Spelling Bee Answers for Friday, February 28, 2025

Feb 28, 2025, Friday Spelling Bee Answers for the N, C, K, I, D, E, P honeycomb (center letter P) feature 49 words, a 231-point total, 1 Pangram (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 12-letter longest word: INDEPENDENCE.

Spelling Bee hive for February 28, 2025 with center letter P and surrounding letters N,C,K,I,D and E

Get Daily Answers by Email

We send the complete answer list to your inbox as soon as each puzzle is published. No spam, ever.

Friday, February 28, 2025 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.

Difficulty

7/10

Hard

74th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.67

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

74/100

Rare

Rarer than 74% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

47 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

8

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: C

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

22

words to Genius
1×12L2×10L1×9L3×8L2×7L13×6L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 162 pts
22 words1×12L2×10L1×9L3×8L2×7L11×6L2×5L

Vowel Split

42%

Balanced mix

117 vowels · 161 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start12 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up35 PTS
  • 25%Good58 PTS
  • 40%Solid92 PTS
  • 50%Nice116 PTS
  • 60%Great139 PTS
  • 65%Amazing150 PTS
  • 70%Genius162 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee231 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 49 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Friday, February 28, 2025. The answers are organized by word length and point value, along with today's pangram. Prefer a spoiler-free approach? Try the spelling bee hints for today or browse the full list of NYT spelling bee words.

Common openings

P
67%
D
14%
E
6%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2025-02-27
Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

12-Letter Words 1 word

10-Letter Words 2 words

9-Letter Words 1 word

8-Letter Words 3 words

7-Letter Words 2 words

5-Letter Words 5 words

4-Letter Words 18 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

18 words
4L
18
5 words
5L
5
17 words
6L
17
2 words
7L
2
3 words
8L
3
1 word (Pangram)
9L
1
2 words
10L
2
1 word
12L
1

Share of 49 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

P
49 words
100%
E
45 words
92%
D
26 words
53%
I
26 words
53%
N
26 words
53%
C
14 words
29%
K
14 words
29%

Share of 49 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

18 pts
18
4L
25 pts
25
5L
102 pts
102
6L
14 pts
14
7L
24 pts
24
8L
16 pts (Pangram)
16
9L
20 pts
20
10L
12 pts
12
12L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

P
3367%
D
714%
E
36%
I
24%
K
24%
N
24%

Share of 49 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 231 ranks in the 67th percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2025-02-26.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 49 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 66th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2025-02-26.
  • The highest number of answers in any puzzle is 80, on 2026-02-01.
  • The lowest number of answers in any puzzle is 16, on 2023-03-27.
  • This puzzle ranks among the Hard puzzles, based on overall difficulty scoring.
  • Compared to recent puzzles, today’s challenge is harder than average.
  • The letter set in this puzzle is considered Medium, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2025-02-26.
  • The estimated solve time of 40–54 min is slower than typical puzzles.
  • Players can expect a challenging solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:

  • cepe
  • cippi
  • endpiece
  • epicede
  • epinine
  • eppie
  • icepick
  • kipe
  • kipped
  • kippeen
  • kippen
  • kippin
  • kneepiece
  • neckpiece
  • neep
  • ninepence
  • pedee
  • peened
  • pein
  • peine
  • peined
  • pekin
  • peneid
  • penk
  • penni
  • pennied
  • pennine
  • peppin
  • pice
  • picein
  • picene
  • pici
  • picine
  • pickee
  • picknick
  • piecen
  • piend
  • piked
  • piki
  • pincpinc
  • pind
  • pinene
  • pinic
  • pinkeen
  • pinken
  • pinkened
  • pipi
  • pipid
  • pipkin
  • pipped
  • pippen

*Every word here uses only the hive's seven letters, includes the center letter, and appears in our dictionary, but it was never published in the NYT's official answer list.

Join the Spelling Bee Community

Get solving strategies, rare word lists, and puzzle tips in your inbox every week.