Get the complete lowdown on the NYT Spelling Bee for August 7, 2025—including all the words, pangrams, total score, and a fun-as-heck breakdown of what made this puzzle pop. Spoiler: It was full of knockouts and gnocchi.
Welcome to the Hive, Friends 🐝✨
August 7’s Spelling Bee puzzle was one of those sneaky lil’ beasts. At first glance, you’re like “eh, cool,” and then boom—you’re down a rabbit hole of words that sound like sound effects. Think knocking, honking, and oinking (seriously, is this puzzle set in a cartoon zoo??).
The center letter was “O”, which means if your word didn’t have that sweet, round vowel, you were outta luck. The rest of the letters in the hive? C, G, H, I, K, N—basically, a scrabble player’s dream and a phoneticist’s playground.
Also check puzzle answers of
🧠 Puzzle Stats at a Glance
| Stat | Value |
| Total Words | 52 |
| Pangrams | 3 (triple whammy!) |
| Max Score Possible | 266 |
| Genius Score | 186 |
| 4-letter words min | Yes (standard rule) |
Pangrams (a.k.a. the Wordy GOATs)
A pangram is when you use all 7 letters, and each one gets you a big ol’ bonus. Today’s puzzle gave us not one, not two, but THREE juicy pangrams. 💣💥
- cocooning – Peak cozy vibes. Feels like a weekend in bed wrapped in a blanket burrito.
- knocking – Someone’s at the door. Hopefully it’s your Genius status.
- chocking – Honestly sounds weird out loud, but totally legit and kind of metal.
If you nabbed all three, congrats—you’re officially the Queen Bee. 👑🐝
🗂️ The Full Word List (A-Z, Baby)
Let’s break this down by word length, because organization is hot.
9-Letter Words
- cocooning
8-Letter Words
- knocking
- chocking
7-Letter Words
- choking
- hocking
- chignon
- cocking
- coining
- conking
- conning
- cooking
- gnocchi
- gonging
- hogging
- honking
- hooking
- nocking
- oinking
- ongoing
Yup, a lot of ‑ing endings. You’d think it was a gerund convention in here.
6-Letter Words
- cocoon
- cooing
- ginkgo
- honcho
- honing
- iconic
- noggin
“Honcho” is such a power word. Use it in a sentence today. Do it.
5-Letter Words
- chino
- chock
- cocci
- conch
- conic
- going
- hooch
- ionic
- knock
- onion
If you didn’t at least grab “onion,” we’re giving you side-eye 👀 (jk, you’re valid).
4-Letter Words
- cock
- coho
- coin
- conk
- cook
- gong
- goon
- hock
- honk
- hook
- icon
- kook
- nock
- nook
- noon
- oink
Just imagine the NYT intern who had to verify “kook” and “goon” were Bee-safe. Legendary.
🎯 Strategy Tips (for Future You)
Wanna flex next time? Here’s how to level up your Spelling Bee game:
- Start with the center letter – Today it was “O,” so anything without it? Delete.
- Scan for “‑ing” endings – They’re practically freebies.
- Pangram potential? Think funky combos like “gnocchi” or “chignon.” Double letters can be gold.
- Visual word shapes – No cap, staring at the hive sometimes reveals patterns.
- Don’t sleep on 4-letter words – They don’t score big, but they pile up fast.
Vibe Check on Today’s Puzzle
Today’s Bee felt like it had a very linguist-in-the-woods aesthetic. Everything was either cooking, knocking, or… choking? It had an oddly visceral feel. Lots of double letters, aggressive consonants, and just enough elegance sprinkled in with iconic, chignon, and honcho.
If you hit Genius today, flex a little. You earned it. And if you didn’t? That’s cool too—there’s always tomorrow. And Wordle’s probably treating you nicer anyway 😭
TL;DR
- 3 Pangrams: cocooning, knocking, chocking
- 52 Total Words
- 266 Max Score
- 186 Points to Hit Genius
- Center Letter: O
- Puzzle Vibe: Bold, bouncy, and weirdly barnyard-core 🐓🔔
