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.

• mandolin^†  (MA8)
• admin  (AD5)
• aioli  (AI5)
• amid  (AM4)
• amino  (AM5)
• ammonia  (AM7)
• amnio  (AM5)
• anima  (AN5)
• animal  (AN6)
• anion  (AN5)
• dial  (DI4)
• diamond  (DI7)
• dildo  (DI5)
• dill  (DI4)
• dino  (DI4)
• domain  (DO6)
• dominion  (DO8)
• domino  (DO6)
• idiom  (ID5)
• idol  (ID4)
• imam  (IM4)
• inlaid  (IN6)
• inland  (IN6)
• laid  (LA4)
• lain  (LA4)
• lamina  (LA6)
• laminal  (LA7)
• lanai  (LA5)
• lanolin  (LA7)
• lima  (LI4)
• liminal  (LI7)
• limn  (LI4)
• limo  (LI4)
• lion  (LI4)
• loin  (LO4)
• maid  (MA4)
• mail  (MA4)
• mailman  (MA7)
• maim  (MA4)
• main  (MA4)
• mainland  (MA8)
• mammalian  (MA9)
• mania  (MA5)
• manila  (MA6)
• midi  (MI4)
• midland  (MI7)
• mild  (MI4)
• mill  (MI4)
• million  (MI7)
• mind  (MI4)
• mini  (MI4)
• minim  (MI5)
• minima  (MI6)
• minimal  (MI7)
• minion  (MI6)
• moil  (MO4)
• monomania  (MO9)
• monomial  (MO8)
• naiad  (NA5)
• nail  (NA4)
• nominal  (NO7)
• nonillion  (NO9)
• oilman  (OI6)
• olio  (OL4)
• onion  (ON5)

Answer Definitions

• mandolin^† (noun): a stringed instrument and a member of the lute family, having eight strings in four courses, frequently tuned as a violin, and with either a bowl-shaped back or a flat back
• admin (noun): Administration, or administrative work.
• aioli (noun): A type of sauce, similar to mayonnaise, made from garlic, egg, lemon juice and olive oil.
• amid (preposition): In the middle of; in the center of; surrounded by.
• amino (adjective): Relating to an amine.
• ammonia (noun): A gaseous compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, NH3, with a pungent smell and taste.
• amnio (noun): amniocentesis
• anima (noun): The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus.
• animal (noun): A eukaryote of the clade Animalia; a multicellular organism that is usually mobile, whose cells are not encased in a rigid cell wall (distinguishing it from plants and fungi) and which derives energy solely from the consumption of other organisms (distinguishing it from plants).
• anion (noun): A negatively charged ion.
• dial (noun): A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
• diamond (noun): A glimmering glass-like mineral that is an allotrope of carbon in which each atom is surrounded by four others in the form of a tetrahedron.
• dildo (noun): An artificial phallus (penis) for sexual use.
• dill (noun): Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed.
• dino (noun): dinosaur.
• domain (noun): A geographic area owned or controlled by a single person or organization.
• dominion (noun): Power or the use of power; sovereignty over something; stewardship, supremacy.
• domino (noun): A tile divided into two squares, each having 0 to 6 (or sometimes more) dots or pips (as in dice), used in the game of dominoes.
• idiom (noun): A manner of speaking, a mode of expression peculiar to a language, language family, or group of people.
• idol (noun): A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.
• imam (noun): One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque.
• inlaid (verb): simple past tense and past participle of inlay
• inland (adjective): Within the land; relatively remote from the ocean or from open water; interior.
• laid (verb): simple past tense and past participle of lay
• lain (verb): past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”)
• lamina (noun): a thin layer, plate, or scale of material
• laminal (adjective): laminar
• lanai (noun): A Hawaiian-style roofed patio.
• lanolin (noun): A greasy yellow substance chemically akin to wax that is secreted from wooly animals, with a variety of uses from rust prevention, lubrication and waterproofing to cosmetics and skin ointments.
• lima (noun): lima bean
• liminal (adjective): Of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold.
• limn (verb): To draw or paint; to delineate.
• limo (noun): Clipping of limousine.
• lion (noun): A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.
• loin (noun): The part of the body (of humans and quadrupeds) at each side of the backbone, between the ribs and hips
• maid (noun): A girl or an unmarried young woman; maiden.
• mail (noun): A bag or wallet.
• mailman (noun): someone who delivers mail to, and/or collects mail from, residential or commercial addresses, or from public mailboxes
• maim (verb): To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body.
• main (adjective): Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal.
• mainland (noun): The continent; the principal land, as distinguished from islands or a peninsula.
• mammalian (adjective): of, or pertaining to, mammals
• mania (noun): Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity.
• manila (adjective): Made of manila paper or material like it.
• midi (adjective): Having a hemline at mid-calf length.
• midland (noun): The region of a country not near the borders; the interior.
• mild (adjective): Gentle and not easily angered.
• mill (noun): A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc.
• million (numeral): The cardinal number 1,000,000: 10; a thousand thousand.
• mind (noun): The ability of rational thought.
• mini (adjective): Miniature, tiny, small.
• minim (noun): A half note, drawn as a semibreve with a stem.
• minima (noun): plural of minimum
• minimal (adjective): The smallest possible amount, quantity, or degree.
• minion (noun): A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
• moil (verb): To toil, to work hard.
• monomania (noun): Excessive interest or concentration on a singular object or subject.
• monomial (adjective): Being or relating to a polynomial consisting of one term.
• naiad (noun): A female deity (nymph) associated with water, especially a spring, stream, or other fresh water.
• nail (noun): The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
• nominal (adjective): Of, resembling, relating to, or consisting of a name or names.
• nonillion (numeral): 10.
• oilman (noun): Somebody involved in the production, refinement or delivery of oil; such as an oil field worker or executive, or the owner of an oil well.
• olio (noun): A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
• onion (noun): A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.