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.

• diabolic^†  (DI8)
• diabolical^†  (DI10)
• abaci  (AB5)
• aboil  (AB5)
• acacia  (AC6)
• acai  (AC4)
• acid  (AC4)
• acidic  (AC6)
• adobo  (AD5)
• aioli  (AI5)
• alibi  (AL5)
• baba  (BA4)
• bacilli  (BA7)
• bail  (BA4)
• bald  (BA4)
• ball  (BA4)
• ballad  (BA6)
• baobab  (BA6)
• biblical  (BI8)
• bilabial  (BI8)
• blab  (BL4)
• boba  (BO4)
• bola  (BO4)
• cabal  (CA5)
• cabala  (CA6)
• cacao  (CA5)
• calico  (CA6)
• call  (CA4)
• calla  (CA5)
• callaloo  (CA8)
• ciao  (CI4)
• cicada  (CI6)
• cilia  (CI5)
• clad  (CL4)
• cloaca  (CL6)
• coal  (CO4)
• coca  (CO4)
• cocoa  (CO5)
• coda  (CO4)
• cola  (CO4)
• collab  (CO6)
• diabolo  (DI7)
• dial  (DI4)
• doodad  (DO6)
• iliac  (IL5)
• labia  (LA5)
• labial  (LA6)
• laic  (LA4)
• laical  (LA6)
• laid  (LA4)
• lilac  (LI5)
• load  (LO4)
• local  (LO5)
• oddball  (OD7)

Answer Definitions

• diabolic^† (adjective): Showing wickedness typical of a devil.
• diabolical^† (adjective): Extremely wicked or cruel.
• abaci (noun): plural form of an ancient bead calculator.
• aboil (adjective): In a boil; boiling.
• 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.
• acid (adjective): Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar.
• acidic (adjective): Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red.
• adobo (noun): A Philippine dish in which pork or chicken is slowly cooked in a sauce including soy sauce, vinegar, and crushed garlic.
• aioli (noun): A type of sauce, similar to mayonnaise, made from garlic, egg, lemon juice and olive oil.
• 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.
• baba (noun): A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
• bacilli (noun): plural of bacillus
• 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.
• bald (adjective): Having no hair, fur or feathers.
• ball (noun): A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
• ballad (noun): A kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing; especially, a sentimental or romantic poem in short stanzas.
• baobab (noun): A tree, Adansonia digitata (and similar species), native to tropical Africa, having a broad swollen trunk and edible gourd-like hanging fruits.
• biblical (adjective): Of or relating to the Bible.
• bilabial (adjective): Articulated with both lips.
• blab (verb): To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.
• boba (noun): Synonym of tapioca pearl.
• bola (noun): A throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of a cord.
• cabal (noun): A secret political clique or faction.
• cabala (proper noun): Alternative spelling of Kabballah
• cacao (noun): A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate.
• calico (noun): A kind of rough cloth made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton, often printed with a bright pattern.
• call (noun): A telephone conversation; a phone call.
• calla (noun): A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.
• callaloo (noun): Any of various tropical plants grown in the Americas, especially of the genera Amaranthus and Xanthosoma, cultivated for their edible leaves.
• ciao (interjection): hello, hi.
• cicada (noun): Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. The periodical cicada.
• cilia (noun): plural of cilium
• clad (verb): simple past tense and past participle of clothe
• cloaca (noun): A sewer.
• coal (noun): A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.
• coca (noun): Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.
• cocoa (noun): The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made.
• coda (noun): A passage that brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation.
• cola (noun): The kola plant, genus Cola, famous for its nut, or one of these nuts.
• collab (noun): A collaboration, especially a work produced by several musicians who do not usually work together.
• diabolo (noun): A juggling apparatus consisting of a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string attached to handsticks.
• dial (noun): A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
• doodad (noun): Used to refer to something whose name one cannot recall: an unspecified device, gadget, part, or thing.
• iliac (adjective): Relating to the ilium.
• 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.
• 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).
• laid (verb): simple past tense and past participle of lay
• lilac (noun): A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.
• load (noun): A burden; a weight to be carried.
• local (adjective): From or in a nearby location.
• oddball (noun): An eccentric or unusual person.