NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 7, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | R |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | d, f, i, o, t, w |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 29 words |
| Total Points | 70 points |
| Genius Level | 49 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</th><th>8</th><th>9 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 5 |
| F | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| R | 8 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 9 |
| T | 6 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 9 |
| W | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 22 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 29 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| D | DI×1 DO×1 DR×3 |
|---|---|
| F | FO×2 |
| I | |
| O | OD×1 |
| R | RI×3 RO×6 |
| T | TO×6 TR×3 |
| W | WO×2 WR×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| D | DIR×1 DOO×1 DRI×2 DRO×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FOR×2 |
| I | |
| O | ODO×1 |
| R | RIF×2 RIO×1 ROO×3 ROT×3 |
| T | TOR×6 TRI×1 TRO×2 |
| W | WOR×2 WRI×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) |
|---|---|---|
| di.. | DI4 | Soil or earth. |
| do.. | DO4 | A portal of entry into a building, room, or vehicle, consisting of a rigid plane movable on a hinge. Doors are frequently made of wood or metal. May have a handle to help open and close, a latch to hold the door closed, and a lock that ensures the door cannot be opened without the key. |
| dr... | DR5 | Movement; that which moves or is moved. Anything driven at random. A mass of matter which has been driven or forced onward together in a body, or thrown together in a heap, etc., especially by wind or water. |
| dr....... † | DR9 | A floating piece, or pieces, of wood that drifts with the current. |
| dr... | DR5 | A robot, especially one made with some physical resemblance to a human (an android). |
| fo.. | FO4 | A location where a stream is shallow and the bottom has good footing, making it possible to cross from one side to the other with no bridge, by walking, riding, or driving through the water; a crossing. |
| fo.. | FO4 | A fortified defensive structure stationed with troops. |
| od.. | OD4 | Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A repeated instrumental melody line in a song. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A chasm or fissure. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by a large group of people, often involving violence or damage to property. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A crucifix, cross, especially in a church. |
| ro.. | RO4 | The external covering at the top of a building. |
| ro.. | RO4 | The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A kind of unleavened flatbread commonly consumed in South Asia and the Caribbean. |
| ro.. | RO4 | Clipping of rotogravure. |
| ro... | RO5 | A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump. |
| to.. | TO4 | plural of torus |
| to... | TO5 | A traditional Japanese gate at Shinto shrines, symbolically marking the transition from the profane to the sacred. |
| to.. | TO4 | A traditional Japanese lantern. |
| to.... | TO6 | A surface generated by a closed curve (especially a circle) rotating about, but not intersecting or containing, an axis in its own plane. |
| to.... | TO6 | Very hot and dry. |
| to.. | TO4 | An injury or wrong. |
| tr.. | TR4 | A group of three people or things. |
| tr.. | TR4 | simple past tense of tread |
| tr.. | TR4 | An ugly old woman, a hag. |
| wo.. | WO4 | The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. The smallest discrete unit of spoken language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more phonemes and one or more morphemes The smallest discrete unit of written language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more letters or symbols and one or more morphemes A discrete, meaningful unit of language approved by an authority or native speaker (compare non-word). |
| wo.. | WO4 | A plant; herb; vegetable. |
| wr.. | WR4 | A written order, issued by a court, ordering someone to do (or stop doing) something. |
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.
- dirt (DI4)
- door (DO4)
- drift (DR5)
- driftwood† (DR9)
- droid (DR5)
- ford (FO4)
- fort (FO4)
- odor (OD4)
- riff (RI4)
- rift (RI4)
- riot (RI4)
- rood (RO4)
- roof (RO4)
- root (RO4)
- roti (RO4)
- roto (RO4)
- rotor (RO5)
- tori (TO4)
- torii (TO5)
- toro (TO4)
- toroid (TO6)
- torrid (TO6)
- tort (TO4)
- trio (TR4)
- trod (TR4)
- trot (TR4)
- word (WO4)
- wort (WO4)
- writ (WR4)
Answer Definitions
- dirt (noun): Soil or earth.
- door (noun): A portal of entry into a building, room, or vehicle, consisting of a rigid plane movable on a hinge. Doors are frequently made of wood or metal. May have a handle to help open and close, a latch to hold the door closed, and a lock that ensures the door cannot be opened without the key.
- drift (noun): Movement; that which moves or is moved. Anything driven at random. A mass of matter which has been driven or forced onward together in a body, or thrown together in a heap, etc., especially by wind or water.
- driftwood† (noun): A floating piece, or pieces, of wood that drifts with the current.
- droid (noun): A robot, especially one made with some physical resemblance to a human (an android).
- ford (noun): A location where a stream is shallow and the bottom has good footing, making it possible to cross from one side to the other with no bridge, by walking, riding, or driving through the water; a crossing.
- fort (noun): A fortified defensive structure stationed with troops.
- odor (noun): Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive.
- riff (noun): A repeated instrumental melody line in a song.
- rift (noun): A chasm or fissure.
- riot (noun): A tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by a large group of people, often involving violence or damage to property.
- rood (noun): A crucifix, cross, especially in a church.
- roof (noun): The external covering at the top of a building.
- root (noun): The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
- roti (noun): A kind of unleavened flatbread commonly consumed in South Asia and the Caribbean.
- roto (noun): Clipping of rotogravure.
- rotor (noun): A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump.
- tori (noun): plural of torus
- torii (noun): A traditional Japanese gate at Shinto shrines, symbolically marking the transition from the profane to the sacred.
- toro (noun): A traditional Japanese lantern.
- toroid (noun): A surface generated by a closed curve (especially a circle) rotating about, but not intersecting or containing, an axis in its own plane.
- torrid (adjective): Very hot and dry.
- tort (noun): An injury or wrong.
- trio (noun): A group of three people or things.
- trod (verb): simple past tense of tread
- trot (noun): An ugly old woman, a hag.
- word (noun): The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. The smallest discrete unit of spoken language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more phonemes and one or more morphemes The smallest discrete unit of written language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more letters or symbols and one or more morphemes A discrete, meaningful unit of language approved by an authority or native speaker (compare non-word).
- wort (noun): A plant; herb; vegetable.
- writ (noun): A written order, issued by a court, ordering someone to do (or stop doing) something.