Tuesday, September 2, 2025

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: 174

Number of Answers: 40

Points Needed for Genius: 122

Genius requires between 16 and 37 words. You need at least a 9-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 174 was in the 52nd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on September 1, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 40 possible answers rank it in the 52nd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on September 1, 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 9-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on August 26, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.4.
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 210
  • loll 202
  • toot 195
  • naan 178
  • nana 178
  • lilt 144
  • till 144
  • tilt 144
  • nene 138
  • tint 138
  • mama 136
  • mamma 136
  • acacia 132
  • acai 132
  • onto 129
  • toon 129
  • onion 125
  • anal 120
  • anon 120
  • tact 117
  • olio 116
  • dodo 115
  • boob 114
  • booboo 114
  • baba 112
  • papa 112
  • poop 112
  • lull 111
  • lulu 111
  • call 108
  • calla 108
  • mitt 108
  • tutu 107
  • cocci 106
  • mono 106
  • moon 106
  • ratatat 106
  • tart 106
  • tartar 106
  • attar 105
  • tattoo 105
  • tatty 105
  • allay 104
  • ally 104
  • ammo 104
  • momma 104
  • loon 102
  • epee 100
  • peep 100
  • roar 99


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 106,248 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,771 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*:

  • bobo
  • bobos
  • bohos
  • bollocks
  • boocoo
  • boocoos
  • bookoo
  • bookoos
  • boschbok
  • boschboks
  • boshbok
  • boshboks
  • bosk
  • bosks
  • cobb
  • cobbs
  • cocobolo
  • cocobolos
  • hobs
  • kobo
  • kobos
  • kobs
  • obol
  • obols

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

blob

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A shapeless or amorphous mass; a vague shape or amount, especially of a liquid or semisolid substance; a clump, group or collection that lacks definite shape.
  2. In astronomy, a large cloud of gas. In particular, an extended Lyman-Alpha blob is a huge body of gas that may be the precursor to a galaxy.
  3. A bubble; a bleb.
  4. A small freshwater fish (Cottus bairdii); the miller's thumb.
  5. The partially inflated air bag used in the sport of blobbing.
  6. A score of zero.
verb
  1. To drop in the form of a blob or blobs
  2. To drop a blob or blobs onto, cover with blobs.
  3. To fall in the form of a blob or blobs.
  4. To relax idly and mindlessly; to veg out.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Acronym of binary large object. (a data type that allows storage of binary data often of indeterminate length).

blobs

noun
  1. Acronym of binary large object. (a data type that allows storage of binary data often of indeterminate length).
noun
  1. A shapeless or amorphous mass; a vague shape or amount, especially of a liquid or semisolid substance; a clump, group or collection that lacks definite shape.
  2. In astronomy, a large cloud of gas. In particular, an extended Lyman-Alpha blob is a huge body of gas that may be the precursor to a galaxy.
  3. A bubble; a bleb.
  4. A small freshwater fish (Cottus bairdii); the miller's thumb.
  5. The partially inflated air bag used in the sport of blobbing.
  6. A score of zero.
verb
  1. To drop in the form of a blob or blobs
  2. To drop a blob or blobs onto, cover with blobs.
  3. To fall in the form of a blob or blobs.
  4. To relax idly and mindlessly; to veg out.

bloc

noun
  1. A group of voters or politicians who share common goals.
  2. A group of countries acting together for political or economic goals, an alliance: e.g., the eastern bloc, the western bloc, a trading bloc, the Eurozone, the European Union.

block

noun
  1. A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.
  2. A chopping block; cuboid base for cutting or beheading.
  3. A group of urban lots of property, several acres in extent, not crossed by public streets.
  4. A residential building consisting of flats.
  5. The distance from one street to another in a city that is built (approximately) to a grid pattern.
  6. Interference or obstruction of cognitive processes.
  7. The human head.
  8. A wig block: a simplified head model upon which wigs are worn.
  9. A mould on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
  10. A set of sheets (of paper) joined together at one end.
  11. A logical data storage unit containing one or more physical sectors (see cluster).
  12. A region of code in a program that acts as a single unit, such as a function or loop.
  13. A fixed-length group of bits making up part of a message.
  14. A case with one or more sheaves/pulleys, used with ropes to increase or redirect force, for example, as part of the rigging of a sailing ship.
  15. A portion of a macromolecule, comprising many units, that has at least one feature not present in adjacent portions.
  16. Something that prevents something from passing.
  17. An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck).
  18. A shot played by holding the bat vertically in the path of the ball, so that it loses momentum and drops to the ground.
  19. A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court.
  20. A joined group of four (or in some cases nine) postage stamps, forming a roughly square shape.
  21. A section of split logs used as fuel.
  22. Solitary confinement.
  23. A cellblock.
  24. The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
  25. A piece of hard wood on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted.
  26. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt.
  27. A section of a railroad where the block system is used.
  28. The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket.
  29. A blockhole.
  30. The popping crease.
  31. A discrete group of vines in a vineyard, often distinguished from others by variety, clone, canopy training method, irrigation infrastructure, or some combination thereof.
verb
  1. To fill (something) so that it is not possible to pass.
  2. To prevent (something or someone) from passing.
  3. To prevent (something from happening or someone from doing something).
  4. To impede an opponent.
  5. To specify the positions and movements of the actors.
  6. To hit with a block.
  7. To play a block shot.
  8. To disable communication via telephone, instant messaging, etc., with an undesirable someone.
  9. To wait.
  10. To stretch or mould (a knitted item, a hat, etc.) into the desired shape.
  11. To shape or sketch out roughly.

blocks

noun
  1. A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.
  2. A chopping block; cuboid base for cutting or beheading.
  3. A group of urban lots of property, several acres in extent, not crossed by public streets.
  4. A residential building consisting of flats.
  5. The distance from one street to another in a city that is built (approximately) to a grid pattern.
  6. Interference or obstruction of cognitive processes.
  7. The human head.
  8. A wig block: a simplified head model upon which wigs are worn.
  9. A mould on which hats, bonnets, etc., are shaped.
  10. A set of sheets (of paper) joined together at one end.
  11. A logical data storage unit containing one or more physical sectors (see cluster).
  12. A region of code in a program that acts as a single unit, such as a function or loop.
  13. A fixed-length group of bits making up part of a message.
  14. A case with one or more sheaves/pulleys, used with ropes to increase or redirect force, for example, as part of the rigging of a sailing ship.
  15. A portion of a macromolecule, comprising many units, that has at least one feature not present in adjacent portions.
  16. Something that prevents something from passing.
  17. An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck).
  18. A shot played by holding the bat vertically in the path of the ball, so that it loses momentum and drops to the ground.
  19. A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court.
  20. A joined group of four (or in some cases nine) postage stamps, forming a roughly square shape.
  21. A section of split logs used as fuel.
  22. Solitary confinement.
  23. A cellblock.
  24. The perch on which a bird of prey is kept.
  25. A piece of hard wood on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted.
  26. A blockhead; a stupid fellow; a dolt.
  27. A section of a railroad where the block system is used.
  28. The position of a player or bat when guarding the wicket.
  29. A blockhole.
  30. The popping crease.
  31. A discrete group of vines in a vineyard, often distinguished from others by variety, clone, canopy training method, irrigation infrastructure, or some combination thereof.
verb
  1. To fill (something) so that it is not possible to pass.
  2. To prevent (something or someone) from passing.
  3. To prevent (something from happening or someone from doing something).
  4. To impede an opponent.
  5. To specify the positions and movements of the actors.
  6. To hit with a block.
  7. To play a block shot.
  8. To disable communication via telephone, instant messaging, etc., with an undesirable someone.
  9. To wait.
  10. To stretch or mould (a knitted item, a hat, etc.) into the desired shape.
  11. To shape or sketch out roughly.

blocs

noun
  1. A group of voters or politicians who share common goals.
  2. A group of countries acting together for political or economic goals, an alliance: e.g., the eastern bloc, the western bloc, a trading bloc, the Eurozone, the European Union.

bobs

noun
  1. A bobbing motion; a quick up and down movement.
  2. A curtsy.
  3. A bobber (buoyant fishing device).
  4. Any of various hesperiid butterflies.
verb
  1. To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water, or similar medium.
  2. To move (something) as though it were bobbing in water.
  3. To curtsy.
  4. To strike with a quick, light blow; to tap.
noun
  1. A bob haircut.
  2. Any round object attached loosely to a flexible line, a rod, a body part etc., so that it may swing when hanging from it
  3. The dangling mass of a pendulum or plumb line.
  4. The docked tail of a horse.
  5. A short line ending a stanza of a poem.
  6. The short runner of a sled.
  7. A bobsleigh.
  8. A small wheel, made of leather, with rounded edges, used in polishing spoons, etc.
  9. A working beam in a steam engine.
  10. A particular style of ringing changes on bells.
  11. A blow; a shake or jog; a rap, as with the fist.
  12. A knot or short curl of hair; also, a bob wig.
  13. The refrain of a song.
  14. A jeer; a sharp jest or taunt.
verb
  1. To cut (hair) into a bob haircut.
  2. To shorten by cutting; to dock; to crop
  3. To bobsleigh.
noun
  1. A graphical element, resembling a hardware sprite, that can be blitted around the screen in large numbers.
noun
  1. A dish made of small pieces of meat, with or without vegetables, which are skewered on a wooden or metal stick and roasted in an oven or over an open fire.
  2. A crystal structure consisting of a central spine (the shish) and disks or lumps growing out from it (the kebab).

bock

noun
  1. A strong dark beer brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for spring consumption.

bocks

noun
  1. A strong dark beer brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for spring consumption.

boho

noun
  1. A bohemian.
  2. A style of female fashion drawing on various bohemian and hippie influences, popular in the mid-first decade of the 21st century.
adjective
  1. Bohemian.

boll

noun
  1. The rounded seed-bearing capsule of a cotton or flax plant.
  2. An old dry measure equal to six bushels.
verb
  1. To form a boll or seed vessel; to go to seed.

bolls

noun
  1. The rounded seed-bearing capsule of a cotton or flax plant.
  2. An old dry measure equal to six bushels.

bolo

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A long, heavy, single-edged machete.
  2. A type of punch; an uppercut.
verb
  1. To attack or despatch with a bolo knife.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A soldier not capable of the minimum standards of marksmanship.
verb
  1. To fail to meet the minimum standards of marksmanship.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A string or leather necktie secured with an ornamental slide.
verb
  1. To dress (somebody) in a bolo.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A request for law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for a suspect.

bolos

noun
  1. A long, heavy, single-edged machete.
  2. A type of punch; an uppercut.
noun
  1. A soldier not capable of the minimum standards of marksmanship.
noun
  1. A string or leather necktie secured with an ornamental slide.
noun
  1. A request for law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for a suspect.

boob

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Idiot, fool.
verb
  1. To behave stupidly; to act like a boob.
  2. To make a mistake
adjective
  1. Idiotic, foolish.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A breast, especially that of an adult or adolescent human female.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A prison; jail.

booboo

noun
  1. A mistake or error.
  2. (by or to young children) A minor injury, such as a cut or a bruise.
  3. (by or to young children) Feces.

booboos

noun
  1. A mistake or error.
  2. (by or to young children) A minor injury, such as a cut or a bruise.
  3. (by or to young children) Feces.

boobs

noun
  1. Idiot, fool.
verb
  1. To behave stupidly; to act like a boob.
  2. To make a mistake
noun
  1. A breast, especially that of an adult or adolescent human female.
noun
  1. A prison; jail.

boohoo

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To cry, weep.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The sailfish.

boohoos

verb
  1. To cry, weep.

book

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
  2. A long work fit for publication, typically prose, such as a novel or textbook, and typically published as such a bound collection of sheets, but now sometimes electronically as an e-book.
  3. A major division of a long work.
  4. A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to record what each person has bet).
  5. A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of small paper items for individual use.
  6. The script of a musical or opera.
  7. (usually in the plural) Records of the accounts of a business.
  8. A book award, a recognition for receiving the highest grade in a class (traditionally an actual book, but recently more likely a letter or certificate acknowledging the achievement).
  9. (whist) Six tricks taken by one side.
  10. Four of a kind
  11. A document, held by the referee, of the incidents happened in the game.
  12. (by extension) A list of all players who have been booked (received a warning) in a game.
  13. The twenty-sixth Lenormand card.
  14. Any source of instruction.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To reserve (something) for future use.
  2. To write down, to register or record in a book or as in a book.
  3. (law enforcement) To record the name and other details of a suspected offender and the offence for later judicial action.
  4. To issue with a caution, usually a yellow card, or a red card if a yellow card has already been issued.
  5. To travel very fast.
  6. To record bets as bookmaker.
  7. (law student slang) To receive the highest grade in a class.
  8. To leave.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. (with person as subject) To cook (something) in an oven.
  2. (with baked thing as subject) To be cooked in an oven.
  3. To be warmed to drying and hardening.
  4. To dry by heat.
  5. To be hot.
  6. To cause to be hot.
  7. To smoke marijuana.
  8. To harden by cold.
  9. To fix (lighting, reflections, etc.) as part of the texture of an object to improve rendering performance.
  10. (with "in" or "into") To incorporate into something greater.

books

noun
  1. A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
  2. A long work fit for publication, typically prose, such as a novel or textbook, and typically published as such a bound collection of sheets, but now sometimes electronically as an e-book.
  3. A major division of a long work.
  4. A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to record what each person has bet).
  5. A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of small paper items for individual use.
  6. The script of a musical or opera.
  7. (usually in the plural) Records of the accounts of a business.
  8. A book award, a recognition for receiving the highest grade in a class (traditionally an actual book, but recently more likely a letter or certificate acknowledging the achievement).
  9. (whist) Six tricks taken by one side.
  10. Four of a kind
  11. A document, held by the referee, of the incidents happened in the game.
  12. (by extension) A list of all players who have been booked (received a warning) in a game.
  13. The twenty-sixth Lenormand card.
  14. Any source of instruction.
verb
  1. To reserve (something) for future use.
  2. To write down, to register or record in a book or as in a book.
  3. (law enforcement) To record the name and other details of a suspected offender and the offence for later judicial action.
  4. To issue with a caution, usually a yellow card, or a red card if a yellow card has already been issued.
  5. To travel very fast.
  6. To record bets as bookmaker.
  7. (law student slang) To receive the highest grade in a class.
  8. To leave.

boos

noun
  1. A derisive shout made to indicate disapproval.
verb
  1. To shout extended boos derisively.
  2. To shout extended boos at, as a form of derision.
noun
  1. A close acquaintance or significant other.

bosh

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Nonsense.
interjection
  1. An expression of disbelief or annoyance.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The lower part of a blast furnace, between the hearth and the stack.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A figure.
interjection
  1. An expression of speedy and satisfactory completion of a simple or straightforward task.

Etymology 4

verb
  1. To consume (illicit drugs).

boss

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A person who oversees and directs the work of others; a supervisor.
  2. A person in charge of a business or company.
  3. A leader, the head of an organized group or team.
  4. The head of a political party in a given region or district.
  5. A term of address to a man.
  6. An enemy, often at the end of a level, that is particularly challenging and must be beaten in order to progress.
  7. Wife.
verb
  1. To exercise authoritative control over; to tell (someone) what to do, often repeatedly.
adjective
  1. Of excellent quality, first-rate.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A swelling, lump or protuberance in an animal, person or object.
  2. A lump-like mass of rock, especially one projecting through a stratum of different rock.
  3. A convex protuberance in hammered work, especially the rounded projection in the centre of a shield.
  4. A protrusion, frequently a cylinder of material that extends beyond a hole.
  5. A knob or projection, usually at the intersection of ribs in a vault.
  6. A target block, made of foam but historically made of hay bales, to which a target face is attached.
  7. A wooden vessel for the mortar used in tiling or masonry, hung by a hook from the laths, or from the rounds of a ladder.
  8. A head or reservoir of water.
verb
  1. To decorate with bosses; to emboss.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A hassock or small seat, especially made from a bundle of straw.

cobs

noun
  1. A male swan.
  2. A corncob.
  3. A round, often crusty roll or loaf of bread.
  4. A building material consisting of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth, similar to adobe; also called cobb, rammed earth or pisé.
  5. A horse having a stout body and short legs.
  6. A gull, especially the black-backed gull (Larus marinus); also spelled cobb.
  7. Any of the gold and silver coins that were minted in the Spanish Empire and valued in reales or escudos, such as the piece of eight—especially those which were crudely struck and irregularly shaped.
  8. A Spanish coin formerly current in Ireland, worth about four shillings and sixpence.
  9. One who is eminent, great, large, or rich.
  10. A spider.
  11. A small fish, the miller's thumb.
  12. A large fish, especially the kabeljou (variant spelling of kob).
  13. The head of a herring.
  14. The top or head of anything.
  15. A lump or piece of anything, usually of a somewhat large size, as of coal, or stone.
  16. A punishment consisting of blows inflicted on the buttocks with a strap or a flat piece of wood.
  17. A cylinder with pins in it, encoding music to be played back mechanically by a barrel organ.
  18. A person of mixed black and white ancestry, especially a griffe; a mulatto.
verb
  1. To construct using mud blocks or to seal a wall using mud or an artificial equivalent.
  2. Of growing corn, to have the heads mature into corncobs.
verb
  1. To beat with a flat instrument; to paddle.
  2. (Northern UK, possibly colloquial) To throw, chuck, lob.
  3. To chip off unwanted pieces of stone, so as to form a desired shape or improve the quality of mineral ore.
noun
  1. The nut of the common hazel (Corylus avellana); hazelnut.
  2. A specific cultivated variety of hazelnut, also known as the Kentish cobnut.
  3. A game played by children with nuts.

cookbook

noun
  1. A book or an encyclopedia of recipes and cookery tips.
  2. (by extension) Any book of strategies.

cookbooks

noun
  1. A book or an encyclopedia of recipes and cookery tips.
  2. (by extension) Any book of strategies.

hobo

noun
  1. A wandering homeless person, especially one illegally travelling by rail or a penniless, unemployed bum.
  2. Any migratory laborer, whether homeless or not.
  3. A kind of large handbag.
verb
  1. (perhaps pejorative) To be a hobo, tramp, bum etc.

hobos

noun
  1. A wandering homeless person, especially one illegally travelling by rail or a penniless, unemployed bum.
  2. Any migratory laborer, whether homeless or not.
  3. A kind of large handbag.

lobo

noun
  1. A wolf.

lobos

noun
  1. A wolf.

lobs

noun
  1. (ball sports) A pass or stroke which arches high into the air.
noun
  1. A lump.
  2. A country bumpkin; a yokel.
  3. A clumsy person.
  4. The person who comes last in a race.
  5. A lobworm.
noun
  1. A fish, the European pollock.

schoolbook

noun
  1. A textbook, a book used, or prepared for use, in school.

schoolbooks

noun
  1. A textbook, a book used, or prepared for use, in school.

slob

noun
  1. A lazy and slovenly person.
  2. A lazy and obese person.

slobs

noun
  1. A lazy and slovenly person.
  2. A lazy and obese person.

sobs

noun
  1. A cry with a short, sudden expulsion of breath.
  2. Sound of sob
verb
  1. To weep with convulsive gasps.
  2. To say (something) while sobbing.
verb
  1. To soak.

lookbook

noun
  1. A comprehensive directory of fashion-related companies and people, such as fashion designers, industry figures, brands and retail stores.
  2. A printed showcase of still images of a fashion designer or fashion brand’s collection with pages bound along one side.
  3. A showcase of photographs etc. describing how a film should look.
verb
  1. To locate fashion-related information by means of a directory.

lookbooks

noun
  1. A comprehensive directory of fashion-related companies and people, such as fashion designers, industry figures, brands and retail stores.
  2. A printed showcase of still images of a fashion designer or fashion brand’s collection with pages bound along one side.
  3. A showcase of photographs etc. describing how a film should look.