Spelling Bee Answers for Thursday, October 09, 2025

Oct 09, 2025, Thursday Spelling Bee Answers for the I, L, N, O, P, R, U honeycomb (center letter N) feature 29 words, a 123-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 9-letter longest word: NONILLION.

Spelling Bee hive for October 9, 2025 with center letter N and surrounding letters I,L,O,P,R and U

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Thursday, October 9, 2025 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

1/10

Easy

6th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.24

Short words

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

5/100

Common

Rarer than 5% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

20 minutes

Quicker than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

15

Typical spread

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

12

words to Genius
1×9L1×8L4×7L4×6L2×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 86 pts
12 words1×9L1×8L4×7L4×6L2×5L

Vowel Split

45%

Balanced mix

68 vowels · 84 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start6 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up18 PTS
  • 25%Good31 PTS
  • 40%Solid49 PTS
  • 50%Nice62 PTS
  • 60%Great74 PTS
  • 65%Amazing80 PTS
  • 70%Genius86 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee123 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 29 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Thursday, October 9, 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
34%
N
24%
U
14%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2025-10-08
Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.
Other days with this pangram

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

9-Letter Words 1 word

8-Letter Words 1 word

7-Letter Words 4 words

6-Letter Words 4 words

5-Letter Words 7 words

4-Letter Words 12 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

12 words
4L
12
7 words
5L
7
4 words
6L
4
4 words (Pangram)
7L
4
1 word
8L
1
1 word
9L
1

Share of 29 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

N
29 words
100%
O
23 words
79%
I
20 words
69%
P
13 words
45%
U
12 words
41%
R
11 words
38%
L
9 words
31%

Share of 29 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

12 pts
12
4L
35 pts
35
5L
24 pts
24
6L
35 pts (Pangram)
35
7L
8 pts
8
8L
9 pts
9
9L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

P
1034%
N
724%
U
414%
L
310%
I
27%
O
27%
R
13%

Share of 29 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 123 ranks in the 15th percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2025-09-29.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 29 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 14th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2025-09-18.
  • 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 Easy puzzles, based on overall difficulty scoring.
  • Compared to recent puzzles, today’s challenge is easier than usual.
  • The letter set in this puzzle is considered Low, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2025-10-07.
  • The estimated solve time of 17–23 min is faster than typical puzzles.
  • Players can expect a steady solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

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

  • ilion
  • inion
  • inpour
  • inro
  • inroll
  • inrun
  • inulin
  • ioni
  • linin
  • linn
  • lino
  • linon
  • linuron
  • lipin
  • lorn
  • loun
  • lunn
  • lupin
  • lupinin
  • lupulin
  • nill
  • ninon
  • nippon
  • noil
  • noll
  • nolo
  • nonion
  • noniron
  • nonpoor
  • nonrun
  • noop
  • norn
  • nullo
  • nurl
  • orillion
  • orillon
  • orion
  • orlon
  • orpin
  • ourn
  • pilin
  • pilon
  • pino
  • pinon
  • pion
  • pirn
  • poon
  • populin
  • porion
  • prillion
  • prin
  • pron
  • prounion
  • puno
  • purlin
  • purpurin
  • rippon
  • roin
  • ronin
  • ronion
  • roon
  • roun
  • rullion
  • runnion
  • unio
  • unloop
  • unoil
  • unorn
  • unpinion
  • unprop
  • unrip
  • unrun
  • uprun

*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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