The New York Times Spelling Bee for December 3, 2025 brings a lively mix of consonants and a single essential rule: every word must include the center letter H and be at least four letters long. Today’s hive—U, T, C, A, M, P wrapped around H—creates a puzzle that feels balanced yet slightly tricky, inviting players to dig deep for clever combinations.

About today’s puzzle

With H anchoring the center, the hive leans consonant-heavy, supported by just one strong vowel, A. The mix of letters encourages chunking and experimentation, especially with blends like TH, CH, and PH. Overall, it feels moderately open, offering enough pathways to explore without making the grid overwhelmingly generous.

NYT Spelling Bee Words and Answers: 3 December 2025

Here’s a best-effort list of words that fit today’s rules. Keep in mind: some are rare or unusual, so the official NYT list may vary.

  • chap
  • champ
  • champa
  • chat
  • chatham
  • chump
  • hatch
  • hatcham
  • hatha
  • hump
  • math
  • match
  • matchup
  • patch
  • path
  • phat
  • that

Pangram of the day

MATCHUP stands out as today’s pangram because it uses every available letter in the hive while forming a familiar, energetic word. It combines M, A, T, C, H, U, and P smoothly into a single concept that evokes competition or comparison. Its structure is clean, its meaning recognizable, and it showcases how consonant clusters can work beautifully in the Spelling Bee puzzle.

Quick tactics for any puzzle

  • Start with the center letter
  • Play with prefixes and suffixes
  • Anagram your discoveries
  • Use repeated letters
  • Begin with easy 4-letter words

Final thoughts

Today’s puzzle offered a fun mix of direct hits and tricky finds. If you uncovered MATCHUP or discovered a new favorite word, share how many you found—did you spot the big one early or save it for last?