Penultimate tournament round

Latest answer — July 27, 2026

9 Down

The round just before the championship showdown, when the field is nearly set 🎯

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

NYT Crossword

This clue's Monday, July 27, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Male deer
  2. 5National sport of Japan
  3. 9Posh N.Y.C. neighborhood
  4. 13Post-it ___
  5. 14Privy to
  6. 15Mideast ruler
  7. 16"Either way is fine with me"
  8. 18Prefix with hit or bit
  9. 19Citrusy Japanese sauce
  10. 20Manipulate into doubting one's memory or experience
  11. 22Friendly emoticon
  12. 24Relieve, as pain
  13. 28Long-running forensics series
  14. 29Only state with a nonrectangular flag
  15. 30Title for a married woman
  16. 33Fairy tale opening word
  17. 36Country in Oceania named for a biblical king
  18. 40"Star Wars" character ___ Ren
  19. 41___ Wednesday
  20. 42Interlocking toy brand
  21. 43Four-wheeler, for short
  22. 45Kicked out of office
  23. 47Pet for Franklin Roosevelt or George W. Bush, informally
  24. 52As a precaution
  25. 53Competitor at an esports tournament
  26. 58All tied up
  27. 59Smartphone setting that removes all color from the screen ... or a feature of this puzzle?
  28. 61Currency in Chihuahua
  29. 62Job for an actor
  30. 63Run in neutral
  31. 64Ruminate (over)
  32. 65"A Bug's Life" bugs
  33. 66Out of battery

Down

  1. 1Scissors sound
  2. 2Heading on a list of tasks
  3. 3Lots and lots
  4. 4Age group that includes 2000s kids
  5. 5[Yes, I know that's a typo]
  6. 6Eel, at a Japanese restaurant
  7. 7Fable's takeaway
  8. 8"Just a moment!"
  9. 9Penultimate tournament round
  10. 10Last Greek letter
  11. 11Pitch that's hard to hit?
  12. 12Give a formal speech
  13. 17Heinie
  14. 21Sprayable disinfectant brand
  15. 23Officewide message
  16. 24Signal at sea
  17. 25"Um, sure"
  18. 26Covered in grease
  19. 27"You missed your chance"
  20. 31Single-stranded molecule
  21. 32Palindromic sib
  22. 34Tech review site
  23. 35Living on the ___
  24. 37Big name in applesauce
  25. 38"Go away, fly!"
  26. 39Grass bought in rolls
  27. 44"The little blue pill"
  28. 46Branded fluffy slippers
  29. 47Things taken on a walk?
  30. 48Violate the Tenth Commandment
  31. 49Like many bodybuilders, according to B.M.I. alone
  32. 50Zac of "High School Musical"
  33. 51Handed out, as playing cards
  34. 54Low scorer on a pH test
  35. 55Constructed
  36. 56Name that can be parsed as "the the" in Spanish
  37. 57Portland college attended by Steve Jobs
  38. 60"Certainly!"

The answer to “Penultimate tournament round” in the New York Times crossword is SEMIFINALS — a 10-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on July 27, 2026, a Monday puzzle, at 9-Down. 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.

“Penultimate tournament round” answer

SEMIFINALS (10 letters)

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 SEMIFINALS.

Why the answer is SEMIFINALS

The round just before the championship showdown, when the field is nearly set 🎯

What does SEMIFINALS mean?

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

(noun)

  • a match or round of a competition immediately preceding the final, the winner of which goes on to the final

When else has “Penultimate tournament round” appeared?

New York Times reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

July 27, 2026 (most recent) → SEMIFINALS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Penultimate tournament round”?

The answer is SEMIFINALS, a 10-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on July 27, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Penultimate tournament round”?

10 letters: SEMIFINALS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on July 27, 2026 (a Monday puzzle), at 9-Down.

Can “Penultimate tournament round” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

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

The full grid for July 27, 2026 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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