August 16, 2025, Saturday

Spelling Bee Answers for Saturday, August 16, 2025

Aug 16, 2025, Saturday Spelling Bee Answers for the A, N, G, C, I, U, R honeycomb (center letter R) feature 71 words, a 388-point total, 2 Pangrams (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 10-letter longest word: ARRAIGNING, INGRAINING.

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Spelling Bee hive for August 16, 2025 with center letter R and surrounding letters A,N,G,C,I and U

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Saturday, August 16, 2025 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

10/10

Very Hard

98th percentile

Avg Word Length

6.03

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

97/100

Very Rare

Rarer than 97% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

78 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

Typical spread

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

words to Genius

2×10L3×9L10×8L13×7L7×6L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 272 pts

35 words2×10L3×9L10×8L13×7L5×6L2×5L

Vowel Split

39%

Balanced mix

167 vowels · 261 consonants

Score Milestones

0%Beginner0 PTS
5%Good Start19 PTS
15%Moving Up58 PTS
25%Good97 PTS
40%Solid155 PTS
50%Nice194 PTS
60%Great233 PTS
65%Amazing252 PTS
70%Genius272 PTS
100%Queen Bee388 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 71 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Saturday, August 16, 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

31%

23%

14%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2025-08-15

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.

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

18 words

12 words

13 words

10 words (Pangram)

3 words

2 words

10L

Share of 71 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

71 words

100%

58 words

82%

58 words

82%

53 words

75%

44 words

62%

25 words

35%

25 words

35%

Share of 71 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

18 pts

60 pts

78 pts

91 pts

94 pts (Pangram)

27 pts

20 pts

10L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

2231%

1623%

1014%

913%

710%

57%

23%

Share of 71 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

Today’s score of 388 ranks in the 99th percentile among all puzzles.
The last time a score this low appeared was on 2025-08-15.
The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
With 71 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 99th percentile overall.
The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2025-08-15.
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 Very 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 2025-08-15.
The estimated solve time of 66–90 min is slower than typical puzzles.
Players can expect a grind-heavy solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

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

aaru
acara
acari
acarian
accra
acinar
acrania
agaric
agaricic
agaricin
agaricinic
agra
agria
agric
agrin
airan
airn
angara
angaria
anuran
anuria
anuric
araca
aracanga
aracari
arain
aranga
arara
araracanga
ararauna
araru
arauan
araucanian
araucaria
araucarian
arca
argan
arian
ariana
aricin
arna
arni
arrau
aruac
aurar
auric
auriga
aurignacian
aurin
aurung
caiarara
cair
canarian
cara
caracara
caragana
carangin
caranna
carauna
carga
carian
carina
carinaria
cariri
carn
carnac
carnic
carr
carrara
carri
circ
circar
craig
crain
cran
crang
cranic
cric
crin
crucian
crura
cura
curara
curari
curia
curiara
curn
curr
curran
curring
gair
gara
garancin
garcinia
garg
garn
garran
garring
garua
gaur
gaura
gaurian
girn
girning
gnar
gnarr
gnarring
grana
grig
grigri
grugru
guara
guarana
guarani
guarri
gunrunning
gurging
gurian
gurr
icaria
icarian
igara
inaugur
incarn
incr
inrun
inrunning
iran
irani
iranian
iranic
irgun
irian
iring
nagara
nagari
nair
naira
naric
narica
naringin
narr
narra
naucrar
naur
niagara
niagaran
niagra
nicaragua
nicaraguan
nuggar
nunnari
ragi
raia
rana
ranarian
rann
rauraci
raurici
ricinic
ricrac
riga
rinning
ruana
ruga
rugging
runrig
ruru
ugrian
ugric
uigur
uigurian
uiguric
uirina
unagrarian
unarguing
unranging
unring
unringing
unrra
unrun
unrung
uran
urania
uranian
uranic
uranin
urari
urian
urna
urning
urucu
urucuri

*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.