Tuesday, June 3, 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: 282

Number of Answers: 52

Points Needed for Genius: 197

Genius requires between 26 and 44 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 78% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 66% 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 282 was in the 91st percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on May 23, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 52 possible answers rank it in the 80th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on June 2, 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 June 1, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 6.0.
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 200
  • loll 197
  • toot 187
  • naan 172
  • nana 172
  • lilt 139
  • till 139
  • tilt 139
  • tint 136
  • nene 133
  • mama 132
  • mamma 132
  • acacia 123
  • acai 123
  • onto 123
  • toon 123
  • onion 120
  • anal 117
  • olio 116
  • anon 113
  • boob 112
  • booboo 112
  • dodo 109
  • baba 108
  • papa 108
  • poop 108
  • tact 108
  • lull 106
  • lulu 106
  • call 104
  • calla 104
  • mitt 104
  • ratatat 104
  • tart 104
  • tartar 104
  • attar 103
  • mono 103
  • moon 103
  • tatty 103
  • allay 102
  • ally 102
  • ammo 101
  • cocci 101
  • momma 101
  • tattoo 101
  • tutu 101
  • epee 99
  • peep 99
  • loon 98
  • loot 95


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 102,095 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,612 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*:

  • aglu
  • algum
  • almug
  • alula
  • alumin
  • aluminium
  • gaum
  • gauming
  • gaun
  • guan
  • guanin
  • guggling
  • guiling
  • gumma
  • gummi
  • gunging
  • iglu
  • iguanian
  • illinium
  • illuming
  • illumining
  • imaum
  • inguinal
  • inulin
  • laguna
  • lauan
  • ligula
  • limuli
  • lingua
  • lingual
  • lingula
  • linum
  • luma
  • lumina
  • luminal
  • lungan
  • lungi
  • maun
  • miaul
  • miauling
  • milium
  • minium
  • mugg
  • muling
  • mulla
  • mumm
  • mumming
  • mumu
  • muni
  • nilgau
  • nulling
  • numina
  • ulama
  • ulan
  • umma
  • umming
  • unaging
  • unai
  • unau
  • ungag
  • ungluing
  • ungual
  • ungula
  • unialgal
  • unmingling
  • unnail
  • unnailing
  • unununium

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

allium

noun
  1. Any of many bulbous plants of the genus Allium, related to onions and garlic.

alum

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An astringent salt, usually occurring in the form of pale crystals, much used in the dyeing and tanning trade and in certain medicines, and now understood to be a double sulphate of potassium and aluminium (K2SO4·Al2(SO4)3·24H2O).
  2. Any similar double sulphate in which either or both of the potassium and aluminium is wholly or partly replaced by other univalent or tervalent cations.
verb
  1. To steep in, or otherwise impregnate with, a solution of alum; to treat with alum.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (shortening) A past attendee or graduate (of either gender) of a college, university or other educational institution.

alumina

noun
  1. Aluminum oxide, especially when used in mining, material sciences or ceramics.

aluminum

noun
  1. A metallic chemical element (symbol Al) with an atomic number of 13.
  2. A single atom of this element.
  3. Aircraft or other machinery made partially or wholly of aluminum.

alumna

noun
  1. A female pupil or student (especially of a university or college).
  2. A female graduate.

alumni

noun
  1. An individual alumnus or alumna.
noun
  1. A male pupil or student.
  2. A male graduate.
  3. A student of any gender.
  4. A graduate of any gender.

annual

noun
  1. An annual publication; a book, periodical, journal, report, comic book, yearbook, etc., which is published serially once a year, which may or may not be in addition to regular weekly or monthly publication.
  2. An annual plant; a plant with a life span of just one growing season; a plant which naturally germinates, flowers and dies in one year. Compare biennial, perennial.
  3. A medical checkup taking place once a year.
  4. A pantomime taking place once a year.
adjective
  1. Happening once every year.
  2. Of, for, or relating to a whole year, often as a recurring cycle; determined or reckoned by the year; accumulating in the course of a year; performed, executed, or completed over the course of a year. See also circannual.
  3. (of a plant) Having a life cycle that is completed in only one growing season; e.g. beans, corn, marigold. See Annual plant in Wikipedia. Compare biennial, perennial.
  4. Living or lasting just one season or year, as certain insects or insect colonies.

annul

verb
  1. To formally revoke the validity of.
  2. To dissolve (a marital union) on the grounds that it is not valid.

annuli

noun
  1. A ring- or donut-shaped area or structure.
  2. The region in a plane between two concentric circles of different radii.
  3. Any topological space homeomorphic to the region in a plane between two concentric circles of different radius.
  4. The ring of the sun not covered by the moon in an annular solar eclipse.
  5. Structure in a fern that consists of differentially thick-walled cells on a sporangium that bend and distort as a result of drying.
  6. The membranous remnants of a partial veil which leaves a ring on the stem of a mushroom.
  7. (oil and gas production) The space contained between the centre well bore and any external tubing. Sometimes used for separated gas flow.

annulling

verb
  1. To formally revoke the validity of.
  2. To dissolve (a marital union) on the grounds that it is not valid.
noun
  1. An annulment.

gallium

noun
  1. A chemical element (symbol Ga) with an atomic number of 31; a soft bluish metal.

gauging

verb
  1. To measure or determine with a gauge; to measure the capacity of.
  2. To estimate.
  3. To appraise the character or ability of; to judge of.
  4. To draw into equidistant gathers by running a thread through it.
  5. To mix (a quantity of ordinary plaster) with a quantity of plaster of Paris.
  6. To chip, hew or polish (stones, bricks, etc) to a standard size and/or shape.
noun
  1. Measurement or estimation, with or as if with a gauge.
  2. The addition of various materials to lime mortar.
  3. A shirring.

glug

noun
  1. The sound made when a significant amount of liquid is poured suddenly out of something, such as a jug or bottle.
  2. The amount of liquid issued when the "glug" sound is heard.
verb
  1. To flow in noisy bursts.
  2. To quickly swallow liquid.

glugging

verb
  1. To flow in noisy bursts.
  2. To quickly swallow liquid.
noun
  1. A sound that glugs.

gluing

verb
  1. To join or attach something using glue.
  2. To cause something to adhere closely to; to follow attentively.
noun
  1. The act of attaching something with glue.
  2. A connection between the edges of two planes, or between the points at the ends of two lines.

glum

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Despondent; moody; sullen

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Sullenness
verb
  1. To look sullen; to be of a sour countenance; to be glum.

gulag

noun
  1. A prison camp.
  2. The system of all Soviet prison and/or labor camps in use during the Stalinist period.
verb
  1. To force into this prison or a similar system.

gull

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A seabird of the genus Larus or of the family Laridae.
  2. Any of various pierid butterflies of the genus Cepora.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A cheating trick; a fraud.
  2. One easily cheated; a dupe.
  3. (Oxford University slang) A swindler or trickster.
verb
  1. To deceive or cheat.
  2. To mislead.
  3. To trick and defraud.

gulling

verb
  1. To deceive or cheat.
  2. To mislead.
  3. To trick and defraud.
noun
  1. An instance of duping or fooling somebody.

gumming

verb
  1. To chew, especially of a toothless person or animal.
  2. To deepen and enlarge the spaces between the teeth of (a worn saw), as with a gummer.
verb
  1. (sometimes with up) To apply an adhesive or gum to; to make sticky by applying a sticky substance to.
  2. To stiffen with glue or gum.
  3. (sometimes with together) To inelegantly attach into a sequence.
  4. (with up) To impair the functioning of a thing or process.
noun
  1. The act of chewing without teeth.
  2. The manual removal of clay, or "gum", from cut coal.
  3. The act of fastening with gum, especially the application of gum-water to a lithographic stone.
  4. A disease marked by a discharge of gum, affecting stone fruit.

gunman

noun
  1. A criminal armed with a gun, especially a professional killer.

gunning

No Definition Found.

iguana

noun
  1. A green iguana (Iguana iguana), a large tropical American lizard often kept as a pet
  2. In zoology, any member of the genus Iguana
  3. Colloquially, in America and the Pacific, any of several members of the lizard family Iguanidae.
  4. Colloquially, in Africa, any large member of the genus Varanus, especially the aquatic Nile monitor -- see leguan
  5. Colloquially, in Australia, any member of the genus Varanus -- see goanna

ilium

noun
  1. The upper and widest of the three bones that make up each side of the hipbone and pelvis.
  2. The ileum, part of the small intestine.

linguini

noun
  1. Ribbons of pasta, cut from a sheet, not as wide as tagliatelle.

luau

noun
  1. An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment.

lugging

verb
  1. (sometimes figurative) To haul or drag along (especially something heavy); to carry; to pull.
  2. To run at too slow a speed.
  3. To carry an excessive amount of sail for the conditions prevailing.
  4. To pull toward the inside rail ("lugging in") or the outside rail ("lugging out") during a race.
noun
  1. The process by which something is lugged from one place to another; a laborious carrying or dragging.

luging

verb
  1. To travel by luge; to ride a luge.

lull

noun
  1. A period of rest or soothing.
  2. A period of reduced activity; a respite
  3. A period without waves or wind.
  4. An extended pause between sets of waves.
verb
  1. To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm
  2. To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.

lulling

verb
  1. To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm
  2. To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.

lulu

noun
  1. A remarkable person, object or idea.
  2. A very attractive or alluring person.
  3. A very bad mistake or error.
  4. A fixed allowance paid to a legislator in lieu of reimbursement for actual expenses.

luna

No Definition Found.

lung

noun
  1. A biological organ of vertebrates that controls breathing and oxygenates the blood.
  2. (plural) Capacity for exercise or exertion; breath.
  3. That which supplies oxygen or fresh air, such as trees, parklands, forest, etc., to a place.

lunging

verb
  1. To (cause to make) a sudden forward movement (present participle: lunging).
  2. To longe or work a horse in a circle around a handler (present participle: lunging or lungeing).
noun
  1. The act of one who lunges; a lunge.

lunula

noun
  1. Something shaped like a crescent or half-moon; especially the pale area at the base of the fingernail.

magnum

noun
  1. A bottle of wine containing 1.5 liters of fluid, double the volume of a standard bottle.
  2. A powerful firearm cartridge, often derived from a shorter, less powerful cartridge calibre that uses the same bullet.
  3. A handgun that fires a cartridge of this calibre; chiefly a revolver, but rarely an autoloader firing an unusually powerful calibre.

manual

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A handbook.
  2. A booklet that instructs on the usage of a particular machine or product.
  3. A drill in the use of weapons, etc.
  4. An old office-book like the modern Roman Catholic ritual.
  5. A keyboard for the hands on a harpsichord, organ, or other musical instrument.
  6. A manual transmission; a gearbox, especially of a motorized vehicle, shifted by the operator.
  7. (by synecdoche) A vehicle with a manual transmission.
  8. A bicycle technique whereby the front wheel is held aloft by the rider, without the use of pedal force.
  9. Manual measurement of the blood pressure, done with a manual sphygmomanometer.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Performed with the hands (of an activity).
  2. Operated by means of the hands (of a machine, device etc.).
  3. Performed by a human rather than a machine.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Mechanical transmission which shifts gears by the action of the driver's hand on the gearstick or gear lever, rather than automatically; a manual gearbox.

maul

noun
  1. A heavy long-handled hammer, used for splitting logs by driving a wedge into them, or in combat.
  2. A situation where the player carrying the ball, who must be on his feet, is held by one or more opponents, and one or more of the ball carrier's team mates bind onto the ball carrier.
verb
  1. To handle someone or something in a rough way.
  2. To savage; to cause serious physical wounds (usually used of an animal).
  3. To criticise harshly.
  4. To beat with the heavy hammer called a maul.

mauling

verb
  1. To handle someone or something in a rough way.
  2. To savage; to cause serious physical wounds (usually used of an animal).
  3. To criticise harshly.
  4. To beat with the heavy hammer called a maul.
noun
  1. An instance of something being mauled.

minimum

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.
adjective
  1. To the lowest degree.

mugging

verb
  1. To strike in the face.
  2. To assault for the purpose of robbery.
  3. To exaggerate a facial expression for communicative emphasis; to make a face, to pose, as for photographs or in a performance, in an exaggerated or affected manner.
  4. To photograph for identification; to take a mug shot.
  5. To learn or review a subject as much as possible in a short time; cram.
noun
  1. A quick violent robbery of a person, usually in a public place.

mull

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A thin, soft muslin.
  2. Marijuana that has been chopped to prepare it for smoking.
  3. A stew of meat, broth, milk, butter, vegetables, and seasonings, thickened with soda crackers.
  4. The gauze used in bookbinding to adhere a text block to a book's cover.
  5. An inferior kind of madder prepared from the smaller roots or the peelings and refuse of the larger.
verb
  1. (usually with over) To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate.
  2. To powder; to pulverize.
  3. To chop marijuana so that it becomes a smokable form.
  4. To heat and spice something, such as wine.
  5. To join two or more individual windows at mullions.
  6. To dull or stupefy.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A promontory.
  2. A snuffbox made of the small end of a horn.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Dirt; rubbish

mulligan

noun
  1. Mulligan stew.
  2. An unpenalized chance to re-take a stroke that went awry.
  3. An opportunity (sometimes penalized) for a player to reshuffle their cards and draw a new initial hand at the beginning of a game.
  4. A second chance.

mulling

verb
  1. (usually with over) To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate.
  2. To powder; to pulverize.
  3. To chop marijuana so that it becomes a smokable form.
  4. To heat and spice something, such as wine.
  5. To join two or more individual windows at mullions.
  6. To dull or stupefy.
noun
  1. The act of one who mulls or thinks over something.

mung

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A type of small bean.
  2. The mung bean, cultivated for its sprouts, Vigna radiata or Phaseolus aureus.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To make repeated changes to a file or data which individually may be reversible, yet which ultimately result in an unintentional irreversible destruction of large portions of the original data.
  2. (by extension) To harm, to damage; to destroy.

muumuu

noun
  1. A long loose-fitting dress made of lightweight fabric printed with bright, stylized Hawaiian themes (such as flowers and palm branches).

null

noun
  1. A non-existent or empty value or set of values.
  2. Zero quantity of expressions; nothing.
  3. Something that has no force or meaning.
  4. The ASCII or Unicode character (␀), represented by a zero value, that indicates no character and is sometimes used as a string terminator.
  5. The attribute of an entity that has no valid value.
  6. One of the beads in nulled work.
  7. Null hypothesis.
verb
  1. To nullify; to annul.
  2. To form nulls, or into nulls, as in a lathe.
  3. To crack; to remove restrictions or limitations in (software).
adjective
  1. Having no validity; "null and void"
  2. Insignificant.
  3. Absent or non-existent.
  4. Of the null set.
  5. Of or comprising a value of precisely zero.
  6. (of a mutation) Causing a complete loss of gene function, amorphic.

ulna

noun
  1. The bone of the forearm that extends from the elbow to the wrist on the side opposite to the thumb, corresponding to the fibula of the hind limb. Also, the corresponding bone in the forelimb of any vertebrate.

umami

noun
  1. One of the five basic tastes, the savory taste of foods such as seaweed, cured fish, aged cheeses and meats.

unilingual

noun
  1. A person who understands only one language
adjective
  1. Knowing or using a single language

unman

verb
  1. To castrate; to remove the manhood of.
  2. To sap (a person) of the strength, whether physical or emotional, required to deal with a situation.
  3. To deprive of men.

unmanning

verb
  1. To castrate; to remove the manhood of.
  2. To sap (a person) of the strength, whether physical or emotional, required to deal with a situation.
  3. To deprive of men.
noun
  1. The removal of manly qualities.
adjective
  1. That destroys manly virtues or qualities; that renders effeminate or helpless.