NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 25, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, h, i, o, r, t |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 41 words |
| Total Points | 178 points |
| Genius Level | 125 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
Table of Contents
As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!
- Spelling Bee Grid
- Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
- Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
- Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
- Today's Complete Solution
- Answer Definitions
If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).
Spelling Bee Grid
The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.
| 4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>10 | Σ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 2 | 1 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| H | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| I | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| N | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| O | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| R | - | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| T | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 8 | Σ | 15 | 10 | 11 | 3 | - | 1 | 1 | 41 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| B | BI×1 BO×7 |
|---|---|
| H | HI×1 HO×3 |
| I | IN×6 IR×1 |
| N | NI×2 NO×6 |
| O | ON×2 |
| R | RH×1 RI×1 RO×2 |
| T | TH×2 TI×2 TO×3 TR×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| B | BIO×1 BOB×1 BON×3 BOO×1 BOR×2 |
|---|---|
| H | HIN×1 HOB×1 HON×1 HOR×1 |
| I | INB×1 INH×3 INT×2 IRO×1 |
| N | NIN×1 NIT×1 NOI×1 NOO×2 NOR×2 NOT×1 |
| O | ONI×1 ONT×1 |
| R | RHI×1 RIB×1 ROB×1 ROT×1 |
| T | THI×1 THO×1 TIN×2 TOO×1 TOR×2 TRI×1 |
Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)
The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.
Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.
Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| in....... † | IN9 | One who or that which inhibits. |
| bi.... | BI6 | A sulfur-containing member of the vitamin B complex, 5-[(3aS,4S,6aR)-2-oxohexahydro-1H-thieno[3,4-d]imidazol-4-yl]pentanoic acid, found in liver, egg yolk, milk and yeast, essential to the activity of multiple enzyme systems. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A spool or cylinder around which wire is coiled. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy. |
| bo.... | BO6 | Any of various marine fish of the genus Sarda, that are related to and resemble the tuna. |
| bo.... | BO6 | The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A prayer; petition. |
| bo.. | BO4 | past participle of bear; given birth to. |
| bo... | BO5 | The chemical element (symbol B) with an atomic number of 5, which is a metalloid found in its pure form as a dark amorphous powder. |
| hi.. | HI4 | A clue. |
| ho.... | HO6 | A toast made while touching glasses together. |
| ho... | HO5 | recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration |
| ho.. | HO4 | A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired. |
| in.... | IN6 | Innate, possessed by an organism at birth. |
| in..... | IN7 | To hold in or hold back; to keep in check; restrain. |
| in........ | IN10 | The act of inhibiting. |
| in.. | IN4 | To or towards the inside of. |
| in... | IN5 | An introduction. |
| ir.. | IR4 | A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel. |
| ni... | NI5 | The ordinal form of the number nine. |
| ni... | NI5 | the univalent NO2 functional group. |
| no.. | NO4 | Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre |
| no.. | NO4 | A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| no.. | NO4 | A type of seaweed, a red alga, laver (genus Pyropia, including species P. yezoensis and P. tenera). |
| no... | NO5 | One of the four major compass points, specifically 0°, directed toward the North Pole, and conventionally upwards on a map (or even, sometimes used instead of the relative directional term up), abbreviated as N. |
| no.... | NO6 | Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept. |
| on... | ON5 | A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice. |
| on.. | ON4 | Upon; on top of. |
| rh... | RH5 | Money. |
| ri.... | RI6 | A long, narrow strip of material used for decoration of clothing or the hair or gift wrapping. |
| ro... | RO5 | Any of various passerine birds (about 100 species) of the families Muscicapidae, Turdidae and Petroicidae (formerly Eopsaltriidae), typically with a red breast. A European robin, Erithacus rubecula. An American robin, Turdus migratorius. |
| ro.... | RO6 | A type of helix- or corkscrew-shaped pasta similar to fusilli. |
| th.. | TH4 | Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite. |
| th... | TH5 | A sharp protective spine of a plant. |
| ti..... | TI7 | Cheap, inferior; pretentious. |
| ti.. | TI4 | A slight coloring. |
| to.. | TO4 | A cartoon, especially an animated television show. |
| to.. | TO4 | past participle of tear (rip, rend, speed). |
| to..... | TO7 | Any of several sorts of ice-cream flavoured with rum or sherry, often containing chopped cherries and topped with almonds, crumbled macaroons, etc. |
| tr.... | TR6 | the atomic nucleus of a tritium atom, consisting of a proton and two neutrons |
Today's Complete Solution
The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.
Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.
- inhibitor† (IN9)
- biotin (BI6)
- bobbin (BO6)
- bonbon (BO6)
- bonito (BO6)
- bonobo (BO6)
- boon (BO4)
- born (BO4)
- boron (BO5)
- hint (HI4)
- hobnob (HO6)
- honor (HO5)
- horn (HO4)
- inborn (IN6)
- inhibit (IN7)
- inhibition (IN10)
- into (IN4)
- intro (IN5)
- iron (IR4)
- ninth (NI5)
- nitro (NI5)
- noir (NO4)
- noob (NO4)
- noon (NO4)
- nori (NO4)
- north (NO5)
- notion (NO6)
- onion (ON5)
- onto (ON4)
- rhino (RH5)
- ribbon (RI6)
- robin (RO5)
- rotini (RO6)
- thin (TH4)
- thorn (TH5)
- tinhorn (TI7)
- tint (TI4)
- toon (TO4)
- torn (TO4)
- tortoni (TO7)
- triton (TR6)
Answer Definitions
- inhibitor† (noun): One who or that which inhibits.
- biotin (noun): A sulfur-containing member of the vitamin B complex, 5-[(3aS,4S,6aR)-2-oxohexahydro-1H-thieno[3,4-d]imidazol-4-yl]pentanoic acid, found in liver, egg yolk, milk and yeast, essential to the activity of multiple enzyme systems.
- bobbin (noun): A spool or cylinder around which wire is coiled.
- bonbon (noun): A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy.
- bonito (noun): Any of various marine fish of the genus Sarda, that are related to and resemble the tuna.
- bonobo (noun): The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river.
- boon (noun): A prayer; petition.
- born (verb): past participle of bear; given birth to.
- boron (noun): The chemical element (symbol B) with an atomic number of 5, which is a metalloid found in its pure form as a dark amorphous powder.
- hint (noun): A clue.
- hobnob (noun): A toast made while touching glasses together.
- honor (noun): recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration
- horn (noun): A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
- inborn (adjective): Innate, possessed by an organism at birth.
- inhibit (verb): To hold in or hold back; to keep in check; restrain.
- inhibition (noun): The act of inhibiting.
- into (preposition): To or towards the inside of.
- intro (noun): An introduction.
- iron (noun): A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel.
- ninth (adjective): The ordinal form of the number nine.
- nitro (noun): the univalent NO2 functional group.
- noir (adjective): Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre
- noob (noun): A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- nori (noun): A type of seaweed, a red alga, laver (genus Pyropia, including species P. yezoensis and P. tenera).
- north (noun): One of the four major compass points, specifically 0°, directed toward the North Pole, and conventionally upwards on a map (or even, sometimes used instead of the relative directional term up), abbreviated as N.
- notion (noun): Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.
- onion (noun): A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
- onto (preposition): Upon; on top of.
- rhino (noun): Money.
- ribbon (noun): A long, narrow strip of material used for decoration of clothing or the hair or gift wrapping.
- robin (noun): Any of various passerine birds (about 100 species) of the families Muscicapidae, Turdidae and Petroicidae (formerly Eopsaltriidae), typically with a red breast. A European robin, Erithacus rubecula. An American robin, Turdus migratorius.
- rotini (noun): A type of helix- or corkscrew-shaped pasta similar to fusilli.
- thin (adjective): Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.
- thorn (noun): A sharp protective spine of a plant.
- tinhorn (adjective): Cheap, inferior; pretentious.
- tint (noun): A slight coloring.
- toon (noun): A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
- torn (verb): past participle of tear (rip, rend, speed).
- tortoni (noun): Any of several sorts of ice-cream flavoured with rum or sherry, often containing chopped cherries and topped with almonds, crumbled macaroons, etc.
- triton (noun): the atomic nucleus of a tritium atom, consisting of a proton and two neutrons