NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 7, 2021
Game Summary
| Center Letter | I |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, l, o, r, t, v |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 35 words |
| Total Points | 143 points |
| Genius Level | 100 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 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 2 | 6 | 2 | - | - | - | 10 |
| I | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| L | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| R | 4 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 5 |
| T | 5 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 10 |
| V | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 4 | Σ | 15 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 35 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CI×4 CO×4 CR×2 |
|---|---|
| I | IL×1 |
| L | LI×2 LO×1 |
| O | OC×1 OL×1 |
| R | RI×2 RO×3 |
| T | TI×2 TO×4 TR×4 |
| V | VI×4 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CIR×1 CIT×1 CIV×2 COC×1 COI×2 COL×1 CRI×1 CRO×1 |
|---|---|
| I | ILL×1 |
| L | LIC×1 LIL×1 LOC×1 |
| O | OCO×1 OLI×1 |
| R | RIL×1 RIO×1 ROI×1 ROT×2 |
| T | TIL×2 TOI×1 TOR×3 TRI×4 |
| V | VIC×1 VIO×1 VIT×2 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers. |
| ci.... | CI6 | Of, pertaining to, or derived from, citrus fruit. |
| ci... | CI5 | Of, relating to, or belonging to a city, a citizen, or citizenship; municipal or civil. |
| ci... | CI5 | Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion. |
| co... | CO5 | plural of coccus |
| co.. | CO4 | Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral. |
| co.. | CO4 | The fibre obtained from the husk of a coconut, used chiefly in making rope, matting and as a peat substitute. |
| co... | CO5 | Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems). |
| cr.... | CR6 | A person who appraises the works of others. |
| cr... | CR5 | plural of crocus |
| il..... | IL7 | Not approved by law, but not invalid. |
| li... | LI5 | Not forbidden by formal or informal rules. |
| li.. | LI4 | To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music. |
| lo.. | LO4 | plural of locus |
| oc...... | OC8 | Any of various succulent plants, unrelated to the cactus, in genus Fouquieria, especially Fouquieria splendens, living in Central America or the southwest United States. |
| ol.. | OL4 | A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by a large group of people, often involving violence or damage to property. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A kind of unleavened flatbread commonly consumed in South Asia and the Caribbean. |
| ro...... | RO8 | To break up and turn soil using a rototiller. |
| ti.. | TI4 | Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time). |
| ti.. | TI4 | To slope or incline (something); to slant. |
| to.. | TO4 | Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature. |
| to.. | TO4 | plural of torus |
| to... | TO5 | Pertaining to or shaped like a torus, or a section of a torus; toroidal. |
| to... | TO5 | A traditional Japanese gate at Shinto shrines, symbolically marking the transition from the profane to the sacred. |
| tr...... | TR8 | Alternative form of tricolour |
| tr.... | TR6 | A soft knit fabric. |
| tr... | TR5 | A rapid alternation between an indicated note and the one above it, in musical notation usually indicated with the letters tr written above the staff. |
| tr.. | TR4 | A group of three people or things. |
| vi.... | VI6 | The winner in a fight or contest. |
| vi.. | VI4 | A stringed instrument related to the violin family, but held in the lap between the legs like a cello, usually with C-holes, a flat back, a fretted neck and six strings, played with an underhanded bow hold |
| vi..... | VI7 | any of various metal sulphates. |
| vi....... † | VI9 | Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from or resembling vitriol. |
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.
- cirri (CI5)
- citric (CI6)
- civic (CI5)
- civil (CI5)
- cocci (CO5)
- coil (CO4)
- coir (CO4)
- colic (CO5)
- critic (CR6)
- croci (CR5)
- illicit (IL7)
- licit (LI5)
- lilt (LI4)
- loci (LO4)
- ocotillo (OC8)
- olio (OL4)
- rill (RI4)
- riot (RI4)
- roil (RO4)
- roti (RO4)
- rototill (RO8)
- till (TI4)
- tilt (TI4)
- toil (TO4)
- tori (TO4)
- toric (TO5)
- torii (TO5)
- tricolor (TR8)
- tricot (TR6)
- trill (TR5)
- trio (TR4)
- victor (VI6)
- viol (VI4)
- vitriol (VI7)
- vitriolic† (VI9)
Answer Definitions
- cirri (noun): plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers.
- citric (adjective): Of, pertaining to, or derived from, citrus fruit.
- civic (adjective): Of, relating to, or belonging to a city, a citizen, or citizenship; municipal or civil.
- civil (adjective): Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.
- cocci (noun): plural of coccus
- coil (noun): Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
- coir (noun): The fibre obtained from the husk of a coconut, used chiefly in making rope, matting and as a peat substitute.
- colic (noun): Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).
- critic (noun): A person who appraises the works of others.
- croci (noun): plural of crocus
- illicit (adjective): Not approved by law, but not invalid.
- licit (adjective): Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
- lilt (verb): To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.
- loci (noun): plural of locus
- ocotillo (noun): Any of various succulent plants, unrelated to the cactus, in genus Fouquieria, especially Fouquieria splendens, living in Central America or the southwest United States.
- olio (noun): A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
- rill (noun): A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet.
- riot (noun): A tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by a large group of people, often involving violence or damage to property.
- roil (verb): To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of.
- roti (noun): A kind of unleavened flatbread commonly consumed in South Asia and the Caribbean.
- rototill (verb): To break up and turn soil using a rototiller.
- till (preposition): Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
- tilt (verb): To slope or incline (something); to slant.
- toil (noun): Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
- tori (noun): plural of torus
- toric (adjective): Pertaining to or shaped like a torus, or a section of a torus; toroidal.
- torii (noun): A traditional Japanese gate at Shinto shrines, symbolically marking the transition from the profane to the sacred.
- tricolor (adjective): Alternative form of tricolour
- tricot (noun): A soft knit fabric.
- trill (noun): A rapid alternation between an indicated note and the one above it, in musical notation usually indicated with the letters tr written above the staff.
- trio (noun): A group of three people or things.
- victor (noun): The winner in a fight or contest.
- viol (noun): A stringed instrument related to the violin family, but held in the lap between the legs like a cello, usually with C-holes, a flat back, a fretted neck and six strings, played with an underhanded bow hold
- vitriol (noun): any of various metal sulphates.
- vitriolic† (adjective): Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from or resembling vitriol.