NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 22, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | O |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, k, l, m, n, w |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 36 words |
| Total Points | 97 points |
| Genius Level | 68 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 | Σ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| K | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | 7 |
| L | 6 | 1 | - | - | - | 7 |
| M | 7 | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | 12 |
| N | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| W | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 | Σ | 24 | 8 | 3 | - | 1 | 36 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AL×1 AM×2 AN×1 |
|---|---|
| K | KN×3 KO×4 |
| L | LL×1 LO×6 |
| M | MA×3 MO×9 |
| N | NO×2 |
| O | |
| W | WA×1 WO×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ALL×1 AMM×1 AMO×1 ANO×1 |
|---|---|
| K | KNO×3 KOA×2 KOL×1 KOO×1 |
| L | LLA×1 LOA×2 LOL×1 LOO×3 |
| M | MAK×1 MAL×1 MAM×1 MOA×1 MOL×1 MOM×1 MON×2 MOO×3 MOW×1 |
| N | NOO×2 |
| O | |
| W | WAL×1 WOM×1 WON×1 WOO×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) |
|---|---|---|
| al... | AL5 | To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have. |
| am.. | AM4 | Ammunition. |
| am.. | AM4 | Out of control, especially when armed and dangerous. |
| an.. | AN4 | Straight away; at once. |
| kn... | KN5 | A small mound or rounded hill. |
| kn.. | KN4 | To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of or that. |
| kn... | KN5 | Identified as a specific type; famous, renowned. |
| ko... | KO5 | A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia. |
| ko.. | KO4 | A story about a Zen master and his student, sometimes like a riddle, other times like a fable, which has become an object of Zen study, and which, when meditated upon, may unlock mechanisms in the Zen student’s mind leading to satori. |
| ko.. | KO4 | A tree, genus Cola, bearing large brown seeds ("nuts") that are the source of cola extract. |
| ko.. | KO4 | An eccentric, strange or crazy person. |
| ll... | LL5 | A plain or steppe in parts of Latin America. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A type of soil; an earthy mixture of sand, silt and clay, with organic matter to which its fertility is chiefly due. |
| lo.. | LO4 | An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use. |
| lo.. | LO4 | To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease. |
| lo.. | LO4 | To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A utensil; tool; a weapon; an article in general. |
| lo.. | LO4 | An idler, a lout. |
| ma.. | MA4 | mako shark |
| ma.... | MA6 | Any of a group of flowering plants in several genera of the taxonomic family Malvaceae, especially of the genus Malva. Several species are edible by humans. |
| ma.... | MA6 | Alternative letter-case form of Mammon (wealth, material avarice). |
| mo.. | MO4 | a low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure |
| mo.. | MO4 | A female companion of a gangster, especially a former or current prostitute. |
| mo... | MO5 | mother |
| mo.. | MO4 | A male member of a monastic order who has devoted his life for religious service. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Clipping of mononucleosis. |
| mo... | MO5 | Money, cash. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”). |
| mo...... † | MO8 | An exploration of the Moon's surface on foot (by an astronaut). |
| mo.. | MO4 | past participle of mow |
| no.. | NO4 | A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| wa.... | WA6 | To roll oneself about in something dirty, for example in mud. |
| wo... | WO5 | An adult female human. |
| wo.. | WO4 | An overly studious person, particularly student. |
| wo.. | WO4 | The hair of the sheep, llama and some other ruminants. |
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.
- allow (AL5)
- ammo (AM4)
- amok (AM4)
- anon (AN4)
- knoll (KN5)
- know (KN4)
- known (KN5)
- koala (KO5)
- koan (KO4)
- kola (KO4)
- kook (KO4)
- llano (LL5)
- loam (LO4)
- loan (LO4)
- loll (LO4)
- look (LO4)
- loom (LO4)
- loon (LO4)
- mako (MA4)
- mallow (MA6)
- mammon (MA6)
- moan (MO4)
- moll (MO4)
- momma (MO5)
- monk (MO4)
- mono (MO4)
- moola (MO5)
- moon (MO4)
- moonwalk† (MO8)
- mown (MO4)
- nook (NO4)
- noon (NO4)
- wallow (WA6)
- woman (WO5)
- wonk (WO4)
- wool (WO4)
Answer Definitions
- allow (verb): To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have.
- ammo (noun): Ammunition.
- amok (adverb): Out of control, especially when armed and dangerous.
- anon (adverb): Straight away; at once.
- knoll (noun): A small mound or rounded hill.
- know (verb): To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of or that.
- known (adjective): Identified as a specific type; famous, renowned.
- koala (noun): A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.
- koan (noun): A story about a Zen master and his student, sometimes like a riddle, other times like a fable, which has become an object of Zen study, and which, when meditated upon, may unlock mechanisms in the Zen student’s mind leading to satori.
- kola (noun): A tree, genus Cola, bearing large brown seeds ("nuts") that are the source of cola extract.
- kook (noun): An eccentric, strange or crazy person.
- llano (noun): A plain or steppe in parts of Latin America.
- loam (noun): A type of soil; an earthy mixture of sand, silt and clay, with organic matter to which its fertility is chiefly due.
- loan (noun): An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use.
- loll (verb): To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
- look (verb): To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes.
- loom (noun): A utensil; tool; a weapon; an article in general.
- loon (noun): An idler, a lout.
- mako (noun): mako shark
- mallow (noun): Any of a group of flowering plants in several genera of the taxonomic family Malvaceae, especially of the genus Malva. Several species are edible by humans.
- mammon (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Mammon (wealth, material avarice).
- moan (noun): a low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure
- moll (noun): A female companion of a gangster, especially a former or current prostitute.
- momma (noun): mother
- monk (noun): A male member of a monastic order who has devoted his life for religious service.
- mono (noun): Clipping of mononucleosis.
- moola (noun): Money, cash.
- moon (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).
- moonwalk† (noun): An exploration of the Moon's surface on foot (by an astronaut).
- mown (verb): past participle of mow
- nook (noun): A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- wallow (verb): To roll oneself about in something dirty, for example in mud.
- woman (noun): An adult female human.
- wonk (noun): An overly studious person, particularly student.
- wool (noun): The hair of the sheep, llama and some other ruminants.