (sometimes with out) To dress (someone) up, to clothe with more than ordinary elegance
  2. (sometimes with out) To decorate (something).
  3. To cover; to overspread.

decked

verb
  1. To furnish with a deck, as a vessel.
  2. To knock someone to the floor, especially with a single punch.
  3. To cause a player to run out of cards to draw and usually lose the game as a result.
verb
  1. (sometimes with out) To dress (someone) up, to clothe with more than ordinary elegance
  2. (sometimes with out) To decorate (something).
  3. To cover; to overspread.
adjective
  1. Adorned or embellished.
  2. (in combination) Having a specified number or type of decks.

deke

noun
  1. A feint, fake, or other move made by the player with the puck to deceive a goaltender or defenceman.
  2. As in hockey, a fake or other move to confuse other players on a team.
  3. A quick detour.
verb
  1. To avoid, go around, or dodge an object, person, or conversation topic; often by using trickery.
  2. To execute a deke in ice hockey or other sports.

deked

verb
  1. To avoid, go around, or dodge an object, person, or conversation topic; often by using trickery.
  2. To execute a deke in ice hockey or other sports.

eked

verb
  1. Chiefly in the form eke out: to add to, to augment; to increase; to lengthen.

kappa

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The tenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
  2. A measurement of the sensitivity of the value of an option to changes in the implied volatility of the price of the underlying asset.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A tortoise-like creature in the Japanese mythology.

keen

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To make cold, to sharpen.
adjective
  1. Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.
  2. Fierce, intense, vehement.
  3. Having a fine edge or point; sharp.
  4. Acute of mind, having or expressing mental acuteness; penetrating, sharp.
  5. Acrimonious, bitter, piercing.
  6. Of cold, wind, etc.: cutting, penetrating, piercing, sharp.
  7. Of prices, extremely low as to be competitive.
  8. Marvelous.
  9. Brave, courageous; audacious, bold.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A prolonged wail for a deceased person.
verb
  1. To utter a keen.
  2. To utter with a loud wailing voice or wordless cry.
  3. To mourn.

keened

verb
  1. To make cold, to sharpen.
verb
  1. To utter a keen.
  2. To utter with a loud wailing voice or wordless cry.
  3. To mourn.

keep

noun
  1. The main tower of a castle or fortress, located within the castle walls.
  2. The food or money required to keep someone alive and healthy; one's support, maintenance.
  3. The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge; notice.
  4. The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case.
  5. That which is kept in charge; a charge.
  6. A cap for holding something, such as a journal box, in place.
verb
  1. To continue in (a course or mode of action); not to intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain.
  2. (heading) To hold the status of something.
  3. (heading) To hold or be held in a state.
  4. To wait for, keep watch for.
  5. To act as wicket-keeper.
  6. To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.
  7. To be in session; to take place.
  8. To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from or violate.
  9. (by extension) To visit (a place) often; to frequent.
  10. To observe or celebrate (a holiday).

knack

noun
  1. A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something.
  2. A petty contrivance; a toy.
  3. Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity.
verb
  1. To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise; to chink.
  2. To speak affectedly.

knead

noun
  1. The act of kneading something.
verb
  1. To work and press into a mass, usually with the hands; especially, to work, as by repeated pressure with the knuckles, into a well mixed mass, the materials of bread, cake, etc.
  2. To treat or form as if by kneading; to beat.
  3. (of cats) To make an alternating pressing motion with the two front paws.
  4. To mix thoroughly; form into a homogeneous compound.

kneaded

verb
  1. To work and press into a mass, usually with the hands; especially, to work, as by repeated pressure with the knuckles, into a well mixed mass, the materials of bread, cake, etc.
  2. To treat or form as if by kneading; to beat.
  3. (of cats) To make an alternating pressing motion with the two front paws.
  4. To mix thoroughly; form into a homogeneous compound.

knee

noun
  1. In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.
  2. In the horse and allied animals, the carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in humans.
  3. The part of a garment that covers the knee.
  4. A piece of timber or metal formed with an angle somewhat in the shape of the human knee when bent.
  5. An act of kneeling, especially to show respect or courtesy.
  6. Any knee-shaped item or sharp angle in a line; an inflection point.
  7. A blow made with the knee; a kneeing.
verb
  1. To kneel to.
  2. To poke or strike with the knee.
  3. To move on the knees; to use the knees to move.

kneecap

noun
  1. The flat, roundish bone in the knee.
  2. (roofing) A metal cover trim that fits over a panel rib after it has been cut and bent.
  3. A cap or strong covering for the knees, used chiefly for horses, to protect their knees in case of a fall.
verb
  1. To destroy the knees of (a person), usually by shooting at the knees, as a punishment carried out by criminals or terrorists.

kneecapped

verb
  1. To destroy the knees of (a person), usually by shooting at the knees, as a punishment carried out by criminals or terrorists.

kneed

verb
  1. To kneel to.
  2. To poke or strike with the knee.
  3. To move on the knees; to use the knees to move.
adjective
  1. Having a knee or knees, or, in combination, the stated type of knee or knees.
  2. Having angular joints like the knee.

kneepad

noun
  1. A protective garment worn on a knee to protect it from injury, for example due to a blow or a fall.

naked

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Bare, not covered by clothing.
  2. Lacking some clothing; clothed only in underwear.
  3. Glib, without decoration, put bluntly.
  4. Characterized by the nakedness of the people concerned or to whom the described noun is attributed.
  5. Unarmed.
  6. Unaided, unaccompanied.
  7. Unprotected, uncovered; (by extension) without a condom.
  8. (of a derivative contract) Where the writer (seller) does not own the underlying asset to cover the contract.
  9. Resourceless, poor, lacking means.
  10. (with “of”) Lacking or devoid of something.
  11. Blank, clean, empty.
  12. (of land, rocks, or plants) Barren, having no foliage, unvegetated.
  13. Uncomfortable or vulnerable, as if missing something important.
  14. (of food or other consumer products) Without any additives, or without some component that would usually be included.
  15. Of a singularity, not hidden within an event horizon and thus observable from other parts of spacetime.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To make naked; to bare.

nankeen

noun
  1. A type of cotton cloth originally from Nanking in China.

neck

noun
  1. The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.
  2. The corresponding part in some other anatomical contexts.
  3. The part of a shirt, dress etc., which fits a person's neck.
  4. The tapered part of a bottle toward the opening.
  5. The slender tubelike extension atop an archegonium, through which the sperm swim to reach the egg.
  6. The extension of any stringed instrument on which a fingerboard is mounted
  7. A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts.
  8. A reduction in size near the end of an object, formed by a groove around it.
  9. The constriction between the root and crown of a tooth.
  10. The gorgerin of a capital.
  11. The small part of a gun between the chase and the swell of the muzzle.
  12. A person's life.
  13. A falsehood; a lie.
  14. Shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore
verb
  1. To hang by the neck; strangle; kill, eliminate
  2. To make love; to intently kiss or cuddle; to canoodle.
  3. To drink rapidly.
  4. To decrease in diameter.

necked

verb
  1. To hang by the neck; strangle; kill, eliminate
  2. To make love; to intently kiss or cuddle; to canoodle.
  3. To drink rapidly.
  4. To decrease in diameter.
adjective
  1. (in combination) Having some specific type of neck
  2. (of a treenail) Cracked.

pack

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A bundle made up and prepared to be carried; especially, a bundle to be carried on the back, but also a load for an animal, a bale.
  2. A number or quantity equal to the contents of a pack
  3. A multitude.
  4. A number or quantity of connected or similar things; a collective.
  5. A full set of playing cards
  6. The assortment of playing cards used in a particular game.
  7. A group of hounds or dogs, hunting or kept together.
  8. A wolfpack: a number of wolves, hunting together.
  9. A group of people associated or leagued in a bad design or practice; a gang.
  10. A group of Cub Scouts.
  11. A shook of cask staves.
  12. A bundle of sheet iron plates for rolling simultaneously.
  13. A large area of floating pieces of ice driven together more or less closely.
  14. An envelope, or wrapping, of sheets used in hydropathic practice, called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the method of treatment.
  15. : A loose, lewd, or worthless person.
  16. A tight group of object balls in cue sports. Usually the reds in snooker.
  17. The forwards in a rugby team (eight in Rugby Union, six in Rugby League) who with the opposing pack constitute the scrum.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. (physical) To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.
  2. (social) To cheat.
  3. To load with a pack
  4. To load; to encumber.
  5. To move, send or carry.
  6. To block a shot, especially in basketball.
  7. (of the forwards in a rugby team) To play together cohesively, specially with reference to their technique in the scrum.
  8. (of a drag king, transman, etc.) To wear a prosthetic penis inside one’s trousers for better verisimilitude.

packed

verb
  1. (physical) To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.
  2. (social) To cheat.
  3. To load with a pack
  4. To load; to encumber.
  5. To move, send or carry.
  6. To block a shot, especially in basketball.
  7. (of the forwards in a rugby team) To play together cohesively, specially with reference to their technique in the scrum.
  8. (of a drag king, transman, etc.) To wear a prosthetic penis inside one’s trousers for better verisimilitude.
adjective
  1. Put into a package.
  2. Filled with a large number or large quantity of something.
  3. Filled to capacity with people.

pancake

noun
  1. A thin batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle in oil or butter.
  2. A kind of makeup, consisting of a thick layer of a compressed powder.
  3. A type of throw, usually with a ring where the prop is thrown in such a way that it rotates round an axis of the diameter of the prop.
  4. Anything very thin and flat.
  5. A box on which an actor stands to make them appear taller.
verb
  1. To make a pancake landing.
  2. (demolition) To collapse one floor after another.
  3. To flatten violently.

pancaked

verb
  1. To make a pancake landing.
  2. (demolition) To collapse one floor after another.
  3. To flatten violently.

peak

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap.
  2. The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period.
  3. The top, or one of the tops, of a hill, mountain, or range, ending in a point.
  4. The whole hill or mountain, especially when isolated.
  5. The upper aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
  6. The narrow part of a vessel's bow, or the hold within it.
  7. The extremity of an anchor fluke; the bill.
  8. A local maximum of a function, e.g. for sine waves, each point at which the value of y is at its maximum.
verb
  1. To reach a highest degree or maximum.
  2. To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.
  3. To raise the point of (a gaff) closer to perpendicular.
adjective
  1. Maximal, maximally quintessential or representative; constituting the culmination of
  2. Bad
  3. Unlucky; unfortunate

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To become sick or wan.
  2. To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sickly.
  3. To pry; to peep slyly.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Wampum.

peaked

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Having a peak or peaks.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Sickly-looking, peaky.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To reach a highest degree or maximum.
  2. To rise or extend into a peak or point; to form, or appear as, a peak.
  3. To raise the point of (a gaff) closer to perpendicular.
verb
  1. To become sick or wan.
  2. To acquire sharpness of figure or features; hence, to look thin or sickly.
  3. To pry; to peep slyly.

peck

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An act of striking with a beak.
  2. A small kiss.
verb
  1. To strike or pierce with the beak or bill (of a bird).
  2. To form by striking with the beak or a pointed instrument.
  3. To strike, pick, thrust against, or dig into, with a pointed instrument, especially with repeated quick movements.
  4. To seize and pick up with the beak, or as if with the beak; to bite; to eat; often with up.
  5. To do something in small, intermittent pieces.
  6. To type by searching for each key individually.
  7. To type in general.
  8. To kiss briefly.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. One quarter of a bushel; a dry measure of eight quarts.
  2. A great deal; a large or excessive quantity.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To throw.
  2. To lurch forward; especially, of a horse, to stumble after hitting the ground with the toe instead of the flat of the foot.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. Discoloration caused by fungus growth or insects.

pecked

verb
  1. To strike or pierce with the beak or bill (of a bird).
  2. To form by striking with the beak or a pointed instrument.
  3. To strike, pick, thrust against, or dig into, with a pointed instrument, especially with repeated quick movements.
  4. To seize and pick up with the beak, or as if with the beak; to bite; to eat; often with up.
  5. To do something in small, intermittent pieces.
  6. To type by searching for each key individually.
  7. To type in general.
  8. To kiss briefly.
verb
  1. To throw.
  2. To lurch forward; especially, of a horse, to stumble after hitting the ground with the toe instead of the flat of the foot.

peek

verb
  1. To look slyly, or with the eyes half closed, or through a crevice; to peep.
  2. To be only slightly, partially visible, as if peering out from a hiding place.
  3. To retrieve (a value) from a memory address.

peeked

verb
  1. To look slyly, or with the eyes half closed, or through a crevice; to peep.
  2. To be only slightly, partially visible, as if peering out from a hiding place.
  3. To retrieve (a value) from a memory address.

peke

noun
  1. A Pekingese dog.