NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 18, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | h, e, c, k, m, a, t, e |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 42 words |
| Total Points | 188 points |
| Genius Level | 132 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
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</th><th>8</th><th>9 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | - | 2 | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| C | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 12 |
| C | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 12 |
| E | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| E | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| H | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 5 |
| K | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| M | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 7 |
| T | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 8 | Σ | 16 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 42 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×3 AT×3 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×5 CH×7 |
| C | CA×5 CH×7 |
| E | EA×1 EM×1 ET×1 |
| E | EA×1 EM×1 ET×1 |
| H | HA×4 HE×1 |
| K | KE×1 |
| M | MA×6 ME×1 |
| T | TA×4 TE×3 TH×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACE×1 ACH×1 ACM×1 ATT×3 |
|---|---|
| C | CAC×2 CAK×1 CAM×1 CAT×1 CHA×1 CHE×6 |
| C | CAC×2 CAK×1 CAM×1 CAT×1 CHA×1 CHE×6 |
| E | EAC×1 EMC×1 ETC×1 |
| E | EAC×1 EMC×1 ETC×1 |
| H | HAC×1 HAT×3 HEC×1 |
| K | KET×1 |
| M | MAC×3 MAT×3 MEC×1 |
| T | TAC×4 TEA×2 TEC×1 THA×1 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ac..... | AC7 | Any salt or ester of acetic acid. |
| ac.. | AC4 | To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed. |
| ac.. | AC4 | A high point: the highest point of any range, the most developed stage of any process, or the culmination of any field or historical period. |
| at.... | AT6 | To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively). |
| at..... | AT7 | Alternative form of attaché |
| at.... | AT6 | An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent or enemy. |
| ca... | CA5 | A store of things that may be required in the future, which can be retrieved rapidly, protected or hidden in some way. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A seal, as of a letter. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing. |
| ca.. | CA4 | simple past tense of come |
| ca... | CA5 | The act of seizing or capturing. |
| ch.. | CH4 | To be engaged in informal conversation. |
| ch... | CH5 | To violate rules in order to gain, or attempt to gain, advantage from a situation. |
| ch... | CH5 | A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece. |
| ch....... † | CH9 | Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game. |
| 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..... | CH7 | A distinctive member (Acinonyx jubatus) of the cat family, slightly smaller than the leopard, but with proportionately longer limbs and a smaller head. It is native to Africa and also credited with being the fastest terrestrial animal. |
| ch.. | CH4 | Abbreviation of chemistry; commonly capitalized, short for the subject or the department. |
| ea.. | EA4 | All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every). |
| em... | EM5 | Alternative form of MC in its senses as Master of ceremonies. A rapper. |
| et.. | ET4 | To cut into a surface with an acid or other corrosive substance in order to make a pattern. Best known as a technique for creating printing plates, but also used for decoration on metal, and, in modern industry, to make circuit boards. |
| ha.. | HA4 | To chop or cut down in a rough manner. |
| ha... | HA5 | A horizontal door in a floor or ceiling. |
| ha...... | HA8 | A room, in a theatre or other such venue, in which hats and other garments may be stored. |
| ha..... | HA7 | A small, light axe with a short handle; a tomahawk. |
| he.. | HE4 | Hell. |
| ke... | KE5 | A fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel with two masts, main and mizzen, the mizzen being stepped forward of the rudder post. |
| ma.. | MA4 | A heavy fighting club. |
| ma..... | MA7 | A sword-like tool used for cutting large plants with a chopping motion, or as a weapon. The blade is usually 50 to 65 centimeters long, and up to three millimeters thick. |
| ma.. | MA4 | An individual skilled in the art of seduction using verbal skills. |
| ma... | MA5 | A competitive sporting event such as a boxing meet, a baseball game, or a cricket match. |
| ma.... | MA6 | A type of powdered green tea, traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies. |
| ma....... † | MA9 | To do matchmaking: to set up a date between two people or to arrange a marriage. |
| me... | ME5 | Alternative form of Mecca; a place to which a group of people (for example shoppers) are drawn. |
| ta... | TA5 | An instruction indicating silence on the part of the performers of a piece. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Clipping of tachometer. |
| ta.. | TA4 | A small nail with a flat head. |
| ta.. | TA4 | The sense of touch; feeling. |
| te..... | TE7 | A flat, round bread bun, usually containing currants, sultanas or peel and often served toasted and buttered with tea. |
| te... | TE5 | To pass on knowledge to. |
| te.. | TE4 | Technology. |
| th.... | TH6 | Straw, rushes, or similar, used for making or covering the roofs of buildings, or of stacks of hay or grain. |
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.
- acetate (AC7)
- ache (AC4)
- acme (AC4)
- attach (AT6)
- attache (AT7)
- attack (AT6)
- cache (CA5)
- cachet (CA6)
- cake (CA4)
- came (CA4)
- catch (CA5)
- chat (CH4)
- cheat (CH5)
- check (CH5)
- checkmate† (CH9)
- cheek (CH5)
- cheetah (CH7)
- chem (CH4)
- each (EA4)
- emcee (EM5)
- etch (ET4)
- hack (HA4)
- hatch (HA5)
- hatcheck (HA8)
- hatchet (HA7)
- heck (HE4)
- ketch (KE5)
- mace (MA4)
- machete (MA7)
- mack (MA4)
- match (MA5)
- matcha (MA6)
- matchmake† (MA9)
- mecca (ME5)
- tacet (TA5)
- tach (TA4)
- tack (TA4)
- tact (TA4)
- teacake (TE7)
- teach (TE5)
- tech (TE4)
- thatch (TH6)
Answer Definitions
- acetate (noun): Any salt or ester of acetic acid.
- ache (verb): To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
- acme (noun): A high point: the highest point of any range, the most developed stage of any process, or the culmination of any field or historical period.
- attach (verb): To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively).
- attache (noun): Alternative form of attaché
- attack (noun): An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent or enemy.
- cache (noun): A store of things that may be required in the future, which can be retrieved rapidly, protected or hidden in some way.
- cachet (noun): A seal, as of a letter.
- cake (noun): A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.
- came (verb): simple past tense of come
- catch (noun): The act of seizing or capturing.
- chat (verb): To be engaged in informal conversation.
- cheat (verb): To violate rules in order to gain, or attempt to gain, advantage from a situation.
- check (noun): A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.
- checkmate† (interjection): Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.
- cheek (noun): The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.
- cheetah (noun): A distinctive member (Acinonyx jubatus) of the cat family, slightly smaller than the leopard, but with proportionately longer limbs and a smaller head. It is native to Africa and also credited with being the fastest terrestrial animal.
- chem (noun): Abbreviation of chemistry; commonly capitalized, short for the subject or the department.
- each (determiner): All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every).
- emcee (noun): Alternative form of MC in its senses as Master of ceremonies. A rapper.
- etch (verb): To cut into a surface with an acid or other corrosive substance in order to make a pattern. Best known as a technique for creating printing plates, but also used for decoration on metal, and, in modern industry, to make circuit boards.
- hack (verb): To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
- hatch (noun): A horizontal door in a floor or ceiling.
- hatcheck (noun): A room, in a theatre or other such venue, in which hats and other garments may be stored.
- hatchet (noun): A small, light axe with a short handle; a tomahawk.
- heck (interjection): Hell.
- ketch (noun): A fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel with two masts, main and mizzen, the mizzen being stepped forward of the rudder post.
- mace (noun): A heavy fighting club.
- machete (noun): A sword-like tool used for cutting large plants with a chopping motion, or as a weapon. The blade is usually 50 to 65 centimeters long, and up to three millimeters thick.
- mack (noun): An individual skilled in the art of seduction using verbal skills.
- match (noun): A competitive sporting event such as a boxing meet, a baseball game, or a cricket match.
- matcha (noun): A type of powdered green tea, traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies.
- matchmake† (verb): To do matchmaking: to set up a date between two people or to arrange a marriage.
- mecca (noun): Alternative form of Mecca; a place to which a group of people (for example shoppers) are drawn.
- tacet (verb): An instruction indicating silence on the part of the performers of a piece.
- tach (noun): Clipping of tachometer.
- tack (noun): A small nail with a flat head.
- tact (noun): The sense of touch; feeling.
- teacake (noun): A flat, round bread bun, usually containing currants, sultanas or peel and often served toasted and buttered with tea.
- teach (verb): To pass on knowledge to.
- tech (noun): Technology.
- thatch (noun): Straw, rushes, or similar, used for making or covering the roofs of buildings, or of stacks of hay or grain.