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.

• backboard^†  (BA9)
• backdoor^†  (BA8)
• corkboard^†  (CO9)
• aback  (AB5)
• aboard  (AB6)
• abracadabra  (AB11)
• abroad  (AB6)
• accord  (AC6)
• adobo  (AD5)
• arbor  (AR5)
• arco  (AR4)
• ardor  (AR5)
• baba  (BA4)
• babka  (BA5)
• back  (BA4)
• baobab  (BA6)
• barb  (BA4)
• barback  (BA7)
• barbacoa  (BA8)
• bard  (BA4)
• bark  (BA4)
• barrack  (BA7)
• boar  (BO4)
• board  (BO5)
• boba  (BO4)
• bookrack  (BO8)
• brad  (BR4)
• broad  (BR5)
• cacao  (CA5)
• carb  (CA4)
• card  (CA4)
• cardboard  (CA9)
• carob  (CA5)
• cobra  (CO5)
• coca  (CO4)
• cocoa  (CO5)
• coda  (CO4)
• crab  (CR4)
• crack  (CR5)
• croak  (CR5)
• dark  (DA4)
• doodad  (DO6)
• dorado  (DO6)
• drab  (DR4)
• kabob  (KA5)
• okra  (OK4)
• orca  (OR4)
• rack  (RA4)
• radar  (RA5)
• road  (RO4)
• roar  (RO4)

Answer Definitions

• backboard^† (noun): The flat vertical surface to which the basket is attached.
• backdoor^† (noun): Alternative spelling of back door, which can be used attributively.
• corkboard^† (noun): Alternative spelling of cork-board
• aback (adverb): Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'.
• aboard (adverb): On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car.
• abracadabra (noun): A use of the mystical term ‘abracadabra’, supposed to work as part of a healing charm or a magical spell; any spell or incantation making use of the word.
• abroad (adverb): Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries.
• accord (noun): Agreement or concurrence of opinion, will, or action.
• adobo (noun): A Philippine dish in which pork or chicken is slowly cooked in a sauce including soy sauce, vinegar, and crushed garlic.
• arbor (noun): A shady sitting place or pergola usually in a park or garden, surrounded by climbing shrubs, vines or other vegetation.
• arco (adverb): A note in string instrument musical notation indicating that the bow is to be used in the usual way, usually following a passage that is played pizzicato.
• ardor (noun): Great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion.
• baba (noun): A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
• babka (noun): A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins.
• back (adjective): At or near the rear.
• baobab (noun): A tree, Adansonia digitata (and similar species), native to tropical Africa, having a broad swollen trunk and edible gourd-like hanging fruits.
• barb (noun): The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
• barback (noun): An assistant to a bartender
• barbacoa (noun): Meat slow-cooked over an open fire, characteristic of Latin American cuisine.
• bard (noun): A professional poet and singer, like among the ancient Celts, whose occupation was to compose and sing verses in honor of the heroic achievements of princes and brave men.
• bark (verb): To make a short, loud, explosive noise with the vocal organs (said of animals, especially dogs).
• barrack (noun): A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings.
• boar (noun): A wild boar (Sus scrofa), the wild ancestor of the domesticated pig.
• board (noun): A relatively long, wide and thin piece of any material, usually wood or similar, often for use in construction or furniture-making.
• boba (noun): Synonym of tapioca pearl.
• bookrack (noun): A rack for books; a bookshelf.
• brad (noun): A thin, small nail, with a slight projection at the top on one side instead of a head, or occasionally with a small domed head, similar to that of an escutcheon pin.
• broad (adjective): Wide in extent or scope.
• cacao (noun): A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate.
• carb (noun): Clipping of carbohydrate.
• card (symbol): cardinality
• cardboard (noun): A wood-based material resembling heavy paper, used in the manufacture of boxes, cartons and signs.
• carob (noun): An evergreen shrub or tree, Ceratonia siliqua, native to the Mediterranean region.
• cobra (noun): Any of various venomous snakes of the family Elapidae.
• 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.
• crab (noun): A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
• crack (verb): To form cracks.
• croak (noun): A faint, harsh sound made in the throat.
• dark (adjective): Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.
• doodad (noun): Used to refer to something whose name one cannot recall: an unspecified device, gadget, part, or thing.
• dorado (noun): Coryphaena hippurus, the mahi-mahi or dolphin, a species of fish with a dorsal fin that runs the length of the body, also known for iridescent coloration.
• drab (noun): A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour.
• kabob (noun): US spelling of kebab
• okra (noun): The edible immature mucilaginous seed pod (properly, capsule) of the Abelmoschus esculentus.
• orca (noun): A sea mammal (Orcinus orca) related to dolphins and porpoises, commonly called the killer whale.
• rack (noun): A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other
• radar (noun): A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces
• road (noun): A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now (US) usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. In the UK both senses are heard: a country road is the same as a country lane.
• roar (verb): To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.