NYT Spelling Bee Answers for September 23, 2021
Game Summary
| Center Letter | I |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, m, r, t, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 33 words |
| Total Points | 153 points |
| Genius Level | 107 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | 7 |
| C | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 8 |
| I | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| M | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| R | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | 10 |
| U | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 | Σ | 9 | 12 | 9 | 2 | - | 1 | 33 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×2 AR×2 AT×3 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×2 CI×4 CR×1 CU×1 |
| I | IM×1 |
| M | MA×1 MI×3 |
| R | RA×1 |
| T | TA×4 TI×1 TR×4 TU×1 |
| U | UM×1 UR×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACA×2 ARC×1 ARI×1 ATR×2 ATT×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAC×1 CAM×1 CIR×3 CIT×1 CRI×1 CUR×1 |
| I | IMA×1 |
| M | MAI×1 MIC×1 MIM×1 MIT×1 |
| R | RAI×1 |
| T | TAC×2 TAM×1 TAT×1 TIA×1 TRA×2 TRI×2 TUT×1 |
| U | UMA×1 URI×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ac.... | AC6 | A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe. |
| ar.... | AR6 | Alternative letter-case form of Arctic |
| ar.. | AR4 | A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata. |
| at... | AT5 | plural of atrium |
| at.... | AT6 | A central room or space in ancient Roman homes, open to the sky in the middle; a similar space in other buildings. |
| at... | AT5 | The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation. |
| ca... | CA5 | plural of cactus |
| ca.. | CA4 | A camisole. |
| ci... | CI5 | Approximately, about, around |
| ci..... | CI7 | The act of moving or revolving around, or as in a circle or orbit; a revolution |
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers. |
| ci.... | CI6 | Of, pertaining to, or derived from, citrus fruit. |
| cr.... | CR6 | A person who appraises the works of others. |
| cu.... | CU6 | A highly fissile transuranic chemical element (symbol Cm) with an atomic number of 96. |
| im.. | IM4 | One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque. |
| ma.. | MA4 | To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body. |
| mi.. | MI4 | Any of a group of hydrous aluminosilicate minerals characterized by highly perfect cleavage, so that they readily separate into very thin leaves, more or less elastic. |
| mi... | MI5 | To imitate, especially in order to ridicule. |
| mi.. | MI4 | A mitten |
| ra... | RA5 | A condiment used as a dip or sauce in the cuisine of southern Asia, made from seasoned yogurt. |
| ta... | TA5 | Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A type of soy sauce made without wheat, having a rich flavor. |
| ta.... | TA6 | Straw matting, in a standard size, used as a floor covering in Japanese houses. |
| ti... | TI5 | The papal crown. |
| tr... | TR5 | An identifying characteristic, habit or trend. |
| tr....... † | TR9 | Of, caused by, or causing trauma. |
| tr.. | TR4 | To reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess. |
| tr..... | TR7 | A radioactive isotope of the element hydrogen (symbol T or 1H) having one proton and two neutrons. |
| tu... | TU5 | All together. Indicates that the remainder of a group should join in playing after a solo or other passage with a reduced number of voices. |
| um... | UM5 | One of the five basic tastes, the savory taste of foods such as seaweed, cured fish, aged cheeses and meats. |
| ur.. | UR4 | Pertaining to, contained in, or obtained from urine. |
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.
- acacia (AC6)
- acai (AC4)
- arctic (AR6)
- aria (AR4)
- atria (AT5)
- atrium (AT6)
- attic (AT5)
- cacti (CA5)
- cami (CA4)
- circa (CI5)
- circuit (CI7)
- cirri (CI5)
- citric (CI6)
- critic (CR6)
- curium (CU6)
- imam (IM4)
- maim (MA4)
- mica (MI4)
- mimic (MI5)
- mitt (MI4)
- raita (RA5)
- tacit (TA5)
- tactic (TA6)
- tamari (TA6)
- tatami (TA6)
- tiara (TI5)
- trait (TR5)
- traumatic† (TR9)
- trim (TR4)
- tritium (TR7)
- tutti (TU5)
- umami (UM5)
- uric (UR4)
Answer Definitions
- acacia (noun): A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
- acai (noun): Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
- arctic (adjective): Alternative letter-case form of Arctic
- aria (noun): A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata.
- atria (noun): plural of atrium
- atrium (noun): A central room or space in ancient Roman homes, open to the sky in the middle; a similar space in other buildings.
- attic (noun): The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.
- cacti (noun): plural of cactus
- cami (noun): A camisole.
- circa (preposition): Approximately, about, around
- circuit (noun): The act of moving or revolving around, or as in a circle or orbit; a revolution
- cirri (noun): plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers.
- citric (adjective): Of, pertaining to, or derived from, citrus fruit.
- critic (noun): A person who appraises the works of others.
- curium (noun): A highly fissile transuranic chemical element (symbol Cm) with an atomic number of 96.
- imam (noun): One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque.
- maim (verb): To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body.
- mica (noun): Any of a group of hydrous aluminosilicate minerals characterized by highly perfect cleavage, so that they readily separate into very thin leaves, more or less elastic.
- mimic (verb): To imitate, especially in order to ridicule.
- mitt (noun): A mitten
- raita (noun): A condiment used as a dip or sauce in the cuisine of southern Asia, made from seasoned yogurt.
- tacit (adjective): Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence.
- tactic (noun): A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
- tamari (noun): A type of soy sauce made without wheat, having a rich flavor.
- tatami (noun): Straw matting, in a standard size, used as a floor covering in Japanese houses.
- tiara (noun): The papal crown.
- trait (noun): An identifying characteristic, habit or trend.
- traumatic† (adjective): Of, caused by, or causing trauma.
- trim (verb): To reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess.
- tritium (noun): A radioactive isotope of the element hydrogen (symbol T or 1H) having one proton and two neutrons.
- tutti (adverb): All together. Indicates that the remainder of a group should join in playing after a solo or other passage with a reduced number of voices.
- umami (noun): One of the five basic tastes, the savory taste of foods such as seaweed, cured fish, aged cheeses and meats.
- uric (adjective): Pertaining to, contained in, or obtained from urine.