Game Summary

Table of Contents

As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!

1. Spelling Bee Grid
2. Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
3. Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
4. Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
5. Today's Complete Solution
6. 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.

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.

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 (^†).

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.

• appliance^†  (AP9)
• capellini^†  (CA9)
• pelican^†  (PE7)
• pinnacle^†  (PI8)
• acacia  (AC6)
• acai  (AC4)
• alien  (AL5)
• alliance  (AL8)
• alpine  (AL6)
• apian  (AP5)
• apiece  (AP6)
• canine  (CA6)
• cannellini  (CA10)
• celiac  (CE6)
• celli  (CE5)
• cilia  (CI5)
• clinic  (CL6)
• clinical  (CL8)
• clinician  (CL9)
• clip  (CL4)
• epic  (EP4)
• epicene  (EP7)
• icicle  (IC6)
• iliac  (IL5)
• inane  (IN5)
• incipience  (IN10)
• incline  (IN7)
• innie  (IN5)
• ipecac  (IP6)
• laic  (LA4)
• laical  (LA6)
• lain  (LA4)
• lanai  (LA5)
• lenience  (LE8)
• lice  (LI4)
• lien  (LI4)
• lilac  (LI5)
• line  (LI4)
• lineal  (LI6)
• linen  (LI5)
• nail  (NA4)
• niacin  (NI6)
• nice  (NI4)
• niece  (NI5)
• nine  (NI4)
• ninepin  (NI7)
• nipple  (NI6)
• pail  (PA4)
• pain  (PA4)
• panic  (PA5)
• panini  (PA6)
• papilla  (PA7)
• papillae  (PA8)
• pellicle  (PE8)
• pencil  (PE6)
• penicillin  (PE10)
• penile  (PE6)
• pica  (PI4)
• picnic  (PI6)
• piece  (PI5)
• pile  (PI4)
• pill  (PI4)
• pine  (PI4)
• pineal  (PI6)
• pineapple  (PI9)
• pipe  (PI4)
• pipeline  (PI8)
• pippin  (PI6)
• plain  (PL5)
• plie  (PL4)

Answer Definitions

• appliance^† (noun): An implement, an instrument or apparatus designed (or at least used) as a means to a specific end, especially: A non-manual apparatus or device, powered electrically or by another small motor, used in homes to perform domestic functions (household appliance) and/or in offices.
• capellini^† (noun): Synonym of angel hair (“type of pasta”)
• pelican^† (noun): Any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae, having a long bill with a distendable pouch.
• pinnacle^† (noun): The highest point.
• acacia (noun): A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
• acai (noun): Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
• alien (noun): Any life form of extraterrestrial or extradimensional origin.
• alliance (noun): The state of being allied.
• alpine (adjective): Of, relating to, or inhabiting mountains, especially above the timberline.
• apian (adjective): Relating to bees.
• apiece (adverb): Each by itself; for or to each one
• canine (adjective): Of, or pertaining to, a dog or dogs.
• cannellini (noun): A type of white bean used in Italian cooking.
• celiac (adjective): Of, pertaining to or located within the abdomen or abdominal cavity.
• celli (noun): plural of cello
• cilia (noun): plural of cilium
• clinic (noun): A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients.
• clinical (adjective): Dealing with the practical management of patients, in practice at the point of care; as contrasted with other health care venues (see clinical medicine for more explanation).
• clinician (noun): Any healthcare practitioner working at the point of care, in clinical practice (e.g., physicians in clinical medicine, nurses in nursing practice, or allied health providers in practice).
• clip (verb): To grip tightly.
• epic (noun): An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a deity, demigod (heroic epic), other legend or traditional hero.
• epicene (adjective): Of or relating to a class of Greek and Latin nouns that may refer to males or females but have a fixed grammatical gender (feminine, masculine, neuter, etc.).
• icicle (noun): A drooping, tapering shape of ice.
• iliac (adjective): Relating to the ilium.
• inane (adjective): Lacking sense or meaning (often to the point of boredom or annoyance)
• incipience (noun): A beginning, or first stage.
• incline (verb): To bend or move (something) out of a given plane or direction, often the horizontal or vertical.
• innie (noun): A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen).
• ipecac (noun): The dried rhizome and roots of either of two tropical American plants (Cephaelis acuminata and Cephaelis ipecacuanha) of the madder family used especially as a source of emetine.
• laic (noun): A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.
• laical (adjective): Of or pertaining to a layperson, layman, laywoman, or laypeople (laity).
• lain (verb): past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”)
• lanai (noun): A Hawaiian-style roofed patio.
• lenience (noun): Leniency: mercy or forgiveness in the assignment of punishment.
• lice (noun): plural of louse
• lien (noun): A tendon.
• lilac (noun): A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.
• line (noun): A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
• lineal (adjective): Having an ancestral relationship to mothers, fathers, grandparents, (etc.) and having a descendant relationship to sons, daughters, grandchildren (etc.), exclusive of collateral siblings.
• linen (noun): Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
• nail (noun): The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
• niacin (noun): A water-soluble vitamin, a component of vitamin B complex, found in meat, yeast, and dairy products; it is essential to metabolism.
• nice (adjective): Pleasant, satisfactory.
• niece (noun): A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece").
• nine (numeral): NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9.
• ninepin (noun): The wooden pin used in the game of ninepins; a skittle.
• nipple (noun): The projection of a mammary gland from which, on female mammals, milk is secreted.
• pail (noun): A vessel of wood, tin, plastic, etc., usually cylindrical and having a handle -- used especially for carrying liquids, for example water or milk; a bucket (sometimes with a cover).
• pain (noun): An ache or bodily suffering, or an instance of this; an unpleasant sensation, resulting from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; hurt.
• panic (adjective): Alternative letter-case form of Panic (“pertaining to the Greek god Pan”)
• panini (noun): A type of grilled sandwich made of a small loaf of bread, cut horizontally, filled with meat such as salami or ham, cheese or other food.
• papilla (noun): A nipple-like protuberance on a part or organ of the body. A vascular process of connective tissue extending into and nourishing the root of a hair, feather, or developing tooth. Any of the vascular protuberances of the dermal layer of the skin extending into the epidermal layer and often containing tactile corpuscles. Any of the small protuberances on the upper surface of the tongue often containing taste buds.
• papillae (noun): plural of papilla
• pellicle (noun): A thin skin or film.
• pencil (noun): A paintbrush.
• penicillin (noun): Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases.
• penile (adjective): Pertaining to the penis.
• pica (noun): A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand.
• picnic (noun): An informal social gathering, usually in a natural outdoor setting, to which the participants bring their own food and drink.
• piece (noun): A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
• pile (noun): A mass of things heaped together; a heap.
• pill (noun): A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.
• pine (noun): Any coniferous tree of the genus Pinus.
• pineal (adjective): In the shape of a pine cone.
• pineapple (noun): A tropical plant, Ananas comosus, native to South America, having thirty or more long, spined and pointed leaves surrounding a thick stem.
• pipe (noun): Meanings relating to a wind instrument. A wind instrument consisting of a tube, often lined with holes to allow for adjustment in pitch, sounded by blowing into the tube. A tube used to produce sound in an organ; an organ pipe. The key or sound of the voice. A high-pitched sound, especially of a bird.
• pipeline (noun): A conduit made of pipes used to convey water, gas or petroleum etc.
• pippin (noun): A seed
• plain (adjective): Flat, level.
• plie (noun): Alternative spelling of plié