NYT Spelling Bee Answers for July 21, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, e, g, h, i, n |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 49 words |
| Total Points | 265 points |
| Genius Level | 186 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</th><th>10 | Σ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| C | 6 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 5 | - | - | 26 |
| E | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| G | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| H | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| I | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| N | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 | Σ | 12 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 49 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×6 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×10 CH×14 CI×2 |
| E | EA×1 EC×1 EN×6 |
| G | GA×1 |
| H | HE×1 |
| I | IC×1 IN×2 |
| N | NI×4 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACA×2 ACH×2 ACI×1 ACN×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAC×2 CAG×2 CAN×6 CHA×7 CHI×7 CIN×2 |
| E | EAC×1 ECH×1 ENC×4 ENH×2 |
| G | GAN×1 |
| H | HEN×1 |
| I | ICI×1 INC×2 |
| N | NIA×1 NIC×2 NIE×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.... | AC6 | A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe. |
| ac.. | AC4 | To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed. |
| ac.... | AC6 | present participle of ache |
| ac... | AC5 | present participle of ace |
| ac.. | AC4 | A skin condition, usually of the face, that is common in adolescents. It is characterised by red pimples, and is caused by the inflammation of sebaceous glands through bacterial infection. |
| 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..... | CA7 | present participle of cache |
| ca.. | CA4 | An enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals. |
| ca.... | CA6 | present participle of cage |
| ca.... | CA6 | A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof The slender, flexible main stem of a plant such as bamboo, including many species in the grass family Gramineae |
| ca.... | CA6 | Of, or pertaining to, a dog or dogs. |
| ca.... | CA6 | present participle of cane |
| ca... | CA5 | Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers. |
| ca..... | CA7 | present participle of can (“to be able to”) |
| ch.. | CH4 | A female gypsy. |
| ch... | CH5 | A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal. |
| ch...... | CH8 | present participle of chain |
| ch.... | CH6 | An opportunity or possibility. |
| ch...... | CH8 | present participle of chance |
| ch.... | CH6 | To become something different. |
| ch...... | CH8 | present participle of change |
| ch.. | CH4 | A Mexican sage grown for its edible seeds, Salvia hispanica. |
| ch.. | CH4 | Elegant, stylish. |
| ch... | CH5 | A Latin-American girl; a Latina. |
| ch.... | CH6 | Affectedly trendy; chic and stylish in a pretentious way. |
| ch.. | CH4 | The bottom of a face, the typically jutting jawline below the mouth. |
| ch... | CH5 | Synonym of porcelain, a hard white translucent ceramic made from kaolin, now sometimes distinguished in reference to tableware as fine or good china. |
| ch...... | CH8 | present participle of chin |
| ci... | CI5 | A simple saddle girth used in Mexico. |
| ci...... | CI8 | present participle of cinch |
| ea.. | EA4 | All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every). |
| ec....... | EC9 | Any of several plants, of genus Echinacea, having pinkish-purple flowers. |
| en.... | EN6 | To lock inside a cage; to imprison. |
| en...... | EN8 | present participle of encage |
| en..... | EN7 | To restrain with, or as if with, chains. |
| en........ † | EN10 | present participle of enchain |
| en..... | EN7 | To lift, raise up. |
| en....... † | EN9 | present participle of enhance |
| ga..... | GA7 | A rich sauce, made of chocolate and cream, used also as the filling of truffles, and as a glaze. |
| he... | HE5 | from here, from this place, away |
| ic... | IC5 | A sweet, often creamy and thick glaze made primarily of sugar, often enriched with ingredients like butter, egg whites, or flavorings, typically used for baked goods. |
| in.. | IN4 | A unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot, or exactly 2.54 centimetres. |
| in..... | IN7 | present participle of inch |
| ni.... | NI6 | A water-soluble vitamin, a component of vitamin B complex, found in meat, yeast, and dairy products; it is essential to metabolism. |
| ni.. | NI4 | Pleasant, satisfactory. |
| ni... | NI5 | A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament. |
| ni... | NI5 | A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece"). |
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.
- acacia (AC6)
- acai (AC4)
- ache (AC4)
- aching (AC6)
- acing (AC5)
- acne (AC4)
- cache (CA5)
- caching (CA7)
- cage (CA4)
- caging (CA6)
- cancan (CA6)
- cane (CA4)
- canine (CA6)
- caning (CA6)
- canna (CA5)
- canning (CA7)
- chai (CH4)
- chain (CH5)
- chaining (CH8)
- chance (CH6)
- chancing (CH8)
- change (CH6)
- changing (CH8)
- chia (CH4)
- chic (CH4)
- chica (CH5)
- chichi (CH6)
- chin (CH4)
- china (CH5)
- chinning (CH8)
- cinch (CI5)
- cinching (CI8)
- each (EA4)
- echinacea (EC9)
- encage (EN6)
- encaging (EN8)
- enchain (EN7)
- enchaining† (EN10)
- enhance (EN7)
- enhancing† (EN9)
- ganache (GA7)
- hence (HE5)
- icing (IC5)
- inch (IN4)
- inching (IN7)
- niacin (NI6)
- nice (NI4)
- niche (NI5)
- niece (NI5)
Answer Definitions
- acacia (noun): A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
- acai (noun): Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
- ache (verb): To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
- aching (verb): present participle of ache
- acing (verb): present participle of ace
- acne (noun): A skin condition, usually of the face, that is common in adolescents. It is characterised by red pimples, and is caused by the inflammation of sebaceous glands through bacterial infection.
- cache (noun): A store of things that may be required in the future, which can be retrieved rapidly, protected or hidden in some way.
- caching (verb): present participle of cache
- cage (noun): An enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.
- caging (verb): present participle of cage
- cancan (noun): A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.
- cane (noun): A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof The slender, flexible main stem of a plant such as bamboo, including many species in the grass family Gramineae
- canine (adjective): Of, or pertaining to, a dog or dogs.
- caning (verb): present participle of cane
- canna (noun): Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.
- canning (verb): present participle of can (“to be able to”)
- chai (noun): A female gypsy.
- chain (noun): A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.
- chaining (verb): present participle of chain
- chance (noun): An opportunity or possibility.
- chancing (verb): present participle of chance
- change (verb): To become something different.
- changing (verb): present participle of change
- chia (noun): A Mexican sage grown for its edible seeds, Salvia hispanica.
- chic (adjective): Elegant, stylish.
- chica (noun): A Latin-American girl; a Latina.
- chichi (adjective): Affectedly trendy; chic and stylish in a pretentious way.
- chin (noun): The bottom of a face, the typically jutting jawline below the mouth.
- china (noun): Synonym of porcelain, a hard white translucent ceramic made from kaolin, now sometimes distinguished in reference to tableware as fine or good china.
- chinning (verb): present participle of chin
- cinch (noun): A simple saddle girth used in Mexico.
- cinching (verb): present participle of cinch
- each (determiner): All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every).
- echinacea (noun): Any of several plants, of genus Echinacea, having pinkish-purple flowers.
- encage (verb): To lock inside a cage; to imprison.
- encaging (verb): present participle of encage
- enchain (verb): To restrain with, or as if with, chains.
- enchaining† (verb): present participle of enchain
- enhance (verb): To lift, raise up.
- enhancing† (verb): present participle of enhance
- ganache (noun): A rich sauce, made of chocolate and cream, used also as the filling of truffles, and as a glaze.
- hence (adverb): from here, from this place, away
- icing (noun): A sweet, often creamy and thick glaze made primarily of sugar, often enriched with ingredients like butter, egg whites, or flavorings, typically used for baked goods.
- inch (noun): A unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot, or exactly 2.54 centimetres.
- inching (verb): present participle of inch
- niacin (noun): A water-soluble vitamin, a component of vitamin B complex, found in meat, yeast, and dairy products; it is essential to metabolism.
- nice (adjective): Pleasant, satisfactory.
- niche (noun): A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament.
- niece (noun): A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece").