NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 11, 2021
Game Summary
| Center Letter | B |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, e, l, t, x |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 41 words |
| Total Points | 190 points |
| Genius Level | 133 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 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| B | 12 | 4 | 4 | - | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| C | - | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 5 |
| E | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | 3 |
| L | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| X | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 14 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 41 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×5 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×11 BE×9 BL×3 |
| C | CA×4 CE×1 |
| E | EA×1 EL×1 EX×1 |
| L | LA×1 |
| T | TA×4 |
| X |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABA×1 ABE×2 ABL×2 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×4 BAL×3 BAT×4 BEA×2 BEE×2 BEL×3 BET×2 BLA×2 BLE×1 |
| C | CAB×3 CAL×1 CEL×1 |
| E | EAT×1 ELE×1 EXA×1 |
| L | LAB×1 |
| T | TAB×3 TAX×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 (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| ab... | AB5 | To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate. |
| ab.. | AB4 | To urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable. |
| ab..... | AB7 | abetment |
| ab.... | AB6 | To remove or decrease something by cutting, erosion, melting, evaporation, or vaporization. |
| ab.. | AB4 | Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup. |
| ba.... | BA6 | To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds |
| ba.. | BA4 | A baby or infant; a very young human or animal. |
| ba... | BA5 | Alternative form of Babel |
| ba.. | BA4 | Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass. |
| ba.... | BA6 | A classical form of dance. |
| ba.. | BA4 | To reduce the force of something; to abate. |
| ba.... | BA6 | A contest, a struggle. |
| ba...... | BA8 | Alternative spelling of battleaxe |
| ba....... | BA9 | Alternative spelling of battle axe |
| be.. | BE4 | A stroke; a blow. |
| be...... | BE8 | Able to be beaten. |
| be.. | BE4 | Beta vulgaris, a plant with a swollen root which is eaten or used to make sugar. |
| be.... | BE6 | Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest. |
| be.. | BE4 | A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck. |
| be... | BE5 | An attractive woman. |
| be.. | BE4 | A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing. |
| be.. | BE4 | The second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β), preceded by alpha (Α, α) and followed by gamma, (Γ, γ). In modern Greek it represents the voiced labiodental fricative sound of v found in the English words have and vase. |
| be... | BE5 | Either of two plants often used in combination: an evergreen Indian creeping shrub, Piper betle, whose dried leaves are chewed with betel nut: the betel pepper the seed of the betel palm, Areca catechu: the betel nut |
| bl.. | BL4 | To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion. |
| bl.. | BL4 | To cry, as a calf or sheep; bleat. |
| bl... | BL5 | The characteristic cry of a sheep or a goat. |
| ca... | CA5 | A secret political clique or faction. |
| ca.... | CA6 | Alternative spelling of Kabballah |
| ca... | CA5 | A long object used to make a physical connection. A strong, large-diameter wire or rope, or something resembling such a rope. An assembly of two or more cable-laid ropes. An assembly of two or more wires, used for electrical power or data circuits; one or more and/or the whole may be insulated. A strong rope or chain used to moor or anchor a ship. |
| ca...... | CA8 | That can be called. |
| ce... | CE5 | A celebrity; a famous person. |
| ea..... | EA7 | Able to be eaten; edible. |
| el....... | EL9 | able to be elected to office |
| ex....... † | EX9 | Having the capability of being exacted. |
| la... | LA5 | A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached. |
| ta... | TA5 | A pair of tuned hand drums, used in various musical genres of the Indian subcontinent, that are similar to bongos. |
| ta... | TA5 | Furniture with a top surface to accommodate a variety of uses. An item of furniture with a flat top surface raised above the ground, usually on one or more legs. The board or table-like furniture on which a game is played, such as snooker, billiards, or draughts. A flat tray which can be used as a table. A supply of food or entertainment. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A slab of clay used for inscription. |
| ta..... | TA7 | that can be taxed |
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.
- abate (AB5)
- abet (AB4)
- abettal (AB7)
- ablate (AB6)
- able (AB4)
- baba (BA4)
- babble (BA6)
- babe (BA4)
- babel (BA5)
- bale (BA4)
- ball (BA4)
- ballet (BA6)
- bate (BA4)
- battle (BA6)
- battleax (BA8)
- battleaxe (BA9)
- beat (BE4)
- beatable (BE8)
- beet (BE4)
- beetle (BE6)
- bell (BE4)
- belle (BE5)
- belt (BE4)
- beta (BE4)
- betel (BE5)
- blab (BL4)
- blat (BL4)
- bleat (BL5)
- cabal (CA5)
- cabala (CA6)
- cable (CA5)
- callable (CA8)
- celeb (CE5)
- eatable (EA7)
- electable (EL9)
- exactable† (EX9)
- label (LA5)
- tabla (TA5)
- table (TA5)
- tablet (TA6)
- taxable (TA7)
Answer Definitions
- abate (verb): To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate.
- abet (verb): To urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.
- abettal (noun): abetment
- ablate (verb): To remove or decrease something by cutting, erosion, melting, evaporation, or vaporization.
- able (adjective): Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task.
- baba (noun): A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
- babble (verb): To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds
- babe (noun): A baby or infant; a very young human or animal.
- babel (noun): Alternative form of Babel
- bale (noun): Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
- ball (noun): A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
- ballet (noun): A classical form of dance.
- bate (verb): To reduce the force of something; to abate.
- battle (noun): A contest, a struggle.
- battleax (noun): Alternative spelling of battleaxe
- battleaxe (noun): Alternative spelling of battle axe
- beat (noun): A stroke; a blow.
- beatable (adjective): Able to be beaten.
- beet (noun): Beta vulgaris, a plant with a swollen root which is eaten or used to make sugar.
- beetle (noun): Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest.
- bell (noun): A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck.
- belle (noun): An attractive woman.
- belt (noun): A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing.
- beta (noun): The second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β), preceded by alpha (Α, α) and followed by gamma, (Γ, γ). In modern Greek it represents the voiced labiodental fricative sound of v found in the English words have and vase.
- betel (noun): Either of two plants often used in combination: an evergreen Indian creeping shrub, Piper betle, whose dried leaves are chewed with betel nut: the betel pepper the seed of the betel palm, Areca catechu: the betel nut
- blab (verb): To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.
- blat (verb): To cry, as a calf or sheep; bleat.
- bleat (noun): The characteristic cry of a sheep or a goat.
- cabal (noun): A secret political clique or faction.
- cabala (proper noun): Alternative spelling of Kabballah
- cable (noun): A long object used to make a physical connection. A strong, large-diameter wire or rope, or something resembling such a rope. An assembly of two or more cable-laid ropes. An assembly of two or more wires, used for electrical power or data circuits; one or more and/or the whole may be insulated. A strong rope or chain used to moor or anchor a ship.
- callable (adjective): That can be called.
- celeb (noun): A celebrity; a famous person.
- eatable (adjective): Able to be eaten; edible.
- electable (adjective): able to be elected to office
- exactable† (adjective): Having the capability of being exacted.
- label (noun): A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached.
- tabla (noun): A pair of tuned hand drums, used in various musical genres of the Indian subcontinent, that are similar to bongos.
- table (noun): Furniture with a top surface to accommodate a variety of uses. An item of furniture with a flat top surface raised above the ground, usually on one or more legs. The board or table-like furniture on which a game is played, such as snooker, billiards, or draughts. A flat tray which can be used as a table. A supply of food or entertainment.
- tablet (noun): A slab of clay used for inscription.
- taxable (adjective): that can be taxed