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.

• anal  (AN4)
• anneal  (AN6)
• ante  (AN4)
• antenatal  (AN9)
• antenna  (AN7)
• antennae  (AN8)
• apnea  (AP5)
• appellant  (AP9)
• eaten  (EA5)
• elan  (EL4)
• elephant^†  (EL8)
• enate  (EN5)
• entente  (EN7)
• ethane  (ET6)
• happen  (HA6)
• heathen  (HE7)
• henna  (HE5)
• heptane  (HE7)
• lane  (LA4)
• lateen  (LA6)
• laten  (LA5)
• latent  (LA6)
• lean  (LE4)
• leant  (LE5)
• lent  (LE4)
• naan  (NA4)
• nana  (NA4)
• nape  (NA4)
• natal  (NA5)
• natant  (NA6)
• neap  (NE4)
• neat  (NE4)
• neaten  (NE6)
• neath  (NE5)
• nene  (NE4)
• nepenthe  (NE8)
• nettle  (NE6)
• paean  (PA5)
• panatela  (PA8)
• pane  (PA4)
• panel  (PA5)
• pant  (PA4)
• patent  (PA6)
• patentee  (PA8)
• peahen  (PE6)
• peen  (PE4)
• penal  (PE5)
• pennant  (PE7)
• penne  (PE5)
• pent  (PE4)
• pentane  (PE7)
• pentathlete^†  (PE11)
• plan  (PL4)
• plane  (PL5)
• planet  (PL6)
• plant  (PL5)
• plena  (PL5)
• talent  (TA6)
• teen  (TE4)
• telnet  (TE6)
• tenant  (TE6)
• tenet  (TE5)
• tent  (TE4)
• tenth  (TE5)
• than  (TH4)
• thane  (TH5)
• then  (TH4)

Answer Definitions

• anal (adjective): of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
• anneal (verb): To subject to great heat and then (often slow) cooling, and sometimes reheating and further cooling, for the purpose of rendering less brittle; to temper; to toughen.
• ante (noun): A price or cost, as in up the ante.
• antenatal (adjective): occurring or existing before birth
• antenna (noun): A feeler organ on the head of an insect, crab, or other animal.
• antennae (noun): plural of antenna
• apnea (noun): The cessation of breathing, most often in reference to transient instances thereof during sleep.
• appellant (adjective): of or relating to appeals; appellate
• eaten (verb): past participle of eat
• elan (noun): Uncommon spelling of élan.
• elephant^† (noun): A mammal of the order Proboscidea, having a trunk, and two large ivory tusks jutting from the upper jaw.
• enate (noun): A relative whose relation is traced only through female members of the family.
• entente (noun): An informal alliance or friendly understanding between two states.
• ethane (noun): An aliphatic hydrocarbon, C2H6, gaseous at normal temperatures and pressures, being a constituent of natural gas.
• happen (verb): To occur or take place.
• heathen (adjective): Not adhering to Christian religion (though usually excluding the Jews); pagan.
• henna (noun): A shrub, Lawsonia inermis, having fragrant reddish flowers
• heptane (noun): Any of the nine isomers of the saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon C7H16, obtained from petroleum, especially n-heptane (CH3(CH2)5CH3)
• lane (noun): A road, street, or similar thoroughfare.
• lateen (noun): A triangular fore-and-aft sail set on a boom in such way that the tack is attached to the hull of the vessel and the free end of the boom lifts the sail.
• laten (verb): To grow late; become later.
• latent (adjective): Existing or present but concealed or inactive.
• lean (verb): To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
• leant (verb): simple past tense and past participle of lean
• lent (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Lent
• naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
• nana (noun): A banana.
• nape (noun): The back part of the neck.
• natal (adjective): Of or relating to birth.
• natant (adjective): floating or swimming (in water)
• neap (noun): The tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animals.
• neat (adjective): Clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities.
• neaten (verb): To make (someone or something) neat; to arrange (people or things) in an orderly, tidy way; to tidy.
• neath (preposition): Beneath.
• nene (noun): The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.
• nepenthe (noun): Alternative form of nepenthes (“a drug that relieves one of emotional pain, grief or sorrow”).
• nettle (noun): Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash. Especially, most species of herb genus Urtica, the stinging nettles: Most, but not all, subspecies of Urtica dioica (common nettle), Urtica incisa (Australian nettle); Wood nettle (Laportea canadensis); Bull nettles and spurge nettles of genus Cnidoscolus: Cnidoscolus stimulosus, bull nettle, spurge nettle, Cnidoscolus texanus, Texas bull nettle, Cnidoscolus urens, bull nettle, Nettle trees or tree nettles: Various species of the genus Dendrocnide: Urera baccifera (scratchbush), Urtica ferox (tree nettle); rock nettle (Eucnide); small-leaved nettle (Dendrocnide photinophylla).
• paean (noun): A chant or song, especially a hymn of thanksgiving for deliverance or victory, to Apollo or sometimes another god or goddess; hence any song sung to solicit victory in battle.
• panatela (noun): A long thin cigar.
• pane (noun): An individual sheet of glass in a window, door, etc.
• panel (noun): A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc.
• pant (noun): A quick breathing; a catching of the breath; a gasp: the panting of animals such as a dog with their tong hung out- as a form of thermoregulation.
• patent (noun): An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent. A grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of goods. A declaration issued by a government agency that the inventor of a new invention has the sole privilege of making, selling, or using the claimed invention for a specified period. A specific grant of ownership of a piece of real property; a land patent.
• patentee (noun): One to whom a grant is made, or a privilege secured, by patent.
• peahen (noun): A female peafowl.
• peen (noun): The (often spherical) end of the head of a hammer opposite the main hammering end.
• penal (adjective): Of or relating to punishment.
• pennant (noun): A flag normally used by naval vessels to represent a special condition. The broad pennant flown by commodores. The church pennant indicating religious services are taking place aboard ship. The commissioning pennant flown on ceremonial occasions.
• penne (noun): A type of short, diagonally cut pasta.
• pent (noun): Confinement; concealment.
• pentane (noun): An aliphatic hydrocarbon of chemical formula C5H12; either of the three isomers n-pentane, methyl-butane (isopentane), and di-methyl-propane (neopentane); volatile liquids under normal conditions.
• pentathlete^† (noun): An athlete who competes in the pentathlon
• plan (noun): A drawing showing technical details of a building, machine, etc., with unwanted details omitted, and often using symbols rather than detailed drawing to represent doors, valves, etc.
• plane (adjective): Of a surface: flat or level.
• planet (noun): Each of the seven major bodies which move relative to the fixed stars in the night sky—the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
• plant (noun): An organism that is not an animal, especially an organism capable of photosynthesis. Typically a small or herbaceous organism of this kind, rather than a tree.
• plena (noun): A style of Puerto Rican music having a highly syncopated rhythm and often satirical lyrics
• talent (noun): A marked natural ability or skill.
• teen (noun): Synonym of teenager: a person between 13 and 19 years old.
• telnet (noun): A network protocol that enables one computer to communicate with another via the Internet; the program that acts as the client in this situation
• tenant (noun): One who holds a lease (a tenancy).
• tenet (noun): An opinion, belief, or principle that is held as absolute truth by someone or especially an organization.
• tent (noun): A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather.
• tenth (adjective): The ordinal numeral form of ten; next in order after that which is ninth.
• than (conjunction): Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
• thane (noun): A rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron.
• then (adverb): At that time.