NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 30, 2020

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for December 30, 2020

Game Summary

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for December 30, 2020
Center LetterE
Outer Lettersa, c, n, t, u, x
# of Pangrams1 (Perfect: none)
Total Words46 words
Total Points229 points
Genius Level160 points
Bingo?No

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 "Hive" Board for December 30, 2020

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>10Σ
A222311112
C3--11--5
E1342-2-12
N3-2----5
T532----10
U--11---2
X--------
Σ14811723146

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.

A
AC×6
AN×4
AT×2
C
CA×2
CE×2
CU×1
E
EA×1
EN×2
EX×9
N
NE×4
NU×1
T
TA×2
TE×6
TU×2
U
UN×2
X

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.

A
ACC×2
ACE×1
ACN×1
ACT×1
ACU×1
ANN×1
ANT×3
ATT×2
C
CAN×2
CEN×1
CET×1
CUT×1
E
EAT×1
ENA×1
ENT×1
EXA×2
EXE×4
EXT×3
N
NEA×2
NEN×1
NEX×1
NUA×1
T
TAC×1
TAU×1
TEA×1
TEE×1
TEN×3
TEX×1
TUN×1
TUT×1
U
UNE×1
UNT×1
X

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 ().

Word2L RefDefinition (click to reveal)
ac....AC6A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or&nbsp;longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to emphasize it.
ac........AC10To pronounce with an accent or vocal stress.
ac.....AC7Any salt or ester of acetic acid.
ac..AC4A 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.
ac.....AC7To activate, or to put into motion; to animate.
ac...AC5Brief, quick, short.
an...AN5An addition, an extension.
an..AN4A price or cost, as in up the ante.
an.....AN7A feeler organ on the head of an insect, crab, or other animal.
an......AN8plural of antenna
at.......AT9To reduce in size, force, value, amount, or degree.
at....AT6To bring into musical accord.
ca..CA4A 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.....CA7A small cafeteria or snack bar, especially one in a military establishment, school, or place of work.
ce..CE4A subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of the main unit of currency in many countries. Symbol: ¢.
ce......CE8Pertaining to the zoologic order Cetacea, or associated with species falling under that taxonomic hierarchy.
cu..CU4Possessing physical features, behaviors, personality traits or other properties that are mainly attributed to infants and small or cuddly animals; e.g. fair, dainty, round, and soft physical features, disproportionately large eyes and head, playfulness, fragility, helplessness, curiosity or shyness, innocence, affectionate behavior.
ea...EA5past participle of eat
en...EN5to make (a bill) into law
en.....EN7An informal alliance or friendly understanding between two states.
ex...EX5Precisely agreeing with a standard, a fact, or the truth; perfectly conforming; neither exceeding nor falling short in any respect.
ex....EX6A bet in which the bettor must correctly pick the two runners who finish first and second, in the correct order.
ex..EX4executive, executive officer
ex....... EX9A person who executes a dance or piece of music; a performer.
ex.....EX7To kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime.
ex....EX6A stage direction for more than one actor to leave the stage.
ex....EX6Still in existence; not having disappeared.
ex....EX6A range of values or locations.
ex.......EX9Of a person: emaciated, wasted, weakened; of the body or part of it: atrophied, shrunken, withered.
ne..NE4Clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities.
ne....NE6To make (someone or something) neat; to arrange (people or things) in an orderly, tidy way; to tidy.
ne..NE4The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.
ne..NE4Nearest in place or position, having nothing similar intervening; adjoining.
nu....NU6A minor distinction.
ta...TA5An instruction indicating silence on the part of the performers of a piece.
ta....TA6To make taut; to taut.
te..TE4The projection of a mammary gland from which, on female mammals, milk is secreted.
te..TE4Synonym of teenager: a person between 13 and 19 years old.
te....TE6One who holds a lease (a tenancy).
te...TE5An opinion, belief, or principle that is held as absolute truth by someone or especially an organization.
te..TE4A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather.
te..TE4A writing consisting of multiple glyphs, characters, symbols or sentences.
tu..TU4A melody.
tu...TU5A student of a tutor.
un.....UN7Not eaten
un....UN6To cause (something) to be out of tune; to make incapable of harmony, or of harmonious action.

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.

  • accent  (AC6)
  • accentuate  (AC10)
  • acetate  (AC7)
  • acne  (AC4)
  • actuate  (AC7)
  • acute  (AC5)
  • annex  (AN5)
  • ante  (AN4)
  • antenna  (AN7)
  • antennae  (AN8)
  • attenuate  (AT9)
  • attune  (AT6)
  • cane  (CA4)
  • canteen  (CA7)
  • cent  (CE4)
  • cetacean  (CE8)
  • cute  (CU4)
  • eaten  (EA5)
  • enact  (EN5)
  • entente  (EN7)
  • exact  (EX5)
  • exacta  (EX6)
  • exec  (EX4)
  • executant  (EX9)
  • execute  (EX7)
  • exeunt  (EX6)
  • extant  (EX6)
  • extent  (EX6)
  • extenuate  (EX9)
  • neat  (NE4)
  • neaten  (NE6)
  • nene  (NE4)
  • next  (NE4)
  • nuance  (NU6)
  • tacet  (TA5)
  • tauten  (TA6)
  • teat  (TE4)
  • teen  (TE4)
  • tenant  (TE6)
  • tenet  (TE5)
  • tent  (TE4)
  • text  (TE4)
  • tune  (TU4)
  • tutee  (TU5)
  • uneaten  (UN7)
  • untune  (UN6)

Answer Definitions

  • accent (noun): A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or&nbsp;longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to emphasize it.
  • accentuate (verb): To pronounce with an accent or vocal stress.
  • acetate (noun): Any salt or ester of acetic acid.
  • 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.
  • actuate (verb): To activate, or to put into motion; to animate.
  • acute (adjective): Brief, quick, short.
  • annex (noun): An addition, an extension.
  • ante (noun): A price or cost, as in up the ante.
  • antenna (noun): A feeler organ on the head of an insect, crab, or other animal.
  • antennae (noun): plural of antenna
  • attenuate (verb): To reduce in size, force, value, amount, or degree.
  • attune (verb): To bring into musical accord.
  • 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
  • canteen (noun): A small cafeteria or snack bar, especially one in a military establishment, school, or place of work.
  • cent (noun): A subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of the main unit of currency in many countries. Symbol: ¢.
  • cetacean (adjective): Pertaining to the zoologic order Cetacea, or associated with species falling under that taxonomic hierarchy.
  • cute (adjective): Possessing physical features, behaviors, personality traits or other properties that are mainly attributed to infants and small or cuddly animals; e.g. fair, dainty, round, and soft physical features, disproportionately large eyes and head, playfulness, fragility, helplessness, curiosity or shyness, innocence, affectionate behavior.
  • eaten (verb): past participle of eat
  • enact (verb): to make (a bill) into law
  • entente (noun): An informal alliance or friendly understanding between two states.
  • exact (adjective): Precisely agreeing with a standard, a fact, or the truth; perfectly conforming; neither exceeding nor falling short in any respect.
  • exacta (noun): A bet in which the bettor must correctly pick the two runners who finish first and second, in the correct order.
  • exec (noun): executive, executive officer
  • executant (noun): A person who executes a dance or piece of music; a performer.
  • execute (verb): To kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime.
  • exeunt (noun): A stage direction for more than one actor to leave the stage.
  • extant (adjective): Still in existence; not having disappeared.
  • extent (noun): A range of values or locations.
  • extenuate (adjective): Of a person: emaciated, wasted, weakened; of the body or part of it: atrophied, shrunken, withered.
  • 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.
  • nene (noun): The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.
  • next (adjective): Nearest in place or position, having nothing similar intervening; adjoining.
  • nuance (noun): A minor distinction.
  • tacet (verb): An instruction indicating silence on the part of the performers of a piece.
  • tauten (verb): To make taut; to taut.
  • teat (noun): The projection of a mammary gland from which, on female mammals, milk is secreted.
  • teen (noun): Synonym of teenager: a person between 13 and 19 years old.
  • 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.
  • text (noun): A writing consisting of multiple glyphs, characters, symbols or sentences.
  • tune (noun): A melody.
  • tutee (noun): A student of a tutor.
  • uneaten (adjective): Not eaten
  • untune (verb): To cause (something) to be out of tune; to make incapable of harmony, or of harmonious action.