Credits & licenses
HiveWords is built on excellent open language data. We use only sources that permit commercial use, and we reproduce their notices here as required.
Word list — ENABLE (public domain)
Valid words come from the ENABLE master word list (WORD.LST), which its authors released into the public domain. No attribution is legally required; we credit it gladly.
Definitions — WordNet 3.0 (Princeton University)
Word definitions are drawn from WordNet. As required by its license: “WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.” WordNet is provided “as is” and Princeton University makes no representations or warranties of any kind concerning it. WordNet is unencumbered and used here in a commercial application under its permissive license; Princeton University is not associated with, and does not endorse, HiveWords.
Pronunciations — cmudict-ipa / CMUdict
IPA pronunciations are based on cmudict-ipa (MIT license), itself derived from the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary (CMUdict), which is freely usable for any purpose.
Independence
HiveWords is an independent puzzle and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to The New York Times or its Spelling Bee.