NYT Spelling Bee answers today (Sept 23, 2025)

NYT Spelling Bee answers today (Tuesday, September 23, 2025) — If you’re chasing Genius or aiming for Queen Bee, this is your clean, fast, fully verified rundown for the day’s hive. For the evergreen strategy, bookmark our NYT Spelling Bee guide — rules, tips, and daily answers.

Today’s hive at a glance

• Center letter: T
• Outer letters: A, B, C, E, I, K
• Pangrams: BACKBITE; TIEBACK (perfect pangram)
• Maximum score: 158
• Genius threshold: 111

Gameplay basics and scoring are summarized in this Spelling Bee game overview, with the daily puzzle going live at 3 a.m. ET.

Read this before spoilers

To keep your streak intact without blowing the whole grid, warm up with structure instead of guesses. Rotate consonant–vowel stems through the center letter T:

• TA–: tack, tact, take → scale up to tactic, teacake
• TI–: tick, tiki → extend to ticket
• BA– / BE– / BI–: bait, beat, beta, bite → build toward backbite
• CA– / CE– / CI–: cite → expand to acetate, acetic, ciabatta

There’s never an S in the Spelling Bee word list; repeating letters are allowed. A pangram uses all seven letters; a perfect pangram uses each letter once — today that’s TIEBACK. If you enjoy category logic, try NYT Connections next.

Scoring refresher

Four-letter words score 1 point. Five letters or more score by length (5 for five letters, 6 for six, and so on). Each pangram adds a 7-point bonus to its length. These mechanics are standard across NYT Games; see the official overview.

Hints that don’t give away everything

• Word count by length: a compact grid with a deep midsection; two long builds come from bakery/cooking territory and a reversible “back–” construction.
• Category nudge: anatomy and cooking both make cameos; so do everyday verbs you’ve typed a thousand times.
• Letter-pair goldmines: TA-, TE-, TI-. For seven or eight letters, think “back + bite” and “tie + back.”

Spoilers: the complete word list

Open only if you’re ready to see every valid entry for today’s puzzle. (Key stats cross-checked with an independent tracker.)

Strategy notes for fast progress

1. Mine the “back–” seam. Once you spot backbite, reverse it to find tieback, then test more back- frames.
2. Use kitchens and labs. Culinary and chemistry give plural-free, Bee-friendly forms: teacake, ciabatta, acetate, acetic.
3. Promote short stems. Lock 4-letter anchors (tack, tact, take) and elevate them: tactic, then teacake.
4. Track vowels. With A, E, I in play, iterate t–a–, t–e–, t–i– across B/C/K to surface overlooked combos.

Pattern hunters usually love Strands for theme spotting.

How to hit Genius and Queen Bee

Genius typically arrives once you clear most sixes and sevens and nail the pangrams. With a 158-point ceiling, reach 111 efficiently by prioritizing TA-/TE- ladders, collecting high-yield builds like tactic and teacake, and banking both pangrams. For Queen Bee, audit each starting letter: do you have at least one word beginning with every letter in the hive? Today’s bingo is doable, thanks to generous A/E/I coverage and the “back–” seam.

Common pitfalls

• Phantom plurals: The Bee avoids easy pluralization. Don’t chase an S.
• Dictionary mismatch: If a word looks fine but won’t register, it’s likely outside the game’s list. Move on and revisit later.
• Letter blindness: Because T is mandatory, “hear” it in every candidate before you try it.

If you’re stuck, switch gears and clear your head with a quick Wordle.

Mini-FAQ

What counts as a pangram? Any word that uses all seven letters at least once. A perfect pangram uses each letter exactly once — today that’s TIEBACK. See the concise pangram definition.

When does the puzzle reset? A new hive drops daily at 3 a.m. ET (midnight PT), per the game overview.

Today’s quick dashboard

• Letters: T (center); A, B, C, E, I, K (outer)
• Pangrams: BACKBITE; TIEBACK (perfect)
• Max score: 158
• Genius: 111
• Total answers: 37

Recent solutions: Sep 13 · Sep 10