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.

• elliptical^†  (EL10)
• tailpiece^†  (TA9)
• acacia  (AC6)
• acai  (AC4)
• accept  (AC6)
• acetal  (AC6)
• acetate  (AC7)
• acetic  (AC6)
• alpaca  (AL6)
• apace  (AP5)
• apiece  (AP6)
• attic  (AT5)
• cacti  (CA5)
• calcite  (CA7)
• call  (CA4)
• calla  (CA5)
• cape  (CA4)
• capital  (CA7)
• caplet  (CA6)
• catalpa  (CA7)
• catcall  (CA7)
• cattail  (CA7)
• cattle  (CA6)
• celiac  (CE6)
• cell  (CE4)
• celli  (CE5)
• cilia  (CI5)
• cite  (CI4)
• clap  (CL4)
• cleat  (CL5)
• clip  (CL4)
• eclat  (EC5)
• eclectic  (EC8)
• ecliptic  (EC8)
• elect  (EL5)
• electee  (EL7)
• elicit  (EL6)
• elliptic  (EL8)
• epic  (EP4)
• epileptic  (EP9)
• icicle  (IC6)
• iliac  (IL5)
• illicit  (IL7)
• ipecac  (IP6)
• italic  (IT6)
• lace  (LA4)
• lactate  (LA7)
• lacteal  (LA7)
• lactic  (LA6)
• laic  (LA4)
• laical  (LA6)
• lattice  (LA7)
• lice  (LI4)
• licit  (LI5)
• lilac  (LI5)
• pace  (PA4)
• pact  (PA4)
• palace  (PA6)
• peace  (PE5)
• pellicle  (PE8)
• peptic  (PE6)
• pica  (PI4)
• piccata  (PI7)
• piece  (PI5)
• placate  (PL7)
• place  (PL5)
• tacet  (TA5)
• tacit  (TA5)
• tact  (TA4)
• tactic  (TA6)
• tactical  (TA8)
• tactile  (TA7)
• talc  (TA4)

Answer Definitions

• elliptical^† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
• tailpiece^† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
• 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.
• accept (verb): To receive, especially with a consent, with favour, or with approval.
• acetal (noun): Any diether of a geminal diol, R2C(OR')2 (where R' is not H).
• acetate (noun): Any salt or ester of acetic acid.
• acetic (adjective): Of, pertaining to, or producing vinegar
• alpaca (noun): A sheep-like animal of the Andes, Vicugna pacos, in the camel family, closely related to the llama, guanaco, and vicuña.
• apace (adverb): Quickly, rapidly, with speed.
• apiece (adverb): Each by itself; for or to each one
• attic (noun): The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.
• cacti (noun): plural of cactus
• calcite (noun): a very widely distributed crystalline form of calcium carbonate, CaCO3, found as limestone, chalk and marble
• 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.
• cape (noun): A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland.
• capital (noun): Already-produced durable goods available for use as a factor of production, such as steam shovels (equipment) and office buildings (structures).
• caplet (noun): A smooth-coated tablet (pill, as in medicine) shaped like a capsule, used as a tamper-resistant alternative to a capsule, or an easy-to-swallow alternative to regular tablets.
• catalpa (noun): Any tree of the genus Catalpa, in the family Bignoniaceae. The two North American species, the southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides, and the northern catalpa, Catalpa speciosa — along with the yellow catalpa, Catalpa ovata, from China — are often planted as ornamentals because of their showy flowers and decorative bean pods, though others regard the bean pods as a nuisance.
• catcall (noun): A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.
• cattail (noun): Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, that have long flat leaves, and grow in marshy places.
• cattle (noun): Domesticated bovine animals (cows, bulls, steers etc).
• celiac (adjective): Of, pertaining to or located within the abdomen or abdominal cavity.
• cell (noun): A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
• celli (noun): plural of cello
• cilia (noun): plural of cilium
• cite (verb): to quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or the words of another.
• clap (noun): The act of striking the palms of the hands, or any two surfaces, together.
• cleat (noun): A strip of wood or iron fastened on transversely to something in order to give strength, prevent warping, hold position, etc.
• clip (verb): To grip tightly.
• eclat (noun): Alternative spelling of éclat
• eclectic (adjective): Selecting a mixture of what appears to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles.
• ecliptic (noun): The great circle on the celestial sphere that is the mean apparent path of the sun as viewed from the earth.
• elect (noun): One chosen or set apart.
• electee (noun): Someone who is elected.
• elicit (verb): To evoke, educe (emotions, feelings, responses, etc.); to generate, obtain, or provoke as a response or answer.
• elliptic (adjective): Of or pertaining to an ellipse.
• 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.
• epileptic (adjective): Of or relating to epilepsy.
• icicle (noun): A drooping, tapering shape of ice.
• iliac (adjective): Relating to the ilium.
• illicit (adjective): Not approved by law, but not invalid.
• 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.
• italic (adjective): Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.
• lace (noun): A light fabric containing patterns of holes, usually built up from a single thread.
• lactate (verb): To secrete or produce milk
• lacteal (adjective): Relating to milk.
• lactic (adjective): Of, relating to, or derived from milk.
• 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).
• lattice (noun): A flat panel constructed with widely-spaced crossed thin strips of wood or other material, commonly used as a garden trellis.
• lice (noun): plural of louse
• licit (adjective): Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
• lilac (noun): A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.
• pace (noun): Step. A step taken with the foot. The distance covered in a step (or sometimes two), either vaguely or according to various specific set measurements.
• pact (noun): An agreement; a compact; a covenant.
• palace (noun): Official residence of a head of state or other dignitary, especially in a monarchical or imperial governmental system.
• peace (noun): A state of tranquility, quiet, and harmony; absence of violence. For instance, a state free from civil disturbance.
• pellicle (noun): A thin skin or film.
• peptic (adjective): Of, pertaining to, capable of, or aiding digestion.
• pica (noun): A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand.
• piccata (adjective): Sliced, sautéed and served with lemon, parsley and butter sauce.
• piece (noun): A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
• placate (verb): To calm; to bring peace to; to influence someone who was furious to the point that they become content or at least no longer irate.
• place (noun): An area; somewhere within an area. An open space, particularly a city square, market square, or courtyard. A street, sometimes but not always surrounding a public place, square, or plaza of the same name.
• tacet (verb): An instruction indicating silence on the part of the performers of a piece.
• tacit (adjective): Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence.
• tact (noun): The sense of touch; feeling.
• tactic (noun): A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
• tactical (adjective): of or relating to tactics
• tactile (adjective): Tangible; perceptible to the sense of touch.
• talc (noun): Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic.