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.

• ably  (AB4)
• allay  (AL5)
• alloy  (AL5)
• ally  (AL4)
• apollo  (AP6)
• appall  (AP6)
• apply  (AP5)
• balk  (BA4)
• balky  (BA5)
• ball  (BA4)
• blab  (BL4)
• blabby  (BL6)
• blob  (BL4)
• blobby  (BL6)
• bloop  (BL5)
• bola  (BO4)
• boll  (BO4)
• bolo  (BO4)
• byplay  (BY6)
• koala  (KO5)
• kola  (KO4)
• lobby  (LO5)
• lobo  (LO4)
• loll  (LO4)
• lollop  (LO6)
• look  (LO4)
• loop  (LO4)
• loopy  (LO5)
• loyal  (LO5)
• loyally  (LO7)
• opal  (OP4)
• pall  (PA4)
• palooka  (PA7)
• palpably  (PA8)
• papal  (PA5)
• papally  (PA7)
• payola  (PA6)
• play  (PL4)
• playbook^†  (PL8)
• playboy  (PL7)
• plop  (PL4)
• ploy  (PL4)
• polka  (PO5)
• poll  (PO4)
• polo  (PO4)
• polyp  (PO5)
• pool  (PO4)
• yolk  (YO4)
• yolky  (YO5)

Answer Definitions

• ably (adverb): In an able manner; with great ability.
• allay (verb): To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
• alloy (noun): A metal that is a combination of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal.
• ally (verb): To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty.
• apollo (noun): A very handsome young man.
• appall (verb): To fill with horror; to dismay.
• apply (verb): To lay or place; to put (one thing to another)
• balk (noun): An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
• balky (adjective): Refusing to proceed or cooperate.
• ball (noun): A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
• blab (verb): To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.
• blabby (adjective): Tending to blab or gossip a lot.
• blob (noun): A shapeless or amorphous mass; a vague shape or amount, especially of a liquid or semisolid substance; a clump, group or collection that lacks definite shape.
• blobby (adjective): Similar in shape to blobs; amorphous in appearance; partially irregular in appearance like bubbles.
• bloop (verb): To blow air bubbles or audibly slosh about in water.
• bola (noun): A throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of a cord.
• boll (noun): The rounded seed-bearing capsule of a cotton or flax plant.
• bolo (noun): A long, heavy, single-edged machete.
• byplay (noun): Any action, carried out onstage during a performance, apart from the main action.
• koala (noun): A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.
• kola (noun): A tree, genus Cola, bearing large brown seeds ("nuts") that are the source of cola extract.
• lobby (noun): An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor.
• lobo (noun): A wolf.
• loll (verb): To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
• lollop (verb): To walk or move with a bouncing or undulating motion and at an unhurried pace.
• look (verb): To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes.
• loop (noun): A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening.
• loopy (adjective): Having loops.
• loyal (adjective): Having or demonstrating undivided and constant support for someone or something.
• loyally (adverb): In a loyal manner, faithfully.
• opal (noun): A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO2·nH2O. A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone found in the opal-silica mineral substrate (potch)
• pall (noun): Senses relating to cloth. Fine cloth, especially purple cloth used for robes. A heavy cloth laid over a coffin or tomb; a shroud laid over a corpse. A piece of cardboard, covered with linen and embroidered on one side, used to cover the chalice during the Eucharist. A cloth used for various purposes on the altar in a church, such as a corporal (“cloth on which elements of the Eucharist are placed”) or frontal (“drapery covering the front of an altar”).
• palooka (noun): A stupid, oafish or clumsy person.
• palpably (adverb): In a palpable manner; tangibly.
• papal (adjective): Having to do with the pope or the papacy.
• papally (adverb): in papal fashion
• payola (noun): A bribe given in exchange for a favor, such as one given in exchange for the promotion of goods or services (originally one given to a disk jockey to play a record).
• play (verb): To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
• playbook^† (noun): A book containing the text of a play or plays.
• playboy (noun): A single man, especially a wealthy one, who devotes himself to a life of leisure and pleasure, often sexual, without commitments or responsibilities.
• plop (noun): A sound or action like liquid hitting a hard surface, or an object falling into a body of water.
• ploy (noun): A tactic, strategy, or scheme.
• polka (noun): A lively dance originating in Bohemia.
• poll (noun): A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.
• polo (noun): A ball game where two teams of players on horseback use long-handled mallets to propel the ball along the ground and into their opponent's goal.
• polyp (noun): An abnormal growth protruding from a mucous membrane.
• pool (noun): A small and rather deep area of (usually) fresh water, as one supplied by a spring, or occurring in the course of a stream or river; a reservoir for water.
• yolk (noun): The yellow, spherical part of an egg that is surrounded by the white albumen, and serves as nutriment for the growing young.
• yolky (adjective): Of, pertaining to, or having the characteristics of yolk.