Every day, the New York Times Spelling Bee challenges players with a new hive of seven letters. The goal is simple but addictive: form as many words as possible, always including the central letter, and discover the elusive pangram that uses every letter at least once.

For September 1, 2025, the center letter was C, surrounded by T, A, E, Y, I, and N. At first, the set seemed fairly balanced, with multiple vowels and some flexible consonants. After working through smaller words and clusters, today’s pangram was revealed: TENACITY.

How I Solved Today’s Puzzle

I started this puzzle as I usually do — with a focus on the basics:

1. Warm up with three-letter words – Words like cat, can, act, ace, icy, and yin came quickly. These may not score highly, but they provide momentum.

2. Find strong clusters – The combinations “ti-,” “na-,” and “cy-” stood out. This unlocked words like nice, cite, acne, and city.

3. Expand to longer builds – Using endings like -ic, -ity, and -cy, I stretched into words like antic, cyanic, and entice.

4. Spot the pangram – After shuffling all the letters multiple times, the word TENACITY emerged. It was the perfect fit — using every single letter in the hive and giving that satisfying “aha!” moment.

Today’s Pangram

TENACITY

The word tenacity means persistence, determination, or grit — the quality of holding on and not giving up. It was especially fitting today, since solving the puzzle required exactly that.

Word List for September 1, 2025

Here are the words I found in today’s puzzle (all containing C):

4-letter words:

• acne
• cite
• cent
• nice
• city
• cane
• etic
• acai
• cant
• cyan
• tact

• antic
• acini
• attic
• cacti
• canna
• canny
• catty
• cynic
• enact
• niece
• tacet
• tacit
• tinct

• entice
• cyanic
• acacia
• accent
• acetic
• cancan
• canine
• entice
• incant
• incite
• intact
• nicety
• tactic
• tannic

• acetate
• ancient
• cantata
• canteen
• cantina
• cayenne
• tenancy
• titanic

• tenacity (pangram)
• cetacean
• tactician

This isn’t necessarily the full official Bee list, but it represents the core playable options.

Strategies That Helped

• Use the center letter – Since C was required, I built around it by testing common “ca-,” “ci-,” and “cy-” starts.

• Add endings – Adding -ic, -ity, -cy, and -ance transformed shorter words into longer ones.

• Shuffle constantly – Rearranging the letters visually was the key to spotting the pangram.

Reflections on the Puzzle

Today’s puzzle rewarded persistence. Shorter words like cat and icy were easy wins, while medium-sized finds like entice and cyanic brought the challenge. The real triumph was discovering tenacity, which tied the puzzle together beautifully.

There was a poetic symmetry too: the word tenacity itself describes the mindset needed to solve the Bee. You need patience, determination, and creativity to find everything the hive has to offer.

Wrapping Up Today’s Hive

The NYT Spelling Bee for September 1, 2025 delivered an enjoyable balance of simple and complex words, crowned by the pangram tenacity. From small starters to the final all-encompassing word, the puzzle was both challenging and rewarding.

If you want to keep sharpening your word skills daily, the Spelling Better app is the perfect practice partner. It lets you:

• Compete in 1 vs 1 duels with friends.

• Play group quizzes to make learning social.

• Build your vocabulary with daily pangrams, flashcards, and word games.

Until tomorrow’s hive, keep spelling, keep solving — and remember to celebrate today’s triumph of tenacity.