Most Common NYT Crossword Answers (Ranked)

ERA is the most common answer in the NYT Crossword and Mini puzzles on our site, with 36 appearances. This page ranks every answer by how many times it has been used, counted from 34,652 answers in our clue pages since October 23, 2025 (through October 31, 2026).

Of the 17,848 different answers, 11,866 (66%) have appeared only once and 5,982 have come back at least once. Every answer in the top 100 is four letters or shorter. Short words that mix vowels and common consonants fit into many grids, so they return often. Knowing them gives you crossings for the harder clues around them.

The 100 most common answers

Rank	Answer	Times used	Letters	Recent clues (each clue page keeps its answer hidden)
1	ERA	36	3	1970s feminist cause, for short Time of one's life, in modern slang Life phase, informally
2	ATE	28	3	Filled up on Consumed Performed exceptionally, in slang
3	SET	27	3	Situated Mahjong grouping Band's grouping of songs
4	ONE	26	3	"___ Short Day" ("Wicked" song) Apt letters missing from j_i_ _d Meaning of "mono-"
5	SPA	26	3	Health resort Spring for a fancy hotel? Luxury resort amenity
6	YES	26	3	"I do" "Definitely!" Word of consent
7	ETA	25	3	"when r u coming?" Important info to have while you're waiting in a cellphon... O'Hare posting, for short
8	ERR	24	3	Mess up Blunder Drop the ball
9	ALE	23	3	Brewer's barrelful Pub pint, perhaps Ginger ___
10	ANT	23	3	Tiny "farmer" Myrmecology subject Raid target, at times
11	ELI	23	3	N.F.L. tight end Stowers Hollywood's Roth or Wallach ___ Lilly (Mounjaro maker)
12	ODE	23	3	Keats wrote one to a nightingale Flattering lines? Complimentary lines
13	ALA	22	3	In the way of Per ___ In the manner of
14	ALI	22	3	Tony-winning actress Stroker Subject of the 1996 documentary "When We Were Kings" Greatest guy?
15	AREA	22	4	Sphere What's distorted in a Mercator projection Field
16	IRE	22	3	Wrath Fury Indignation
17	SEE	22	3	Call, as a poker bet "Capisce?" "Told you!"
18	TEE	22	3	Bit of concert merch "Plain white" article of clothing for James Dean Top to accompany shorts
19	ACE	21	3	Card that may be hidden "up one's sleeve" Unreturnable pickleball shot Top starter
20	END	21	3	Heel, e.g. Conclusion Conclude
21	ACRE	20	4	A lot of lot About 75% of a football field Farmland measure
22	ANA	20	3	What makes her hear? Actress de Armas Japan's largest carrier
23	ASS	20	3	Ding-dong Dope Burro
24	ORE	20	3	Something you might search for in vein? Minecraft resource Vein contents
25	OREO	20	4	Dunkable cookie Dirt pie ingredient Milkshake flavor
26	SSN	20	3	Grp. of nine, divided in three? ID in some data breaches W-2 requirement, in brief
27	ADS	19	3	Show stoppers? What a premium subscription may help you avoid Almost a quarter of the Super Bowl's run time
28	AGE	19	3	Number shown on a dating profile Just a number, they say Number on a dating profile
29	ARE	19	3	"I am the eggman. They ___ the eggmen …" (Beatles lyric) "Where the Wild Things ___" "___ you listening?"
30	ASH	19	3	Wood used in making guitar bodies Residue on a grill Flame proof?
31	STY	19	3	Messy dorm room, figuratively Home with a trough of slop What a parent might compare a messy bedroom to
32	TEN	19	3	Half a score Number of clues in this puzzle Pearl Jam's debut album, which went 13x platinum
33	TSA	19	3	They wave their wands so you can fly, for short Who can see right through you, in brief? Org. concerned with screenings
34	ALOE	18	4	Healing agent Plant that thrives in a terra-cotta pot Tiger ___ (spiky houseplant)
35	EAR	18	3	Musician's gift Place for a piercing or a plug Body part in the heart of "heart"
36	EDEN	18	4	Garden for Adam and Eve Site of a tempting offer Perfect place to be
37	NET	18	3	Bring home ___ worth Not gross
38	OAR	18	3	Dinghy thingy Crew need Adornment on a boathouse wall
39	ONO	18	3	Music artist on the 2012 album "Yokokimthurston" Musical Yoko Hawaiian fish with a palindromic name
40	PSST	18	4	Poke alternative [Look at me!] Subtle summons
41	REN	18	3	___ faire (festival with jousting) Classic cartoon dog with the catchphrase "You eediot!" Stimpy's TV partner
42	ASIA	17	4	It's west of the Bering Strait Setting for most of the TV series "Pachinko" Home to a majority of people
43	ERS	17	3	Hosp. areas that are usually on the ground floor IV sites TV medical drama settings, in brief
44	EST	17	3	Latin "is" Is long ago? Cutesy suffix with "best"
45	EYES	17	4	"The windows to the soul," metaphorically Peering pair Set of 24 for a box jellyfish
46	LEE	17	3	Gymnast Suni Martial arts master Bruce Pulitzer-winning author whose only two novels were publis...
47	SLY	17	3	Said with a wink, say Crafty Foxy
48	TNT	17	3	Explosive material Boom sticks? Explosive block in Minecraft
49	ACAI	16	4	___ bowl Berry at a smoothie shop Fruit whose name has three syllables in four letters
50	AXE	16	3	Tool for a lumberjack Firefighter's tool Sharp-edged tool
51	ECO	16	3	Lead-in to "lab" in the name of an S&P 500 company Prefix with friendly or warrior "Green" prefix
52	EDIT	16	4	Doctor Make a long story short, say Mince words?
53	EMO	16	3	Angsty music genre Broody music genre Angsty subculture
54	SASS	16	4	Freshness Impudence Lip
55	TIN	16	3	Main element in pewter Only three-letter element Sardine container
56	TRI	16	3	Prefix with cycle The first "T" in TNT Tetra- minus one
57	TSAR	16	4	Leader with a dacha Pre-1917 Russian autocrat Russian ruler of old
58	ACTS	15	4	Play group Follower of John in the New Testament ___ of the Apostles (Bible book)
59	AHA	15	3	Triumphant cry "Now I understand!" "I've had a breakthrough!"
60	AIR	15	3	What snowboarders try to catch Vent Contents of some pockets
61	ARIA	15	4	"The soul of opera," per Richard Strauss High number, perhaps Solo for a soprano
62	ASAP	15	4	"Hurry!" Stat "Please give this high priority!"
63	DNA	15	3	Tool for tracing family trees Part of what makes you you Double-helix molecule
64	EEL	15	3	Slippery swimmer Fish with fused fins Sinuous swimmer
65	EPEE	15	4	Olympic sword with a guarded tip Modern pentathlon equipment Blade that doesn't cut
66	ERIE	15	4	One of the Great Lakes The "E" in HOMES Cleveland's lake
67	ETON	15	4	The Kynge's College of Our Ladye of ___ besyde Windesore ___ mess (British dessert) Alma mater for George Orwell and Hugh Laurie
68	INN	15	3	B&B relative Overnight stop Greenwich Village's Stonewall, e.g.
69	IRA	15	3	Investment option for old age, in brief "This American Life" host Glass 401(k) relative
70	ORA	15	3	Part of every day, in Italy Singer/actress Rita ___ Pop singer Rita
71	SIS	15	3	Mom-to-aunt moniker Family nickname Palindromic sib
72	SKA	15	3	Export from Jamaica Music genre with offbeat rhythms Music genre with "walking" bass lines
73	SOS	15	3	Title of a #1 Rihanna song and #1 SZA album Message that might be signaled with smoke Abba title sung after the line "The love you gave me, not...
74	SPY	15	3	Profession in many Hitchcock films Defensive player who keeps an eye on the QB, in football... Mole, e.g.
75	AGO	14	3	Past word In the past A long time follower?
76	ANY	14	3	"___ given Sunday!" (football fan's maxim) "Your choice" Preceder of how, way or where
77	ARM	14	3	One of the four in "all fours" Contents of a sleeve Pitcher's asset
78	ART	14	3	"One ___" (Elizabeth Bishop poem that repeats the line "T... Jazz drummer Blakey Some wall decorations
79	ECHO	14	4	Say again Diminishing return? Sound in a cavernous empty room
80	ELSE	14	4	Choice word Coder's counterpart to "if" Otherwise
81	ERAS	14	4	Historian's segments Time divisions Important stretches
82	ETS	14	3	Figures in some rumored landings, for short U.F.O. occupants, in brief Creatures on U.F.O.s, for short
83	GAS	14	3	Pit stop refill Something an electric car doesn't use Fill at a fill-up
84	IRS	14	3	Org. requiring crypto disclosures beginning in 2025 Collecting org. Agcy. concerned with declarations
85	ISEE	14	4	"That makes sense" "Gotcha" "___ got it!"
86	ISH	14	3	Kinda sorta "... or thereabouts" Suffix with devil
87	ITEM	14	4	It's the thing Bullet point on an agenda Word after news or line
88	KNEE	14	4	Achy joint for a floor installer, perhaps Joint sometimes bent in protest It may be padded or slapped
89	NEED	14	4	Food, water or shelter Have to have Sine qua non
90	NEO	14	3	Hero famously "red-pilled," in film New start? "The Matrix" character
91	NOR	14	3	"Since brass, ___ stone, ___ earth, ___ boundless sea …":... Negative connector Country with the all-time greatest number of medals at th...
92	OLE	14	3	"Bravo!" Part in a play Lego founder ___ Kirk Christiansen
93	RIO	14	3	Home of the Christ the Redeemer statue Animated 2011 film set in Brazil City on Guanabara Bay, familiarly
94	SAD	14	3	Feeling down Bummed out Pathetic
95	SHE	14	3	The Beatles' "___ Came in Through the Bathroom Window" 2011 platinum single by Tyler, the Creator ___-wolf
96	USE	14	3	Exploit Exercise One cause of deterioration
97	ADO	13	3	Bother Botheration Kerfuffle
98	ANN	13	3	Actress Dowd of "The Handmaid's Tale" "Tom Lake" novelist Patchett Raggedy ___ (doll)
99	EAST	13	4	Which way the Great Sphinx of Giza faces The "E" of NE What "Eat" stands for in the mnemonic "Never Eat Soggy Wa...
100	EGO	13	3	It's mine, all mine! Freudian "I" "S.N.L." alum Nwodim

Most common answers by length

Most common 3-letter answers

ERA (36 times)
ATE (28 times)
SET (27 times)
ONE (26 times)
SPA (26 times)
YES (26 times)
ETA (25 times)
ERR (24 times)
ALE (23 times)
ANT (23 times)

Most common 4-letter answers

AREA (22 times)
ACRE (20 times)
OREO (20 times)
ALOE (18 times)
EDEN (18 times)
PSST (18 times)
ASIA (17 times)
EYES (17 times)
ACAI (16 times)
EDIT (16 times)

Most common 5-letter answers

ERASE (13 times)
ATSEA (11 times)
OPERA (11 times)
OTTER (11 times)
ASSET (10 times)
ATONE (10 times)
CANOE (10 times)
ELITE (10 times)
IMAGE (10 times)
ADELE (9 times)

Most common 6-letter answers

ATEASE (9 times)
ORIOLE (6 times)
ANOINT (5 times)
ALIENS (4 times)
ARCADE (4 times)
ASTROS (4 times)
ATTACH (4 times)
CAESAR (4 times)
DESIRE (4 times)
DETEST (4 times)

How we count

An appearance is one clue in one puzzle, from the NYT Crossword and the NYT Mini puzzles on our clue pages. Clues that point to another entry, such as "See 17-Across," have no page of their own and are not counted. Puzzles from the last two days are left out. Our archive starts on October 23, 2025, so a count is how often an answer has come up in that stretch, not across the whole history of the puzzle. The page is rebuilt as new puzzles are added.

Open any clue above for its answer length, a first-letter hint and then the answer. You can also look up any clue, learn how to read tricky clues, or see how the NYT Crossword changes by day of the week. For today's puzzle, go to today's NYT Crossword answers.

Most common NYT crossword answers