Essential

Latest answer — December 21, 2025

113 Down

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Sunday, December 21, 2025 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Some Arctic transports
  2. 10S.E.C. football powerhouse, for short
  3. 141950s hangout with a jukebox
  4. 20Game piece made of four squares
  5. 21"The Kite Runner" protagonist
  6. 22Skulks
  7. 23Joins gradually
  8. 24"Doggone it!"
  9. 25Treatment
  10. 26Blue colorant obtained from the indigo plant
  11. 27Wrangler alternative
  12. 28Brightly colored Mediterranean flowers
  13. 30Rap's Run-___
  14. 31Course catalog?
  15. 32When Aries transitions to Taurus
  16. 34Sweetly, on scores
  17. 35"I'll pass"
  18. 36Input of certain mining
  19. 38Montalbán who played Khan in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"
  20. 40Timer setting
  21. 42Areas of influence
  22. 45Mental health org.
  23. 46Fraudulently make seem like
  24. 48Covers completely
  25. 49Wyoming peak
  26. 51Like a corporation with a new logo, perhaps
  27. 54Comment from someone caught in the rain
  28. 56Yellow avenue in Monopoly
  29. 58A bit off, say
  30. 59Hyatt alternative
  31. 60Hard-boiled genre
  32. 62TheForce.net for "Star Wars," for example
  33. 64Dark side
  34. 65Former big name in browsers
  35. 67U.F.O.-watching org.
  36. 68By way of, informally
  37. 70Kemo ___ (the Lone Ranger)
  38. 71Sailor's patron
  39. 72Fleetwood Mac hit named for a Celtic goddess
  40. 76Daddy
  41. 79Eponymous British financier James ___
  42. 81By saying this you mean well
  43. 82Wrap seller
  44. 83Adopted, as a pet
  45. 85Wasn't folded in a suitcase, say
  46. 87Developed, as baby teeth
  47. 89Sci-fi miniaturizer
  48. 91Emanations
  49. 93Boldly face
  50. 94Kind of cipher in which A becomes B, B becomes C, e.g.
  51. 95Guardians, on a scoreboard
  52. 96Bit of birdspeak
  53. 98Damp, mildewy quality
  54. 99They hold water
  55. 102Silence
  56. 103Lying faceup
  57. 104___ Park, Calif.
  58. 105Air
  59. 107Disney subsidiary
  60. 111A little help?
  61. 112Evaded, as a sensitive issue
  62. 114Some pings, in brief
  63. 115"Fie on ___!" (Shakespearean cry)
  64. 116Skips over
  65. 118Few and far between
  66. 119Regulars at parks with ramps, informally
  67. 121Reply after having one's memory jogged
  68. 122Some time ago
  69. 123"What's done is done!"
  70. 124Stick (to)
  71. 125Garden interloper
  72. 126Church parts crossing naves

Down

  1. 1Make furious
  2. 2"The Family Circus" cartoonist Bil ___
  3. 3Tennis line judge's ruling
  4. 4Duke Ellington classic with the lyric "That was my heart serenading you"
  5. 5West side of L.A.?
  6. 6"Is there still time for me to join you?"
  7. 751 to the hour
  8. 8Stage direction
  9. 9Phillipa of Broadway
  10. 10Grammy winner Erykah
  11. 11___ Gorman, "The Hill We Climb" poet
  12. 12Copy
  13. 13Iced-tea-and-lemonade refreshments
  14. 14Spending romp
  15. 15Output of certain mining
  16. 16Counterpart of a sub
  17. 17Fast start?
  18. 18Father, familiarly
  19. 19Mentally overpower, with "out"
  20. 28Like most moccasins
  21. 29Great Dane of cartoons, informally
  22. 33More livid
  23. 37Keister, in Leicester
  24. 392015 chart-topping hit for the Weeknd
  25. 40Symbolic for its time
  26. 41Shoe company with an iconic checkerboard design
  27. 42Descendant
  28. 43Apple: Fr.
  29. 44Is without
  30. 47Rabid in appearance
  31. 50Woman's nickname that sounds like two letters
  32. 51Rice-A-___
  33. 52"Borderlands" director ___ Roth
  34. 53Hiding place
  35. 55Gene pools?
  36. 57Org. with its own alphabet
  37. 61Abbr. not found on most smartphones
  38. 63"Aren't ___ lucky one?!"
  39. 66It has a lot of secretaries
  40. 67Shirt collar stiffener
  41. 69Where to find six "presents" in this puzzle?
  42. 71Knock 'em dead
  43. 72Coolidge who sang the theme for "Octopussy"
  44. 73Just getting started with
  45. 74Green shade
  46. 75What Joe Montana was in the '80s
  47. 76A TD scores six of these
  48. 77"Fancy, that!"
  49. 78Prickly denizen of coral reefs
  50. 80Famed lawyer in the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial
  51. 81Most minimal
  52. 84Some Korean exports
  53. 86Calmed deceptively
  54. 88Baseball slugger's stat
  55. 90Bird used to deliver messages on "Game of Thrones"
  56. 92Blueprints
  57. 97Author Zora Neale ___
  58. 98Noodled on, with "over"
  59. 100Girlfriend in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
  60. 101Informant
  61. 103"Ta-ta!"
  62. 104Tricky pool shot
  63. 106Someone enjoying a walk in the park
  64. 108Mentally with it
  65. 109___ four
  66. 110Fits one inside the other
  67. 112Porcine : pigs :: cervine : ___
  68. 113Essential
  69. 117It might be good for a change
  70. 119One who knows the drill?: Abbr.
  71. 120Teslas, e.g., for short

The answer to “Essential” in the New York Times crossword is NEED — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on December 21, 2025, a Sunday puzzle, at 113-Down. Other answers we've seen for this clue include MUST. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Essential” answer

NEED (4 letters) — most recent; also seen as MUST

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is NEED.

Why the answer is NEED

NEED is the 4-letter solution that fits "Essential" in the NYT Crossword crossword on December 21, 2025 (113-Down). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does NEED mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of NEED is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(verb)

  • require (something) because it is essential or very important rather than just desirable
  • expressing necessity or obligation
  • be necessary

Other answers for “Essential”

New York Times has used this clue with more than one solution. Besides NEED, it has also been MUST. Every appearance we've indexed is listed below with the date it ran.

  • December 21, 2025 (most recent) → NEED
  • May 16, 2025 → MUST

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Essential”?

The answer is NEED, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on December 21, 2025. Other answers for this clue include MUST.

How many letters is the answer to “Essential”?

4 letters: NEED. Earlier fills for this clue have also been MUST (4).

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on December 21, 2025 (a Sunday puzzle), at 113-Down. Earlier appearances: May 16, 2025 → MUST.

Can “Essential” have a different answer?

Yes. Besides NEED, New York Times has also used MUST for this clue. Every date and answer is listed above.

Where can I find the rest of this day's NYT Crossword answers?

The full grid for December 21, 2025 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times Crossword is published by The New York Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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