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.

• cocoon  (CO6)
• come  (CO4)
• comet  (CO5)
• commence  (CO8)
• commencement  (CO12)
• comment  (CO7)
• common  (CO6)
• comp  (CO4)
• compete  (CO7)
• competence^†  (CO10)
• competent^†  (CO9)
• component^†  (CO9)
• compote  (CO7)
• concept  (CO7)
• concoct  (CO7)
• cone  (CO4)
• connect  (CO7)
• connote  (CO7)
• conte  (CO5)
• contempt^†  (CO8)
• content  (CO7)
• contentment  (CO11)
• coop  (CO4)
• coopt  (CO5)
• coot  (CO4)
• cope  (CO4)
• cote  (CO4)
• cotton  (CO6)
• ecotone  (EC7)
• emote  (EM5)
• memento  (ME7)
• memo  (ME4)
• moment  (MO6)
• mono  (MO4)
• monotone  (MO8)
• monte  (MO5)
• moon  (MO4)
• moot  (MO4)
• mope  (MO4)
• moppet  (MO6)
• mote  (MO4)
• motet  (MO5)
• motto  (MO5)
• neocon  (NE6)
• neon  (NE4)
• nonce  (NO5)
• noncom  (NO6)
• noncompete^†  (NO10)
• none  (NO4)
• nonet  (NO5)
• noon  (NO4)
• nope  (NO4)
• note  (NO4)
• octet  (OC5)
• omen  (OM4)
• once  (ON4)
• onto  (ON4)
• open  (OP4)
• opponent  (OP8)
• peon  (PE4)
• poem  (PO4)
• poet  (PO4)
• pome  (PO4)
• pomp  (PO4)
• pompom  (PO6)
• pone  (PO4)
• pontoon  (PO7)
• poop  (PO4)
• pope  (PO4)
• potent  (PO6)
• tempo  (TE5)
• tenon  (TE5)
• tome  (TO4)
• tone  (TO4)
• toneme  (TO6)
• tonne  (TO5)
• toon  (TO4)
• toot  (TO4)
• tope  (TO4)
• tote  (TO4)
• totem  (TO5)

Answer Definitions

• cocoon (noun): The silky protective case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, the pupa.
• come (verb): To move from further away to nearer to.
• comet (noun): A small Solar System body consisting mainly of volatile ice, dust and particles of rock whose very eccentric solar orbit periodically brings it close enough to the Sun that the ice vaporises to form an atmosphere, or coma, which may be blown by the solar wind to produce a visible tail.
• commence (verb): To begin, start.
• commencement (noun): The first existence of anything; act or fact of commencing; the beginning.
• comment (noun): A spoken or written remark.
• common (adjective): Mutual; shared by more than one.
• comp (adjective): Clipping of complimentary.
• compete (verb): To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend
• competence^† (noun): The quality or state of being competent, i.e. able or suitable for a general role.
• competent^† (adjective): Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications.
• component^† (noun): A smaller, self-contained part of a larger entity. Often refers to a manufactured object that is part of a larger device.
• compote (noun): A dessert made of fruit cooked in sugary syrup.
• concept (noun): An abstract and general idea; an abstraction.
• concoct (verb): To prepare something by mixing various ingredients, especially to prepare food for cooking.
• cone (noun): A surface of revolution formed by rotating a segment of a line around another line that intersects the first line.
• connect (verb): To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
• connote (verb): To signify beyond its literal or principal meaning.
• conte (noun): A short story as a form of literary composition.
• contempt^† (noun): The state or act of contemning; the feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless; scorn, disdain.
• content (adjective): Satisfied, pleased, contented.
• contentment (noun): The state or degree of being contented or satisfied.
• coop (noun): A basket, pen or enclosure for birds or small animals.
• coopt (verb): Alternative spelling of co-opt
• coot (noun): Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead.
• cope (verb): To deal effectively with something, especially if difficult.
• cote (noun): A cottage or hut.
• cotton (noun): Gossypium, a genus of plant used as a source of cotton fiber.
• ecotone (noun): a transition area between two adjacent ecological communities (ecosystems).
• emote (verb): To display or express (emotions, mental states, etc.) openly, particularly while acting, and especially in an excessive manner. To deliver (a speech), say (lines of a play, words), etc., in a dramatic or emotional manner, especially if overly so.
• memento (noun): A keepsake; an object kept as a reminder of a place or event.
• memo (noun): A short note; a memorandum.
• moment (noun): A brief, unspecified amount of time.
• mono (noun): Clipping of mononucleosis.
• monotone (adjective): Having a single unvaried pitch.
• monte (noun): A game in which three or four cards are dealt face-up and players bet on which of them will first be matched in suit by others dealt.
• moon (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).
• moot (adjective): Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve.
• mope (verb): To carry oneself in a depressed, lackadaisical manner; to give oneself up to low spirits; to pout, sulk.
• moppet (noun): A child. Often used lovingly or in an affectionate way.
• mote (noun): A small particle; a speck.
• motet (noun): A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.
• motto (noun): A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
• neocon (noun): A neoconservative.
• neon (noun): The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The second of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas.
• nonce (noun): The one or single occasion; the present reason or purpose (now only in for the nonce).
• noncom (noun): A non-commissioned officer, such as a sergeant (army) or petty officer (navy).
• noncompete^† (adjective): Of or pertaining to a commitment not to engage in competition with another party
• none (pronoun): Not any of a given number or group.
• nonet (noun): A composition for nine instruments or nine voices.
• noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
• nope (particle): No.
• note (noun): A symbol or annotation. A mark or token by which a thing may be known; a visible sign; a character; a distinctive mark or feature; a characteristic quality. A mark, or sign, made to call attention, to point out something to notice, or the like; a sign, or token, proving or giving evidence. A brief remark; a marginal comment or explanation; hence, an annotation on a text or author; a comment; a critical, explanatory, or illustrative observation.
• octet (noun): A group or set of eight of something.
• omen (noun): Something which portends or is perceived to portend either a good or evil event or circumstance in the future, or which causes a foreboding; a portent or augury.
• once (adverb): One and only one time.
• onto (preposition): Upon; on top of.
• open (adjective): Not closed. Able to be accessed. Able to have something pass through or along it.
• opponent (noun): One who opposes another; one who works or takes a position against someone or something; one who attempts to stop the progress of someone or something.
• peon (noun): A lowly person; a peasant or serf; a labourer who is obliged to do menial work.
• poem (noun): A literary piece written in verse.
• poet (noun): A person who writes poems.
• pome (noun): A type of fruit in which the often edible flesh arises from the swollen base of the flower and not from the carpels.
• pomp (noun): Show of magnificence; parade; display; power.
• pompom (noun): A decorative ball made of pieces of soft fabric bound at the centre, most notably used in cheerleading.
• pone (noun): A writ in law used by the superior courts to remove cases from inferior courts.
• pontoon (noun): A flat-bottomed boat used as a support for a temporary bridge.
• poop (verb): To make a short blast on a horn.
• pope (noun): An honorary title of the Roman Catholic bishop of Rome as father and head of his church, a sovereign of the Vatican city state. Any similarly absolute and 'infallible' authority. Any similar head of a religion. A theocrat, a priest-king, including (at first especially) over the imaginary land of Prester John or (now) in figurative and alliterative uses. An effigy of the pope traditionally burnt in Britain on Guy Fawkes' Day and (occasionally) at other times. Pope Day, the present Guy Fawkes Day.
• potent (adjective): Possessing strength.
• tempo (noun): A frequency or rate.
• tenon (noun): A projecting member left by cutting away the wood around it, and made to insert into a mortise, and in this way secure together the parts of a frame.
• tome (noun): One in a series of volumes.
• tone (noun): A specific pitch.
• toneme (noun): A phoneme in a language that uses different tones for different meanings.
• tonne (noun): A metric unit of mass equal to a thousand kilograms. Symbol: t
• toon (noun): A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
• toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.
• tope (verb): To drink excessively; to get drunk.
• tote (noun): A tote bag.
• totem (noun): Any natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family.