NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 31, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | e, h, k, l, m, o |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 31 words |
| Total Points | 103 points |
| Genius Level | 72 points |
| Bingo? | No |
Table of Contents
As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!
- Spelling Bee Grid
- Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
- Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
- Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
- Today's Complete Solution
- 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.
| 4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7 | Σ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 8 | 7 | 2 | - | 17 |
| E | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| H | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| K | - | - | - | - | - |
| L | 4 | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| M | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 16 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 31 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CE×2 CH×6 CL×2 CO×7 |
|---|---|
| E | EC×1 EM×1 |
| H | HE×3 HO×2 |
| K | |
| L | LE×2 LO×3 |
| M | MO×2 |
| O |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CEL×2 CHE×4 CHO×2 CLO×2 COC×2 COH×1 COK×1 COM×1 COO×2 |
|---|---|
| E | ECH×1 EMC×1 |
| H | HEC×2 HEM×1 HOC×1 HOO×1 |
| K | |
| L | LEC×1 LEE×1 LOC×3 |
| M | MOC×1 MOO×1 |
| O |
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 (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| ce.. | CE4 | A single-room dwelling for a hermit. |
| ce... | CE5 | A large unfretted stringed instrument of the violin family with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) C-G-D-A and an endpin to support its weight, usually played with a bow. |
| ch... | CH5 | A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece. |
| ch... | CH5 | The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity. |
| ch.. | CH4 | Abbreviation of chemistry; commonly capitalized, short for the subject or the department. |
| ch... | CH5 | Clipping of chemotherapy. |
| ch... | CH5 | Any object used as a wedge or filler, especially when placed behind a wheel to prevent it from rolling. |
| ch... | CH5 | To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air that cause the throat to constrict). |
| cl.... | CL6 | A glass covering, originally bell-shaped, for garden plants to prevent frost damage and promote early growth. |
| cl... | CL5 | An instrument that measures or keeps track of time; a non-wearable timepiece. |
| co.. | CO4 | A male bird, especially: A rooster: a male gallinaceous bird, especially a male domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). A cock pigeon. |
| co.... | CO6 | Any of various edible European bivalve mollusks, of the family Cardiidae, having heart-shaped shells. |
| co.. | CO4 | An anadromus and semelparous salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, found in the coastal regions of the northern Pacific Ocean, used as a symbol by several Native American tribes. |
| co.. | CO4 | Solid residue from roasting coal in a coke oven; used principally as a fuel and in the production of steel and formerly as a domestic fuel. |
| co.. | CO4 | To move from further away to nearer to. |
| co.. | CO4 | A person who prepares food. |
| co.. | CO4 | Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold. |
| ec.. | EC4 | A reflected sound that is heard again by its initial observer. |
| em... | EM5 | Alternative form of MC in its senses as Master of ceremonies. A rapper. |
| he.. | HE4 | Hell. |
| he.... | HE6 | To question harshly in an attempt to find or reveal weaknesses. |
| he..... † | HE7 | Any of the poisonous umbelliferous plants, of the genera Conium, either Conium maculatum or Conium chaerophylloides. Cicuta, water hemlock plant. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A Rhenish wine, of a light yellow color, either sparkling or still, from the Hochheim region; often applied to all Rhenish wines. |
| ho... | HO5 | Alcoholic liquor, especially inferior or illicit whisky. |
| le.. | LE4 | A strong, lecherous desire or craving. |
| le... | LE5 | An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of class Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A lake. |
| lo.. | LO4 | Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower. |
| mo.. | MO4 | An imitation, usually of lesser quality. |
| mo... | MO5 | To wander around aimlessly, often causing irritation to others. |
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.
- cell (CE4)
- cello (CE5)
- check (CH5)
- cheek (CH5)
- chem (CH4)
- chemo (CH5)
- chock (CH5)
- choke (CH5)
- cloche (CL6)
- clock (CL5)
- cock (CO4)
- cockle (CO6)
- coho (CO4)
- coke (CO4)
- come (CO4)
- cook (CO4)
- cool (CO4)
- echo (EC4)
- emcee (EM5)
- heck (HE4)
- heckle (HE6)
- hemlock† (HE7)
- hock (HO4)
- hooch (HO5)
- lech (LE4)
- leech (LE5)
- loch (LO4)
- lock (LO4)
- loco (LO4)
- mock (MO4)
- mooch (MO5)
Answer Definitions
- cell (noun): A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
- cello (noun): A large unfretted stringed instrument of the violin family with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) C-G-D-A and an endpin to support its weight, usually played with a bow.
- check (noun): A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.
- cheek (noun): The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.
- chem (noun): Abbreviation of chemistry; commonly capitalized, short for the subject or the department.
- chemo (noun): Clipping of chemotherapy.
- chock (noun): Any object used as a wedge or filler, especially when placed behind a wheel to prevent it from rolling.
- choke (verb): To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air that cause the throat to constrict).
- cloche (noun): A glass covering, originally bell-shaped, for garden plants to prevent frost damage and promote early growth.
- clock (noun): An instrument that measures or keeps track of time; a non-wearable timepiece.
- cock (noun): A male bird, especially: A rooster: a male gallinaceous bird, especially a male domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). A cock pigeon.
- cockle (noun): Any of various edible European bivalve mollusks, of the family Cardiidae, having heart-shaped shells.
- coho (noun): An anadromus and semelparous salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, found in the coastal regions of the northern Pacific Ocean, used as a symbol by several Native American tribes.
- coke (noun): Solid residue from roasting coal in a coke oven; used principally as a fuel and in the production of steel and formerly as a domestic fuel.
- come (verb): To move from further away to nearer to.
- cook (noun): A person who prepares food.
- cool (adjective): Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold.
- echo (noun): A reflected sound that is heard again by its initial observer.
- emcee (noun): Alternative form of MC in its senses as Master of ceremonies. A rapper.
- heck (interjection): Hell.
- heckle (verb): To question harshly in an attempt to find or reveal weaknesses.
- hemlock† (noun): Any of the poisonous umbelliferous plants, of the genera Conium, either Conium maculatum or Conium chaerophylloides. Cicuta, water hemlock plant.
- hock (noun): A Rhenish wine, of a light yellow color, either sparkling or still, from the Hochheim region; often applied to all Rhenish wines.
- hooch (noun): Alcoholic liquor, especially inferior or illicit whisky.
- lech (noun): A strong, lecherous desire or craving.
- leech (noun): An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of class Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.
- loch (noun): A lake.
- lock (noun): Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.
- loco (adverb): A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower.
- mock (noun): An imitation, usually of lesser quality.
- mooch (verb): To wander around aimlessly, often causing irritation to others.