Spelling Bee Answers for Sunday, May 04, 2025

May 04, 2025, Sunday Spelling Bee Answers for the O, C, T, E, D, H, U honeycomb (center letter O) feature 50 words, a 206-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 8-letter longest word: DECOCTED.

Spelling Bee hive for May 4, 2025 with center letter O and surrounding letters C,T,E,D,H and U

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Sunday, May 4, 2025 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

8/10

Hard

76th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.12

Short words

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

79/100

Very Rare

Rarer than 79% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

48 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

10

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: U

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

23

words to Genius
1×8L5×7L12×6L5×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 144 pts
23 words1×8L5×7L9×6L8×5L

Vowel Split

46%

Vowel-heavy puzzle

119 vowels · 137 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start10 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up31 PTS
  • 25%Good52 PTS
  • 40%Solid82 PTS
  • 50%Nice103 PTS
  • 60%Great124 PTS
  • 65%Amazing134 PTS
  • 70%Genius144 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee206 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 50 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Sunday, May 4, 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

D
26%
T
26%
C
22%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2025-05-03
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.

8-Letter Words 1 word

7-Letter Words 5 words

6-Letter Words 12 words

5-Letter Words 13 words

4-Letter Words 19 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

19 words
4L
19
13 words
5L
13
12 words
6L
12
5 words (Pangram)
7L
5
1 word
8L
1

Share of 50 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

O
50 words
100%
D
32 words
64%
E
32 words
64%
T
29 words
58%
C
26 words
52%
H
24 words
48%
U
15 words
30%

Share of 50 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

19 pts
19
4L
65 pts
65
5L
72 pts
72
6L
42 pts (Pangram)
42
7L
8 pts
8
8L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

D
1326%
T
1326%
C
1122%
H
714%
O
48%
E
24%

Share of 50 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 206 ranks in the 55th percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2025-05-02.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 50 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 69th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2025-05-02.
  • 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 Low, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2025-05-03.
  • The estimated solve time of 41–55 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*:

  • chocho
  • choco
  • choochoo
  • chott
  • chou
  • chout
  • cocco
  • coco
  • cocodette
  • cocotte
  • codded
  • codec
  • codette
  • codo
  • cooch
  • coocoo
  • cooee
  • cooeed
  • coohee
  • cootch
  • cooth
  • cotch
  • coted
  • cothe
  • coto
  • cott
  • cotted
  • couchee
  • couchette
  • coud
  • coudee
  • coutet
  • cuttoe
  • dedo
  • dodd
  • dodded
  • doocot
  • doto
  • douc
  • douce
  • doucet
  • dout
  • duco
  • duetto
  • ecod
  • eddo
  • hocco
  • hohe
  • hoodooed
  • hootch
  • hotch
  • hotched
  • hote
  • hotted
  • hout
  • houtou
  • ocote
  • octette
  • octode
  • ohed
  • oohed
  • otto
  • ouched
  • outcut
  • outecho
  • outechoed
  • outhut
  • teco
  • theo
  • thoo
  • thoued
  • toco
  • todd
  • tode
  • toetoe
  • toho
  • toto
  • totted
  • tucotuco

*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.

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