Wednesday, December 17, 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: 1

Maximum Puzzle Score: 152

Number of Answers: 37

Points Needed for Genius: 106

Genius requires between 16 and 32 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 77% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 67% of the remaining points to reach genius.

Other days with this pangram:

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 152 was in the 40th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on December 8, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 37 possible answers rank it in the 44th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on December 15, 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 December 16, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.1.
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 225
  • loll 209
  • toot 204
  • naan 186
  • nana 186
  • lilt 149
  • till 149
  • tilt 149
  • nene 145
  • tint 144
  • mama 141
  • mamma 141
  • onion 136
  • onto 136
  • toon 136
  • acacia 134
  • acai 134
  • anal 128
  • anon 127
  • olio 122
  • dodo 120
  • baba 118
  • papa 118
  • tact 118
  • boob 116
  • booboo 116
  • poop 115
  • lull 114
  • lulu 114
  • call 112
  • calla 112
  • cocci 112
  • mitt 112
  • mono 112
  • moon 112
  • ratatat 110
  • tart 110
  • tartar 110
  • tutu 110
  • attar 109
  • loon 109
  • allay 108
  • ally 108
  • tattoo 108
  • ammo 107
  • momma 107
  • tatty 106
  • roar 104
  • epee 103
  • meme 103


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 110,978 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,875 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*:

  • appal
  • atap
  • dipt
  • dupatta
  • lapilli
  • lilliput
  • lipa
  • padi
  • pali
  • palladia
  • pallia
  • pallial
  • palpal
  • palpi
  • paludal
  • pappi
  • papula
  • paua
  • pial
  • pilau
  • pili
  • pipa
  • pipal
  • pitta
  • ptui
  • pudu
  • pula
  • pullup
  • pulpal
  • pulpital
  • pupu
  • putti
  • tittup

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

adapt

verb
  1. To make suitable; to make to correspond; to fit or suit
  2. To fit by alteration; to modify or remodel for a different purpose; to adjust
  3. To make by altering or fitting something else; to produce by change of form or character
  4. To make oneself comfortable to a new thing.
adjective
  1. Adapted; fit; suited; suitable.

appall

verb
  1. To fill with horror; to dismay.
  2. To make pale; to blanch.
  3. To weaken; to reduce in strength
  4. To grow faint; to become weak; to become dismayed or discouraged.
  5. To lose flavour or become stale.

applaud

noun
  1. Applause; applauding.
  2. Plaudit.
verb
  1. To express approval (of something) by clapping the hands.
  2. To praise, or express approval for something or someone.

lipid

noun
  1. Any of a group of organic compounds including the fats, oils, waxes, sterols, and triglycerides. Lipids are characterized by being insoluble in water, and account for most of the fat present in the human body.

paid

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services.
  2. To discharge, as a debt or other obligation, by giving or doing what is due or required.
  3. To be profitable for.
  4. To give (something else than money).
  5. To be profitable or worth the effort.
  6. To discharge an obligation or debt.
  7. To suffer consequences.
  8. To admit that a joke, punchline, etc., was funny.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. That is not free of charge; that costs money.
  2. Rich, wealthy

pail

noun
  1. A vessel of wood, tin, plastic, etc., usually cylindrical and having a handle -- used especially for carrying liquids, for example water or milk; a bucket (sometimes with a cover).
  2. (In technical use) A closed (covered) cylindrical shipping container.

palapa

noun
  1. An open-sided dwelling with a thatched roof made of dried palm leaves.

palatal

noun
  1. A palatal consonant.
adjective
  1. Pertaining to the palate.
  2. Of an upper tooth, on the side facing the palate.
  3. Articulated at the hard palate.

palatial

adjective
  1. Of or relating to a palace.
  2. On a grand scale; with very rich furnishings.

pall

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Senses relating to cloth.
  2. Senses relating to clothing.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To cloak or cover with, or as if with, a pall.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To make vapid or insipid; to make lifeless or spiritless; to dull, to weaken.
  2. To become dull, insipid, tasteless, or vapid; to lose life, spirit, strength, or taste.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A feeling of nausea caused by disgust or overindulgence.

pallid

adjective
  1. Appearing weak, pale or wan.

palp

noun
  1. A pedipalp, an appendage found near the mouth in invertebrates; has a variety of functions but is often primarily used for predating.
noun
  1. A fleshy part of a fingertip.
  2. Short for palpation.
verb
  1. To feel, to explore by touch.
adjective
  1. Palpatory; obtained by palpation.

papa

noun
  1. Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father.
  2. A pet name for one's grandfather.
  3. A parish priest in the Greek Orthodox Church.
  4. The letter P in the ICAO spelling alphabet.

papal

adjective
  1. Having to do with the pope or the papacy.

papilla

noun
  1. A nipple-like anatomical structure.

pill

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.
  2. (definite, i.e. used with "the") Contraceptive medication, usually in the form of a pill to be taken by a woman; an oral contraceptive pill.
  3. A comical or entertaining person.
  4. A contemptible, annoying, or unpleasant person.
  5. A small piece of any substance, for example a ball of fibres formed on the surface of a textile by rubbing.
  6. A baseball.
  7. A bullet (projectile).
  8. A rounded rectangle indicating the tag or category that an item belongs to.
verb
  1. Of a woven fabric surface, to form small matted balls of fiber.
  2. To form into the shape of a pill.
  3. To medicate with pills.
  4. To persuade or convince someone of something.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The peel or skin.
verb
  1. To peel; to remove the outer layer of hair, skin, or bark.
  2. To peel; to make by removing the skin.
  3. To be peeled; to peel off in flakes.
  4. To pillage; to despoil or impoverish.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. An inlet on the coast; a small tidal pool or bay.

pipit

noun
  1. Any of various small passerine birds, mainly from the genus Anthus, that are often drab, ground feeding insectivores of open country.

pita

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A flat bread pouch used for making sandwiches such as gyros or falafels.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A fiber obtained from the Agave americana and related species, used for making cordage and paper.
  2. The plant which yields the fiber.

pitapat

noun
  1. A series of quick tapping sounds
verb
  1. To make a series of quick tapping sounds; to palpitate
adverb
  1. With a quick tapping sound

plaid

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern.
  2. A length of such material used as a piece of clothing, formerly worn in the Scottish Highlands and other parts of northern Britain and remaining as an item of ceremonial dress worn by members of Scottish pipe bands.
  3. The typical chequered pattern of a plaid; tartan.
adjective
  1. Having a pattern or colors which resemble a Scottish tartan; checkered or marked with bars or stripes at right angles to one another.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
  2. To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).
  3. To take part in amorous activity; to make love.
  4. To act as the indicated role, especially in a performance.
  5. (heading) To produce music or theatre.
  6. (heading) To behave in a particular way.
  7. To move in any manner; especially, to move regularly with alternate or reciprocating motion; to operate.
  8. To move to and fro.
  9. To put in action or motion.
  10. To keep in play, as a hooked fish in order to land it.
  11. To manipulate, deceive, or swindle someone.

plait

noun
  1. A flat fold; a doubling, as of cloth; a pleat.
  2. A braid, as of hair or straw; a plat.
verb
  1. To fold; to double in narrow folds; to pleat
  2. To interweave the strands or locks of; to braid

plat

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A plot of land; a lot.
  2. A map showing the boundaries of real properties (delineating one or more plots of land), especially one that forms part of a legal document.
  3. A plot, a scheme.
verb
  1. To create a plat; to lay out property lots and streets; to map.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A braid; a plait (of hair, straw, etc.).
  2. Material produced by braiding or interweaving, especially a material of interwoven straw from which straw hats are made.
verb
  1. (obsolete except regional England) To braid, to plait.

Etymology 3

adjective
  1. (obsolete except Scotland) Flat; level; (by extension) frank, on the level.
adverb
  1. (obsolete except Scotland) Flatly, plainly.

plaudit

noun
  1. (often in the plural) A mark or expression of applause; praise bestowed.

puli

noun
  1. One of a breed of Hungarian sheepdog with a distinctive thick, corded coat.

pull

noun
  1. An act of pulling (applying force)
  2. An attractive force which causes motion towards the source
  3. Any device meant to be pulled, as a lever, knob, handle, or rope
  4. Something in one's favour in a comparison or a contest; an advantage; means of influencing.
  5. Appeal or attraction (e.g. of a movie star)
  6. The situation where a client sends out a request for data from a server, as in server pull, pull technology
  7. A journey made by rowing
  8. A contest; a struggle.
  9. Loss or violence suffered.
  10. The act of drinking; a mouthful or swig of a drink.
  11. A kind of stroke by which a leg ball is sent to the off side, or an off ball to the side.
  12. A mishit shot which travels in a straight line and (for a right-handed player) left of the intended path.
  13. A single impression from a handpress.
verb
  1. To apply a force to (an object) so that it comes toward the person or thing applying the force.
  2. To gather with the hand, or by drawing toward oneself; to pluck.
  3. To attract or net; to pull in.
  4. To persuade (someone) to have sex with one.
  5. To remove (something), especially from public circulation or availability.
  6. To retrieve or generate for use.
  7. To do or perform.
  8. (with 'a' and the name of a person, place, event, etc.) To copy or emulate the actions or behaviour that is associated with the person or thing mentioned.
  9. To toss a frisbee with the intention of launching the disc across the length of a field.
  10. To row.
  11. To achieve by rowing on a rowing machine.
  12. To draw apart; to tear; to rend.
  13. To strain (a muscle, tendon, ligament, etc.).
  14. To draw (a hostile non-player character) into combat, or toward or away from some location or target.
  15. To score a certain number of points in a sport.
  16. To hold back, and so prevent from winning.
  17. To take or make (a proof or impression); so called because hand presses were worked by pulling a lever.
  18. To strike the ball in a particular manner. (See noun sense.)
  19. To draw beer from a pump, keg, or other source.
  20. (rail transportation, of a railroad car) To pull out from a yard or station; to leave.
  21. To pluck or pick (flowers, fruit etc.).
interjection
  1. Command used by a target shooter to request that the target be released/launched.

pulp

noun
  1. A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
  2. A magazine or book containing lurid subject matter and characteristically printed on rough, unfinished paper.
verb
  1. To make or be made into pulp.
  2. To beat to a pulp.
  3. To deprive of pulp; to separate the pulp from.
adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to pulp magazines; in the style of a pulp magazine or the material printed within such a publication.

pulpit

noun
  1. A raised platform in a church, usually enclosed, where the minister or preacher stands when giving the sermon.
  2. Activity performed from a church pulpit, in other words, preaching, sermons, religious teaching, the preaching profession, preachers collectively or an individual preaching position; by extension: bully pulpit.
  3. A raised desk, lectern, or platform for an orator or public speaker.
  4. The railing at the bow of a boat, which sometimes extends past the deck. It is sometimes referred to as bow pulpit. The railing at the stern of the boat is sometimes referred to as a stern pulpit; other texts use the term pushpit.
  5. A bow platform for harpooning.
  6. A plane's cockpit.

pupa

noun
  1. An insect in the development stage between larva and adult.

pupal

No Definition Found.

pupil

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A learner under the supervision of a teacher or professor.
  2. An orphan who is a minor and under the protection of the state.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The hole in the middle of the iris of the eye, through which light passes to be focused on the retina.
  2. The central dark part of an ocellated spot.

putt

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The act of tapping a golf ball lightly on a putting green.
verb
  1. To lightly strike a golf ball with a putter.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A regular sound characterized by the sound of "putt putt putt putt...", such as made by some slowly stroking internal combustion engines.
  2. A motorcycle.
verb
  1. To make a putting sound.
  2. To ride one's motorcycle, to go for a motorcycle ride.
  3. To move along slowly.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To place something somewhere.
  2. To bring or set into a certain relation, state or condition.
  3. To exercise a put option.
  4. To express something in a certain manner.
  5. To throw a heavy iron ball, as a sport. (See shot put. Do not confuse with putt.)
  6. To steer; to direct one's course; to go.
  7. To play a card or a hand in the game called put.
  8. To attach or attribute; to assign.
  9. To lay down; to give up; to surrender.
  10. To set before one for judgment, acceptance, or rejection; to bring to the attention.
  11. To incite; to entice; to urge; to constrain; to oblige.
  12. To convey coal in the mine, as for example from the working to the tramway.

tapa

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A kind of cloth prepared by the Polynesians from the inner bark of the paper mulberry.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Any appetizer or snack served in the evening as part of tapas.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Seasoned slices of dried or cured meat in Filipino cuisine.

tilapia

noun
  1. Any of various edible fish, of the genus Tilapia, native to Africa and the Middle East but naturalized worldwide.

tipi

noun
  1. Alternative form of teepee

tulip

noun
  1. A type of flowering plant, genus Tulipa.
  2. The flower of this plant.

uplit

No Definition Found.

uptilt

No Definition Found.