Every day, the New York Times Spelling Bee presents solvers with a new challenge: form as many words as possible from seven given letters. One letter (the center) must be included in every word, and the ultimate goal is to find the pangram — a word that uses all seven letters at least once.

For August 29, 2025, the hive had K in the center, surrounded by O, C, U, N, E, and D. At first, the puzzle felt constrained because of the “K,” but once I leaned into it, the words started to flow — and eventually, the pangram UNCOOKED revealed itself.

How I Solved Today’s Puzzle

When I first saw the letters, my approach followed these steps:

1. Start with short words – I began with three-letter basics: ken, den, con, nod, doc. These easy wins help build momentum.

2. Use K creatively – Since K was mandatory, I tested common clusters like “ko,” “ke,” and “ku.” This opened up knee, keen, coke, and duck.

3. Grow with suffixes and prefixes – Adding endings like -ed and -en extended the list to dunked, necked, and conned.

4. Search for the pangram – The real breakthrough came by trying to fit all letters into one word. After some shuffling, UNCOOKED clicked into place, giving the perfect pangram for today’s puzzle.

Today’s Pangram

UNCOOKED

The word uncooked means raw or not prepared by heating. It’s the ideal pangram for this grid because it neatly uses all seven letters. Discovering it felt like the ultimate reward after working through smaller words.

Word List for August 29, 2025

Here’s the main set of words I found in today’s puzzle (all include K):

4-LETTER WORDS:

• coke
• deck
• duck
• knee
• keen
• done
• nude
• code

• knock

• dunce

• ounce

• donut

• choke

• kneed

• deked

• duked

• kendo

• nuked

• dunked
• decked
• conned
• necked
• cooked
• cocked
• conked
• cuckoo
• docked
• ducked
• keened
• nocked
• undock

• knocked

• uncooked (pangram)
• uncocked
• undocked
• cuckooed

This may not be the exhaustive Bee list, but it covers the major playable options.

Strategies That Helped

• Anchor on K: Because K was the fixed letter, I built around it rather than treating it as an obstacle. Words like keen and knock opened doors.

• Think raw → cooked → uncooked: Real-world associations guided me to test uncooked, which turned out to be the pangram.

• Shuffle letters often: Using a physical or digital shuffle helped spark connections I might have otherwise missed.

Reflections on Today’s Puzzle

This puzzle was a balance between quick rewards and deeper challenges. The short words made for steady progress, but the longer finds like knocked and uncooked demanded persistence. The presence of “knee” and “keen” gave useful footholds, while the pangram brought everything together in a satisfying close.

The Spelling Bee continues to prove that even with a seemingly tricky letter like K, the hive can be cracked with patience and pattern recognition.

Puzzle Reflections

The NYT Spelling Bee for August 29, 2025 rewarded solvers with the pangram uncooked, a neat and meaningful word that made the puzzle worth the effort. From short entries like ken to bigger ones like knocked, the solving journey was both enjoyable and rewarding.

If you love hunting for pangrams daily, try the Spelling Better app, which lets you:

• Play real-time 1 vs 1 duels with friends.

• Compete in group quizzes.

• Practice with daily pangrams, flashcards, and word games.

Until tomorrow’s puzzle, happy spelling — and celebrate today’s star word: UNCOOKED.