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.

• benevolent^†  (BE10)
• beet  (BE4)
• beetle  (BE6)
• belt  (BE4)
• bent  (BE4)
• bento  (BE5)
• betel  (BE5)
• blot  (BL4)
• blotto  (BL6)
• bolt  (BO4)
• bonnet  (BO6)
• boot  (BO4)
• bootee  (BO6)
• botnet  (BO6)
• bottle  (BO6)
• entente  (EN7)
• event  (EV5)
• lent  (LE4)
• lento  (LE5)
• loot  (LO4)
• lotto  (LO5)
• nettle  (NE6)
• nonet  (NO5)
• nonevent  (NO8)
• note  (NO4)
• novelette  (NO9)
• onto  (ON4)
• teen  (TE4)
• tell  (TE4)
• tenet  (TE5)
• tenon  (TE5)
• tent  (TE4)
• toll  (TO4)
• tone  (TO4)
• tonne  (TO5)
• tool  (TO4)
• toon  (TO4)
• toot  (TO4)
• tootle  (TO6)
• tote  (TO4)
• velvet  (VE6)
• velveteen  (VE9)
• vent  (VE4)
• veto  (VE4)
• volt  (VO4)
• vote  (VO4)

Answer Definitions

• benevolent^† (adjective): Having a disposition to do good.
• beet (noun): Beta vulgaris, a plant with a swollen root which is eaten or used to make sugar.
• beetle (noun): Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest.
• belt (noun): A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing.
• bent (verb): simple past tense and past participle of bend
• bento (noun): A Japanese takeaway lunch served in a box, often with the food arranged into an elaborate design.
• betel (noun): Either of two plants often used in combination: an evergreen Indian creeping shrub, Piper betle, whose dried leaves are chewed with betel nut: the betel pepper the seed of the betel palm, Areca catechu: the betel nut
• blot (noun): A blemish, spot or stain made by a coloured substance.
• blotto (adjective): (Very) drunk or intoxicated.
• bolt (noun): A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a cylindrical body that is threaded, with a larger head on one end. It can be inserted into an unthreaded hole up to the head, with a nut then threaded on the other end; a heavy machine screw.
• bonnet (noun): A type of hat, once worn by women or children, held in place by ribbons tied under the chin.
• boot (noun): A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg. A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football.
• bootee (noun): A soft, woolen shoe, usually knitted, for a baby or small pet.
• botnet (noun): A collection of compromised computers that is gradually built up and then unleashed as a DDOS attack or used to send very large quantities of spam.
• bottle (noun): A container, typically made of glass or plastic and having a tapered neck, used primarily for holding liquids.
• entente (noun): An informal alliance or friendly understanding between two states.
• event (noun): An occurrence; something that happens.
• lent (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Lent
• lento (adjective): Slow (45–60 bpm).
• loot (noun): A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks.
• lotto (noun): a game of chance similar to bingo
• nettle (noun): Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash. Especially, most species of herb genus Urtica, the stinging nettles: Most, but not all, subspecies of Urtica dioica (common nettle), Urtica incisa (Australian nettle); Wood nettle (Laportea canadensis); Bull nettles and spurge nettles of genus Cnidoscolus: Cnidoscolus stimulosus, bull nettle, spurge nettle, Cnidoscolus texanus, Texas bull nettle, Cnidoscolus urens, bull nettle, Nettle trees or tree nettles: Various species of the genus Dendrocnide: Urera baccifera (scratchbush), Urtica ferox (tree nettle); rock nettle (Eucnide); small-leaved nettle (Dendrocnide photinophylla).
• nonet (noun): A composition for nine instruments or nine voices.
• nonevent (noun): An anticipated event that does not occur, or one that is a disappointing anticlimax.
• note (noun): A symbol or annotation. A mark or token by which a thing may be known; a visible sign; a character; a distinctive mark or feature; a characteristic quality. A mark, or sign, made to call attention, to point out something to notice, or the like; a sign, or token, proving or giving evidence. A brief remark; a marginal comment or explanation; hence, an annotation on a text or author; a comment; a critical, explanatory, or illustrative observation.
• novelette (noun): A short novel.
• onto (preposition): Upon; on top of.
• teen (noun): Synonym of teenager: a person between 13 and 19 years old.
• tell (verb): To count, reckon, or enumerate.
• tenet (noun): An opinion, belief, or principle that is held as absolute truth by someone or especially an organization.
• tenon (noun): A projecting member left by cutting away the wood around it, and made to insert into a mortise, and in this way secure together the parts of a frame.
• tent (noun): A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather.
• toll (noun): Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.
• tone (noun): A specific pitch.
• tonne (noun): A metric unit of mass equal to a thousand kilograms. Symbol: t
• tool (noun): A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.
• toon (noun): A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
• toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.
• tootle (verb): To make a soft toot sound.
• tote (noun): A tote bag.
• velvet (noun): A closely woven fabric (originally of silk, now also of cotton or man-made fibres) with a thick short pile on one side.
• velveteen (noun): A cotton fabric with a short pile, resembling velvet.
• vent (noun): An opening through which gases, especially air, can pass.
• veto (noun): A political right to disapprove of (and thereby stop) the process of a decision, a law etc.
• volt (noun): In the International System of Units, the derived unit of electrical potential and electromotive force (voltage); the potential difference across a conductor when a current of one ampere uses one watt of power. Symbol: V
• vote (noun): a formalized choice on legally relevant measures such as employment or appointment to office or a proceeding about a legal dispute.