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NYT Spelling Bee · Daily puzzle archive

Spelling Bee answers · Thursday, December 18, 2025

Longest word
lifeline
8 letters
Top scorer
unbelief
15 points
Starting letters
7 of 7
every letter starts a word
Average length
5.2
letters per word

Words by length

Spoiler-safe. Use it to see where the long ones hide.

4 letters
14
5 letters
8
6 letters
6
7 letters
4
8 letters
2

The hints grid

How many words of each length start with each letter — the classic Bee cheat sheet.

4
5
6
7
8
Σ
B
4
3
1
2
10
E
2
2
F
5
1
1
7
I
1
1
2
L
4
2
1
1
8
N
1
3
4
U
1
1
Σ
14
8
6
4
2
34

Two-letter pairs

The first two letters of every answer, and how many words start with each pair.

B
be 3bi 4bl 3
E
el 1en 1
F
fe 1fi 5fu 1
I
in 2
L
li 8
N
ni 2nu 2
U
un 1

All 34 answers

148 points total · tap a word for its definition · pangram gets a ★
beeline7
belie5
belief6
bible5
biff1
bile1
bill1
blin1
blini5
bluefinpangram14
elfin5
ennui5
feline6
fief1
fife1
file1
fill1
fine1
fulfill7
infill6
innie5
libel5
libelee7
lien1
lieu1
life1
lifeline8
line1
linen5
nibble6
nine1
nubbin6
nubile6
unbeliefpangram15
Blurred so you can’t peek by accident.