Spelling Bee Answers for Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Dec 17, 2025, Wednesday Spelling Bee Answers for the U, A, T, I, D, L, P honeycomb (center letter P) feature 37 words, a 152-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 8-letter longest word: PALATIAL.

Spelling Bee hive for December 17, 2025 with center letter P and surrounding letters U,A,T,I,D and L

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Wednesday, December 17, 2025 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

4/10

Medium

44th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.14

Short words

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

55/100

Rare

Rarer than 55% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

31 minutes

Quicker than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

11

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: I, D

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

16

words to Genius
1×8L6×7L5×6L4×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 106 pts
16 words1×8L6×7L4×6L5×5L

Vowel Split

41%

Balanced mix

77 vowels · 113 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start8 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up23 PTS
  • 25%Good38 PTS
  • 40%Solid61 PTS
  • 50%Nice76 PTS
  • 60%Great91 PTS
  • 65%Amazing99 PTS
  • 70%Genius106 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee152 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 37 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Wednesday, December 17, 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
73%
T
11%
A
8%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2025-12-16
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 6 words

6-Letter Words 5 words

5-Letter Words 10 words

4-Letter Words 15 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

15 words
4L
15
10 words
5L
10
5 words
6L
5
6 words (Pangram)
7L
6
1 word
8L
1

Share of 37 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

P
37 words
100%
L
27 words
73%
A
24 words
65%
I
21 words
57%
T
17 words
46%
U
13 words
35%
D
7 words
19%

Share of 37 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

15 pts
15
4L
50 pts
50
5L
30 pts
30
6L
49 pts (Pangram)
49
7L
8 pts
8
8L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

P
2773%
T
411%
A
38%
U
25%
L
13%

Share of 37 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 152 ranks in the 28th percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2025-12-08.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 37 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 34th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2025-12-15.
  • 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 Medium 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 2025-12-13.
  • The estimated solve time of 26–36 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*:

  • adapa
  • adapid
  • alap
  • alapa
  • apaid
  • apalit
  • apitpat
  • appal
  • appd
  • appl
  • appt
  • apptd
  • appui
  • atap
  • atip
  • dadap
  • dialup
  • dipala
  • dipt
  • dupatta
  • dupla
  • illupi
  • ipil
  • lapilli
  • lapp
  • lappa
  • laputa
  • lilliput
  • lipa
  • lupid
  • padi
  • pala
  • palapalai
  • palatua
  • palau
  • pali
  • palila
  • palilalia
  • palilia
  • palla
  • palladia
  • pallia
  • pallial
  • pallu
  • palpal
  • palpi
  • palta
  • paludal
  • paludial
  • paluli
  • pappi
  • papua
  • papula
  • pata
  • patia
  • patt
  • patta
  • patu
  • paua
  • paul
  • paula
  • pial
  • pilau
  • pili
  • pilpai
  • pilpul
  • pipa
  • pipal
  • pipi
  • pipid
  • pipil
  • pitpit
  • pitta
  • pituita
  • pituital
  • piupiu
  • plap
  • platt
  • plaud
  • plup
  • pudu
  • pula
  • pulli
  • pullup
  • pulpal
  • pulpital
  • pulu
  • putid
  • putti
  • taipi
  • talipat
  • talpa
  • talpid
  • tapia
  • tappa
  • tappall
  • tappaul
  • tapu
  • tapul
  • tataupa
  • tipiti
  • tipula
  • tipulid
  • tittup
  • tulalip
  • tupaiid
  • tupi
  • upla
  • uplaid
  • uptill
  • upupa

*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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