Sunday, July 27, 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: 4

Maximum Puzzle Score: 258

Number of Answers: 38

Points Needed for Genius: 181

Genius requires between 21 and 34 words. You need at least an 8-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 96% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 59% 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 258 was in the 85th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on July 20, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 38 possible answers rank it in the 47th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on July 26, 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 an 8-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on July 25, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 6.4.
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 205
  • loll 201
  • toot 193
  • naan 175
  • nana 175
  • lilt 143
  • till 143
  • tilt 143
  • tint 138
  • mama 135
  • mamma 135
  • nene 135
  • acacia 130
  • acai 130
  • onto 127
  • toon 127
  • onion 123
  • anal 119
  • anon 119
  • olio 116
  • boob 113
  • booboo 113
  • dodo 113
  • tact 113
  • poop 112
  • papa 111
  • baba 110
  • call 108
  • calla 108
  • lull 108
  • lulu 108
  • mitt 108
  • ratatat 106
  • tart 106
  • tartar 106
  • attar 105
  • tatty 105
  • ammo 104
  • momma 104
  • mono 104
  • moon 104
  • tattoo 104
  • allay 103
  • ally 103
  • cocci 103
  • tutu 103
  • loon 101
  • epee 100
  • peep 100
  • roar 99


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 104,628 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,695 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*:

  • acini
  • acinic
  • acta
  • actin
  • actinia
  • actinian
  • actinic
  • agnatic
  • anticivic
  • atactic
  • atavic
  • aviatic
  • caca
  • cain
  • cantic
  • canting
  • catting
  • cavatina
  • cavitating
  • ictic
  • incaging
  • incitant
  • nictating
  • nictitant
  • nictitating
  • tacan
  • ticcing
  • tictac
  • tincting
  • vaccina
  • vaccinia
  • vatic
  • vaticinating
  • viatic
  • viatica
  • vicing
  • vinca
  • vinic

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

acacia

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
  2. The thickened or dried juice of several species in Acacieae, in particular Vachellia nilotica (syn. Acacia nilotica), the Egyptian acacia.
  3. A false acacia; robinia tree, Robinia pseudoacacia.
  4. Gum arabic; gum acacia.
  5. Any of several related trees, such as the locust tree.
  6. A light to moderate greenish yellow with a hint of red.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (history) A roll or bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.

acai

noun
  1. Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
  2. The fruit of these trees, harvested for its juice.

acing

verb
  1. (US) To pass (a test, interviews etc.) perfectly.
  2. To win a point by an ace.
  3. To make an ace (hole in one).

acting

verb
  1. To do something.
  2. To do (something); to perform.
  3. To perform a theatrical role.
  4. Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).
  5. To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time.
  6. To convey an appearance of being.
  7. To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.
  8. (construed with on or upon) To have an effect (on).
  9. To play (a role).
  10. To feign.
  11. (construed with on or upon, of a group) To map via a homomorphism to a group of automorphisms (of).
  12. To move to action; to actuate; to animate.
noun
  1. An action or deed.
  2. Something done by a party — so called to avoid confusion with the legal senses of deed and action.
  3. Pretending.
  4. The occupation of an actor.
adjective
  1. Temporarily assuming the duties or authority of another person when they are unable to do their job.

activating

verb
  1. To encourage development or induce increased activity; to stimulate.
  2. To put a device, mechanism (alarm etc.) or system into action or motion; to trigger, to actuate, to set off, to enable.
  3. To render more reactive; excite.
  4. To render a molecule reactive, active, or effective in performing its function.
  5. To render a substance radioactive.
  6. To hasten a chemical reaction, especially by heating.
  7. To remove the limitations of demoware by providing a license; to unlock.
  8. To aerate in order to aid decomposition of organic matter.
  9. To organize or create a military unit or station.
  10. To bring a player back after an injury.

antic

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A grotesque representation of a figure; a gargoyle.
  2. A caricature.
  3. (often in plural) A ludicrous gesture or act; ridiculous behaviour; caper.
  4. A grotesque performer or clown, buffoon.
verb
  1. To perform antics, caper.
  2. To make a fool of, to cause to look ridiculous.
  3. To perform (an action) as an antic; to mimic ridiculously.
adjective
  1. Playful, funny, absurd
  2. Grotesque, incongruous.
  3. Grotesque, bizarre
adjective
  1. Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome.
  2. Belonging to former times, not modern, out of date, old-fashioned.
  3. Designating a style of type.
  4. Embossed without gilt.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A pose, often exaggerated, in anticipation of an action; for example, a brief squat before jumping

attic

noun
  1. The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.

cacti

noun
  1. Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.
  2. Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.

caging

verb
  1. To confine in a cage; to put into and keep in a cage.
  2. To restrict someone's movement or creativity.
  3. To track individual responses to direct mail, either to maintain and develop mailing lists or to identify people who are not eligible to vote because they do not reside at the registered addresses.
noun
  1. The act of placing or trapping something in a cage.

cancan

noun
  1. A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.
  2. (motocross) A trick where one leg is brought over the seat, so that both legs are on one side.
verb
  1. To dance the cancan.

caning

verb
  1. To strike or beat with a cane or similar implement
  2. To destroy; to comprehensively defeat
  3. To do something well, in a competent fashion
  4. To produce extreme pain
  5. To make or furnish with cane or rattan.
noun
  1. A beating with a cane.

canna

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet.

canning

verb
  1. To seal in a can.
  2. To preserve by heating and sealing in a jar or can.
  3. To discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).
  4. To shut up.
  5. To fire or dismiss an employee.
  6. To hole the ball.
noun
  1. The process of preserving food by heat processing in a sealed vessel (a sealed jar or can).
  2. The practice of collecting aluminum cans or other recyclable objects; making money by collecting and selling such things.

cant

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup.
  2. A private or secret language used by a religious sect, gang, or other group.
  3. A language spoken by some Irish Travellers; Shelta.
  4. Empty, hypocritical talk.
  5. Whining speech, such as that used by beggars.
  6. A blazon of a coat of arms that makes a pun upon the name (or, less often, some attribute or function) of the bearer, canting arms.
  7. A call for bidders at a public fair; an auction.
verb
  1. To speak with the jargon of a class or subgroup.
  2. To speak in set phrases.
  3. To preach in a singsong fashion, especially in a false or empty manner.
  4. Of a blazon, to make a pun that references the bearer of a coat of arms.
  5. To sell by auction, or bid at an auction.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Side, edge, corner, niche.
  2. Slope, the angle at which something is set.
  3. A corner (of a building).
  4. An outer or external angle.
  5. An inclination from a horizontal or vertical line; a slope or bevel; a tilt.
  6. A movement or throw that overturns something.
  7. A sudden thrust, push, kick, or other impulse, producing a bias or change of direction; also, the bias or turn so given.
  8. (coopering) A segment forming a side piece in the head of a cask.
  9. A segment of the rim of a wooden cogwheel.
  10. A piece of wood laid upon the deck of a vessel to support the bulkheads.
verb
  1. To set (something) at an angle.
  2. To give a sudden turn or new direction to.
  3. To bevel an edge or corner.
  4. To overturn so that the contents are emptied.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A parcel, a division.
verb
  1. To divide or parcel out.

Etymology 4

adjective
  1. Lively, lusty.

cantata

noun
  1. A vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century Italian music.

cantina

noun
  1. A drinking establishment, often specifically of the type found in Latin America.
  2. Abbreviated form of cantina truck, cantina wagon or cantina trailer

cava

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A Spanish white sparkling wine made using the méthode champenoise.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The vena cava.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A cavity

caving

verb
  1. To surrender.
  2. To collapse.
  3. To hollow out or undermine.
  4. To engage in the recreational exploration of caves.
  5. In room-and-pillar mining, to extract a deposit of rock by breaking down a pillar which had been holding it in place.
  6. To work over tailings to dress small pieces of marketable ore.
  7. To dwell in a cave.
noun
  1. The recreational sport of exploring caves.
  2. An act of collapsing or caving in.

citing

verb
  1. To quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or the words of another.
  2. To list the source(s) from which one took information, words or literary or verbal context.
  3. To summon officially or authoritatively to appear in court.
noun
  1. Citation.

civic

adjective
  1. Of, relating to, or belonging to a city, a citizen, or citizenship; municipal or civil.
  2. Of or relating to the citizen, or of good citizenship and its rights and duties.

gigantic

adjective
  1. Very large.
  2. In the manner of a giant.

icing

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A sweet glaze made primarily of sugar and often flavored, typically used for baked goods; frosting.
  2. A minor violation of ice hockey rules, occurring when a player shoots the puck from his/her side of the red line so that it crosses the goal line on the opponent's side. A team playing short-handed is not penalized for this.
  3. The process of forming a layer of ice on a surface.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To cool with ice, as a beverage.
  2. To become ice; to freeze.
  3. To make icy; to freeze.
  4. To murder.
  5. To cover with icing (frosting made of sugar and milk or white of egg); to frost; as cakes, tarts, etc.
  6. To put out a team for a match.
  7. To shoot the puck the length of the playing surface, causing a stoppage in play called icing.

inactivating

verb
  1. To make inactive.

incant

verb
  1. To state solemnly, to chant.
  2. To recite an incantation.

incanting

No Definition Found.

inciting

verb
  1. To stir up or excite; to rouse or goad into action.

intact

adjective
  1. Left complete or whole; not touched, defiled, sullied or otherwise damaged
  2. Of animals, not castrated: an intact bull.
  3. Uncircumcised; commonly used to describe a penis with a foreskin in intactivism.

niacin

noun
  1. A water-soluble vitamin, a component of vitamin B complex, found in meat, yeast, and dairy products; it is essential to metabolism.

tacit

adjective
  1. Expressed in silence; implied, but not made explicit; silent.
  2. Not derived from formal principles of reasoning; based on induction rather than deduction.

tact

noun
  1. The sense of touch; feeling.
  2. The stroke in beating time.
  3. Sensitive mental touch; special skill or faculty; keen perception or discernment; ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances; the ability to say the right thing.
  4. A verbal operant which is controlled by a nonverbal stimulus (such as an object, event, or property of an object) and is maintained by nonspecific social reinforcement (praise).
verb
  1. To use a tact (a kind of verbal operant; see noun sense).
noun
  1. A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
  2. A maneuver used against an enemy.
  3. A sequence of moves that limits the opponent's options and results in an immediate and tangible advantage, typically in the form of material.

tactic

noun
  1. A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
  2. A maneuver used against an enemy.
  3. A sequence of moves that limits the opponent's options and results in an immediate and tangible advantage, typically in the form of material.
adjective
  1. Tactical; of or relating to the art of military and naval tactics.
  2. Describing a polymer whose repeat units are identical.

tactician

noun
  1. A person skilled in the planning and execution of tactics.

tannic

adjective
  1. Pertaining to, containing, or obtained from tannin.

tinct

No Definition Found.

titanic

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Having great size, or great strength, force or power.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Of or relating to titanium, especially tetravalent titanium

vacant

adjective
  1. Not occupied; empty.
  2. Showing no intelligence or interest.

vacating

verb
  1. To move out of a dwelling, either by choice or by eviction.
  2. To leave an office or position.
  3. To have a court judgement set aside; to annul.
  4. To leave an area, usually as a result of orders from public authorities in the event of a riot or natural disaster.

vaccinating

verb
  1. Treat with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease.