| 100% | HENRYHUDSON | 11 | Explorer who sailed into 46-Across in 1609 |
| 45% | JOHNCABOT | 9 | Explorer who sailed from England, claiming eastern Canada for Henry VII in 1497: 2 wds. |
| 42% | COLUMBUS | 8 | Italian explorer Christopher who set sail in 1492 |
| 37% | VET | 3 | November honoree who can be found in the middle of 17, 29, 46, and 62 Across |
| 36% | SEAFARER | 8 | Explorer who crosses oceans in a boat |
| 36% | DORA | 4 | Explorer who appears in "Go, Diego, Go!" |
| 35% | JOHNSMITH | 9 | Explorer who fell for Pocahontas in the 1995 film |
| 35% | VESPUCCI | 8 | Explorer who expanded Spain's trade routes in 1500 |
| 35% | NANSEN | 6 | Fridtjof —, Norwegian explorer who died in 1930 |
| 34% | DORA | 4 | Explorer who visits Peru in a 2019 live-action movie |
| 34% | NANSEN | 6 | Fridtjof —, Norwegian arctic explorer who died in 1930 |
| 34% | PEARY | 5 | Robert —, US Arctic explorer who died in 1920 |
| 33% | JENNIFER | 8 | With 46-Across, "The Hunger Games" star who was Forbes's highest-paid actress in 2016 |
| 33% | KNUD | 4 | & 5D Greenland-born Danish polar explorer who died in 1933 |
| 32% | PONCEDELEON | 11 | Explorer who in 1513 became the first European to set foot in 14-Across, and gave the state its name: 3 wds. |
| 32% | YES | 3 | 46-Across in English |
| 32% | LIVINGSTONE | 11 | David —, Scottish missionary and explorer who died in Africa in 1873 |
| 32% | COLUMBUS | 8 | Christopher —, navigator and explorer who died in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506 |
| 32% | COLUMBUS | 8 | Christopher -, navigator and explorer who died in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506 |
| 32% | COLUMBUS | 8 | Christopher —, navigator and explorer who died in Valladolid, Spain in 1506 |
| 32% | MATTHEWPERRY | 12 | "Friends" actor [or] Naval officer who sailed to Japan in 1853 |
| 32% | SPEKE | 5 | John Hanning —, Devon-born explorer who discovered Lake Victoria in 1858 |
| 32% | COUSTEAU | 8 | Jacques —, French naval officer and underwater explorer who died in 1997 |
| 32% | BYRD | 4 | Richard E —, US aviator and polar explorer who died in 1957 |
| 32% | WEDDELL | 7 | James —, Ostend-born navigator and Antarctic explorer who died in 1834 |
| 32% | BAKER | 5 | Samuel —, 19th-century English explorer who named Lake Albert in Africa |
| 32% | MAGELLAN | 8 | Explorer of a route across the Pacific in 1521 |
| 32% | PHARRELL | 8 | With 42-Across, "Happy" singer who was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020 |
| 32% | BURTON | 6 | Richard —, English explorer who, with John Speke, discovered Lake Tanganyika in 1858 |