NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 21, 2024
Game Summary
| Center Letter | B |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, g, i, l, m, n |
| # of Pangrams | 3 (Perfect: 2) |
| Total Words | 47 words |
| Total Points | 257 points |
| Genius Level | 180 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
Table of Contents
As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!
- Spelling Bee Grid
- Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
- Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
- Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
- Today's Complete Solution
- Answer Definitions
If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).
Spelling Bee Grid
The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| B | 9 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 28 |
| G | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| I | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| L | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| M | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| N | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 3 | Σ | 13 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 47 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AL×1 AM×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×16 BI×5 BL×7 |
| G | GA×3 GI×1 GL×1 |
| I | IA×2 IM×1 |
| L | LA×3 LI×1 |
| M | MA×2 |
| N | NA×1 NI×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ALI×1 AMB×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAA×1 BAB×2 BAG×2 BAI×2 BAL×4 BAN×5 BIL×3 BIN×2 BLA×4 BLI×3 |
| G | GAB×2 GAM×1 GIB×1 GLI×1 |
| I | IAM×2 IMB×1 |
| L | LAB×2 LAM×1 LIM×1 |
| M | MAI×1 MAM×1 |
| N | NAB×1 NIB×1 NIM×1 |
Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)
The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.
Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.
Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| am..... † | AM7 | present participle and gerund of amble |
| bl..... † | BL7 | The act of accusing or assigning culpability to. |
| ga...... † | GA8 | present participle and gerund of gamble |
| al... | AL5 | The plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove being in another place when the alleged act was committed. |
| ba.... | BA6 | The bleating of a sheep. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup. |
| ba...... | BA8 | a stage in child language acquisition, during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering sounds of language, but not yet producing any recognizable words |
| ba..... | BA7 | present participle of bag |
| ba.... | BA6 | A person who collects, transports, or distributes illicit money, especially for the purpose of bribery, extortion, or the making of other improper payments. |
| ba.. | BA4 | Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial. |
| ba..... | BA7 | present participle of bail |
| ba.... | BA6 | present participle of bale |
| ba.. | BA4 | A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass. |
| ba..... | BA7 | present participle of ball |
| ba.. | BA4 | Any of various aromatic resins exuded from certain plants, especially trees of the genus Commiphora of Africa, Arabia and India and Myroxylon of South America. |
| ba... | BA5 | Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh. |
| ba.... | BA6 | An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A sudden percussive noise. |
| ba..... | BA7 | present participle of bang |
| ba..... | BA7 | present participle of ban |
| bi...... | BI8 | Articulated with both lips. |
| bi.. | BI4 | Any of various bladed or pointed hand weapons, originally designating an Anglo-Saxon sword, and later a weapon of infantry, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, commonly consisting of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, with a short pike at the back and another at the top, attached to the end of a long staff. |
| bi..... | BI7 | present participle of bill |
| bi..... | BI7 | present participle of binge |
| bi..... | BI7 | present participle of bin |
| bl.. | BL4 | To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion. |
| bl...... | BL8 | present participle of blab |
| bl.. | BL4 | A sudden, explosive sound, such as is made by a gunshot |
| bl.. | BL4 | To cease (from); to stop; to desist, to let up. |
| bl... | BL5 | Alternative form of bling bling |
| bl... | BL5 | A small pancake, of Russian origin, made from buckwheat flour; traditionally served with melted butter, sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon. |
| ga..... | GA7 | present participle of gab |
| ga...... | GA8 | present participle of gabble |
| gi.... | GI6 | present participle of gibe |
| gl.. | GL4 | Having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding; superficial; shallow. |
| ia.. | IA4 | A metrical foot in verse consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. |
| ia... | IA5 | plural of iambus |
| im...... | IM8 | present participle and gerund of imbibe |
| la... | LA5 | The folds of tissue at the opening of the vulva, at either side of the vagina. |
| la.... | LA6 | Of or pertaining to the lips or labia. |
| la.. | LA4 | A young sheep. |
| li.. | LI4 | A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing). |
| ma..... | MA7 | A strong canvas bag used for the transportation of mail. |
| ma... | MA5 | Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees. |
| na..... | NA7 | present participle of nab |
| ni...... | NI8 | The act or sound of one who nibbles. |
| ni... | NI5 | plural of nimbus |
Today's Complete Solution
The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.
Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.
- ambling† (AM7)
- blaming† (BL7)
- gambling† (GA8)
- alibi (AL5)
- baaing (BA6)
- baba (BA4)
- babbling (BA8)
- bagging (BA7)
- bagman (BA6)
- bail (BA4)
- bailing (BA7)
- baling (BA6)
- ball (BA4)
- balling (BA7)
- balm (BA4)
- banal (BA5)
- banana (BA6)
- bang (BA4)
- banging (BA7)
- banning (BA7)
- bilabial (BI8)
- bill (BI4)
- billing (BI7)
- binging (BI7)
- binning (BI7)
- blab (BL4)
- blabbing (BL8)
- blam (BL4)
- blin (BL4)
- bling (BL5)
- blini (BL5)
- gabbing (GA7)
- gabbling (GA8)
- gibing (GI6)
- glib (GL4)
- iamb (IA4)
- iambi (IA5)
- imbibing (IM8)
- labia (LA5)
- labial (LA6)
- lamb (LA4)
- limb (LI4)
- mailbag (MA7)
- mamba (MA5)
- nabbing (NA7)
- nibbling (NI8)
- nimbi (NI5)
Answer Definitions
- ambling† (verb): present participle and gerund of amble
- blaming† (noun): The act of accusing or assigning culpability to.
- gambling† (verb): present participle and gerund of gamble
- alibi (noun): The plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove being in another place when the alleged act was committed.
- baaing (noun): The bleating of a sheep.
- baba (noun): A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
- babbling (noun): a stage in child language acquisition, during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering sounds of language, but not yet producing any recognizable words
- bagging (verb): present participle of bag
- bagman (noun): A person who collects, transports, or distributes illicit money, especially for the purpose of bribery, extortion, or the making of other improper payments.
- bail (noun): Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
- bailing (verb): present participle of bail
- baling (verb): present participle of bale
- ball (noun): A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
- balling (verb): present participle of ball
- balm (noun): Any of various aromatic resins exuded from certain plants, especially trees of the genus Commiphora of Africa, Arabia and India and Myroxylon of South America.
- banal (adjective): Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh.
- banana (noun): An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking.
- bang (noun): A sudden percussive noise.
- banging (verb): present participle of bang
- banning (verb): present participle of ban
- bilabial (adjective): Articulated with both lips.
- bill (noun): Any of various bladed or pointed hand weapons, originally designating an Anglo-Saxon sword, and later a weapon of infantry, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, commonly consisting of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, with a short pike at the back and another at the top, attached to the end of a long staff.
- billing (verb): present participle of bill
- binging (verb): present participle of binge
- binning (verb): present participle of bin
- blab (verb): To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.
- blabbing (verb): present participle of blab
- blam (noun): A sudden, explosive sound, such as is made by a gunshot
- blin (verb): To cease (from); to stop; to desist, to let up.
- bling (noun): Alternative form of bling bling
- blini (noun): A small pancake, of Russian origin, made from buckwheat flour; traditionally served with melted butter, sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon.
- gabbing (verb): present participle of gab
- gabbling (verb): present participle of gabble
- gibing (verb): present participle of gibe
- glib (adjective): Having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding; superficial; shallow.
- iamb (noun): A metrical foot in verse consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
- iambi (noun): plural of iambus
- imbibing (verb): present participle and gerund of imbibe
- labia (noun): The folds of tissue at the opening of the vulva, at either side of the vagina.
- labial (adjective): Of or pertaining to the lips or labia.
- lamb (noun): A young sheep.
- limb (noun): A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing).
- mailbag (noun): A strong canvas bag used for the transportation of mail.
- mamba (noun): Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees.
- nabbing (verb): present participle of nab
- nibbling (noun): The act or sound of one who nibbles.
- nimbi (noun): plural of nimbus