NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 15, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | A |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | d, m, o, p, r, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 37 words |
| Total Points | 151 points |
| Genius Level | 106 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | 9 |
| D | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| M | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| P | 4 | 2 | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| R | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 7 |
| U | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | Σ | 15 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 37 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AM×2 AR×5 AU×2 |
|---|---|
| D | DA×1 DO×1 DR×2 |
| M | MA×5 MO×1 |
| O | |
| P | PA×5 PO×2 PR×1 PU×2 |
| R | RA×4 RO×3 |
| U | UP×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AMM×1 AMO×1 ARD×1 ARM×2 ARO×1 ARU×1 AUR×2 |
|---|---|
| D | DAM×1 DOO×1 DRA×2 |
| M | MAD×1 MAM×2 MAR×2 MOM×1 |
| O | |
| P | PAM×1 PAP×1 PAR×3 POM×1 POP×1 PRA×1 PUM×1 PUP×1 |
| R | RAD×1 RAM×3 ROA×3 |
| U | UPR×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) |
|---|---|---|
| am.. | AM4 | Ammunition. |
| am... | AM5 | Love, affection. |
| ar... | AR5 | Great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion. |
| ar.... | AR6 | A fleet of warships, especially with reference to the Spanish Armada. |
| ar... | AR5 | A protective layer over a body, vehicle, or other object intended to deflect or diffuse damaging forces. |
| ar... | AR5 | A smell; especially a pleasant spicy or fragrant one. |
| ar.. | AR4 | A flower or plant in the genus Arum |
| au.. | AU4 | Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something. |
| au.... | AU6 | An atmospheric phenomenon created by charged particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere, creating coloured lights in the sky. It is usually named australis or borealis based on whether it is in the Southern or Northern Hemisphere respectively. |
| da.. | DA4 | In a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist. |
| do.... | DO6 | Used to refer to something whose name one cannot recall: an unspecified device, gadget, part, or thing. |
| dr.. | DR4 | A small unit of weight, variously: One sixteenth of an ounce avoirdupois (approximately 1.77 g). Alternative form of drachm (“⁄8 ounce apothecary (3.89 g) (symbol: ℨ)”). Synonym of dirhem: a former Turkish unit of weight (variously 1.5–3.5 g). Synonym of drachma: a former Greek unit of weight (about 4.3 g). |
| dr... | DR5 | A composition, normally in prose, telling a story and intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue |
| ma... | MA5 | A polite form of address for a woman or lady. |
| ma.. | MA4 | Mother, female parent. |
| ma... | MA5 | The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder. |
| ma.... | MA6 | To move about in roving fashion looking for plunder. |
| ma.. | MA4 | madam; a polite term of address for a lady. |
| mo... | MO5 | mother |
| pa... | PA5 | singular of pampas |
| pa.. | PA4 | Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father. |
| pa..... | PA7 | a usually government-operated hostelry found especially in Spain. |
| pa...... | PA8 | A delivery of goods or equipment by dropping of a parachute |
| pa...... | PA8 | An illicit lover, either male or female. |
| po....... † | PO9 | A women's hairstyle in which the hair is swept upwards from the face and worn high over the forehead. |
| po... | PO5 | father, papa. |
| pr.. | PR4 | A small vehicle, usually covered, in which a newborn baby is pushed around in a lying position. |
| pu.. | PU4 | A mountain lion or cougar (Puma concolor). |
| pu.. | PU4 | Used as a specific epithet; resembling an insect in its pupal stage of development. |
| ra... | RA5 | A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces |
| ra.... | RA6 | A simple arbour or open porch, typically roofed with branches. |
| ra.. | RA4 | An inclined surface that connects two levels; an incline. |
| ra.... | RA6 | Device used with muzzleloaders to push the projectile up against the propellant. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now (US) usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. In the UK both senses are heard: a country road is the same as a country lane. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To wander or travel freely and with no specific destination. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion. |
| up.... | UP6 | Tumultuous, noisy excitement. |
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.
- ammo (AM4)
- amour (AM5)
- ardor (AR5)
- armada (AR6)
- armor (AR5)
- aroma (AR5)
- arum (AR4)
- aura (AU4)
- aurora (AU6)
- damp (DA4)
- doodad (DO6)
- dram (DR4)
- drama (DR5)
- madam (MA5)
- mama (MA4)
- mamma (MA5)
- maraud (MA6)
- marm (MA4)
- momma (MO5)
- pampa (PA5)
- papa (PA4)
- parador (PA7)
- paradrop (PA8)
- paramour (PA8)
- pompadour† (PO9)
- poppa (PO5)
- pram (PR4)
- puma (PU4)
- pupa (PU4)
- radar (RA5)
- ramada (RA6)
- ramp (RA4)
- ramrod (RA6)
- road (RO4)
- roam (RO4)
- roar (RO4)
- uproar (UP6)
Answer Definitions
- ammo (noun): Ammunition.
- amour (noun): Love, affection.
- ardor (noun): Great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion.
- armada (noun): A fleet of warships, especially with reference to the Spanish Armada.
- armor (noun): A protective layer over a body, vehicle, or other object intended to deflect or diffuse damaging forces.
- aroma (noun): A smell; especially a pleasant spicy or fragrant one.
- arum (noun): A flower or plant in the genus Arum
- aura (noun): Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something.
- aurora (noun): An atmospheric phenomenon created by charged particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere, creating coloured lights in the sky. It is usually named australis or borealis based on whether it is in the Southern or Northern Hemisphere respectively.
- damp (adjective): In a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist.
- doodad (noun): Used to refer to something whose name one cannot recall: an unspecified device, gadget, part, or thing.
- dram (noun): A small unit of weight, variously: One sixteenth of an ounce avoirdupois (approximately 1.77 g). Alternative form of drachm (“⁄8 ounce apothecary (3.89 g) (symbol: ℨ)”). Synonym of dirhem: a former Turkish unit of weight (variously 1.5–3.5 g). Synonym of drachma: a former Greek unit of weight (about 4.3 g).
- drama (noun): A composition, normally in prose, telling a story and intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue
- madam (noun): A polite form of address for a woman or lady.
- mama (noun): Mother, female parent.
- mamma (noun): The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder.
- maraud (verb): To move about in roving fashion looking for plunder.
- marm (noun): madam; a polite term of address for a lady.
- momma (noun): mother
- pampa (noun): singular of pampas
- papa (noun): Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father.
- parador (noun): a usually government-operated hostelry found especially in Spain.
- paradrop (noun): A delivery of goods or equipment by dropping of a parachute
- paramour (noun): An illicit lover, either male or female.
- pompadour† (noun): A women's hairstyle in which the hair is swept upwards from the face and worn high over the forehead.
- poppa (noun): father, papa.
- pram (noun): A small vehicle, usually covered, in which a newborn baby is pushed around in a lying position.
- puma (noun): A mountain lion or cougar (Puma concolor).
- pupa (noun): Used as a specific epithet; resembling an insect in its pupal stage of development.
- radar (noun): A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces
- ramada (noun): A simple arbour or open porch, typically roofed with branches.
- ramp (noun): An inclined surface that connects two levels; an incline.
- ramrod (noun): Device used with muzzleloaders to push the projectile up against the propellant.
- road (noun): A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now (US) usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. In the UK both senses are heard: a country road is the same as a country lane.
- roam (verb): To wander or travel freely and with no specific destination.
- roar (verb): To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.
- uproar (noun): Tumultuous, noisy excitement.