NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 21, 2024
Game Summary
| Center Letter | U |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, d, e, f, n, o |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 50 words |
| Total Points | 288 points |
| Genius Level | 202 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 | 9 | 10 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| D | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 15 |
| E | - | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| F | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | 8 |
| N | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| O | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| U | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | Σ | 11 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CO×4 CU×3 |
|---|---|
| D | DE×9 DU×6 |
| E | ED×2 EN×2 |
| F | FE×3 FO×3 FU×2 |
| N | NO×1 NU×1 |
| O | OU×1 |
| U | UD×1 UN×12 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | COF×2 CON×2 CUE×1 CUF×2 |
|---|---|
| D | DED×2 DEF×2 DEN×4 DEU×1 DUD×1 DUF×1 DUN×4 |
| E | EDU×2 END×2 |
| F | FEC×1 FEU×2 FON×1 FOU×2 FUN×2 |
| N | NOU×1 NUD×1 |
| O | OUN×1 |
| U | UDO×1 UNC×3 UND×4 UNF×3 UNN×1 UNO×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) |
|---|---|---|
| co....... † | CO9 | simple past tense and past participle of cofound |
| co........ † | CO10 | simple past tense and past participle of confound |
| co..... | CO7 | To found at the same time as another. |
| co...... | CO8 | To perplex or puzzle. |
| cu.. | CU4 | simple past tense and past participle of cue |
| cu.. | CU4 | glove; mitten |
| cu.... | CU6 | simple past tense and past participle of cuff |
| de.... | DE6 | To reach (a conclusion) by applying rules of logic or other forms of reasoning to given premises or known facts. |
| de..... | DE7 | simple past tense and past participle of deduce |
| de.... | DE6 | To cancel funding for. |
| de...... | DE8 | simple past tense and past participle of defund |
| de...... | DE8 | To make known in a formal manner; to proclaim; to announce; to declare. |
| de....... | DE9 | simple past tense and past participle of denounce |
| de.... | DE6 | To divest of all covering; to make bare or naked; to strip. |
| de..... | DE7 | simple past tense and past participle of denude |
| de... | DE5 | A card with two pips, one of four in a standard deck of playing cards. |
| du.. | DU4 | A man, generally a younger man. |
| du.. | DU4 | Dough. |
| du... | DU5 | An unintelligent person. |
| du.. | DU4 | A ridge or hill of sand piled up by the wind. |
| du.... | DU6 | simple past tense and past participle of dun |
| du... | DU5 | Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know. |
| ed... | ED5 | To direct the course of (a flow, journey etc.); to lead in a particular direction. |
| ed.... | ED6 | simple past tense and past participle of educe |
| en... | EN5 | To pass food into the stomach; to digest; also figuratively, to take on, absorb. |
| en.... | EN6 | simple past tense and past participle of endue |
| fe.... | FE6 | Highly fertile; able to produce offspring. |
| fe.. | FE4 | A state of long-standing mutual hostility. |
| fe.... | FE6 | simple past tense and past participle of feud |
| fo.... | FO6 | A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped. |
| fo... | FO5 | simple past tense and past participle of find |
| fo..... | FO7 | simple past and past participle of found |
| fu.. | FU4 | A sum or source of money. |
| fu.... | FU6 | simple past tense and past participle of fund |
| no.. | NO4 | A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English. |
| nu.. | NU4 | Without clothing or other covering of the skin; without clothing on the genitals or female nipples. |
| ou... | OU5 | An avoirdupois ounce, weighing ⁄16 of an avoirdupois pound, or 28.3495 grams. |
| ud.. | UD4 | a Japanese wheat noodle |
| un..... | UN7 | Not having been ceded. |
| un.... | UN6 | To remove cuffs from (someone) |
| un...... | UN8 | simple past tense and past participle of uncuff |
| un........ | UN10 | Not defended. |
| un.. | UN4 | To reverse the effects of an action. |
| un.... | UN6 | Not done. |
| un... | UN5 | Excessive; going beyond that what is natural or sufficient. |
| un... | UN5 | Not fed. |
| un....... | UN9 | Having no strong foundation; not based on solid reasons or facts. |
| un...... | UN8 | Not funded; having received no funding. |
| un...... | UN8 | Not needed. |
| un........ | UN10 | Not offended. |
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.
- cofounded† (CO9)
- confounded† (CO10)
- cofound (CO7)
- confound (CO8)
- cued (CU4)
- cuff (CU4)
- cuffed (CU6)
- deduce (DE6)
- deduced (DE7)
- defund (DE6)
- defunded (DE8)
- denounce (DE8)
- denounced (DE9)
- denude (DE6)
- denuded (DE7)
- deuce (DE5)
- dude (DU4)
- duff (DU4)
- dunce (DU5)
- dune (DU4)
- dunned (DU6)
- dunno (DU5)
- educe (ED5)
- educed (ED6)
- endue (EN5)
- endued (EN6)
- fecund (FE6)
- feud (FE4)
- feuded (FE6)
- fondue (FO6)
- found (FO5)
- founded (FO7)
- fund (FU4)
- funded (FU6)
- noun (NO4)
- nude (NU4)
- ounce (OU5)
- udon (UD4)
- unceded (UN7)
- uncuff (UN6)
- uncuffed (UN8)
- undefended (UN10)
- undo (UN4)
- undone (UN6)
- undue (UN5)
- unfed (UN5)
- unfounded (UN9)
- unfunded (UN8)
- unneeded (UN8)
- unoffended (UN10)
Answer Definitions
- cofounded† (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cofound
- confounded† (verb): simple past tense and past participle of confound
- cofound (verb): To found at the same time as another.
- confound (verb): To perplex or puzzle.
- cued (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cue
- cuff (noun): glove; mitten
- cuffed (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cuff
- deduce (verb): To reach (a conclusion) by applying rules of logic or other forms of reasoning to given premises or known facts.
- deduced (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deduce
- defund (verb): To cancel funding for.
- defunded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of defund
- denounce (verb): To make known in a formal manner; to proclaim; to announce; to declare.
- denounced (verb): simple past tense and past participle of denounce
- denude (verb): To divest of all covering; to make bare or naked; to strip.
- denuded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of denude
- deuce (noun): A card with two pips, one of four in a standard deck of playing cards.
- dude (noun): A man, generally a younger man.
- duff (noun): Dough.
- dunce (noun): An unintelligent person.
- dune (noun): A ridge or hill of sand piled up by the wind.
- dunned (verb): simple past tense and past participle of dun
- dunno (contraction): Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know.
- educe (verb): To direct the course of (a flow, journey etc.); to lead in a particular direction.
- educed (verb): simple past tense and past participle of educe
- endue (verb): To pass food into the stomach; to digest; also figuratively, to take on, absorb.
- endued (verb): simple past tense and past participle of endue
- fecund (adjective): Highly fertile; able to produce offspring.
- feud (noun): A state of long-standing mutual hostility.
- feuded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of feud
- fondue (noun): A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped.
- found (verb): simple past tense and past participle of find
- founded (verb): simple past and past participle of found
- fund (noun): A sum or source of money.
- funded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of fund
- noun (noun): A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.
- nude (adjective): Without clothing or other covering of the skin; without clothing on the genitals or female nipples.
- ounce (noun): An avoirdupois ounce, weighing ⁄16 of an avoirdupois pound, or 28.3495 grams.
- udon (noun): a Japanese wheat noodle
- unceded (adjective): Not having been ceded.
- uncuff (verb): To remove cuffs from (someone)
- uncuffed (verb): simple past tense and past participle of uncuff
- undefended (adjective): Not defended.
- undo (verb): To reverse the effects of an action.
- undone (adjective): Not done.
- undue (adjective): Excessive; going beyond that what is natural or sufficient.
- unfed (adjective): Not fed.
- unfounded (adjective): Having no strong foundation; not based on solid reasons or facts.
- unfunded (adjective): Not funded; having received no funding.
- unneeded (adjective): Not needed.
- unoffended (adjective): Not offended.