NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 21, 2021
Game Summary
| Center Letter | W |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | g, i, k, n, o, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 25 words |
| Total Points | 127 points |
| Genius Level | 89 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| N | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| O | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| U | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 3 |
| W | 5 | - | 4 | 4 | - | 1 | 14 | Σ | 8 | 3 | 5 | 7 | - | 2 | 25 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| G | GO×2 |
|---|---|
| I | |
| K | KI×1 KN×3 |
| N | |
| O | OW×2 |
| U | UN×3 |
| W | WI×11 WO×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| G | GOW×2 |
|---|---|
| I | |
| K | KIW×1 KNO×3 |
| N | |
| O | OWI×1 OWN×1 |
| U | UNK×2 UNW×1 |
| W | WIG×1 WIK×1 WIN×9 WON×1 WOO×1 WOW×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) |
|---|---|---|
| go.. | GO4 | A loose, flowing upper garment. |
| go..... | GO7 | present participle of gown |
| ki.. | KI4 | A flightless bird of the genus Apteryx native to New Zealand. |
| kn.. | KN4 | To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of or that. |
| kn..... | KN7 | Possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent. |
| kn... | KN5 | Identified as a specific type; famous, renowned. |
| ow... | OW5 | Still to be paid; owed as a debt. |
| ow.... | OW6 | present participle of own |
| un....... † | UN9 | Without knowing; ignorant. |
| un..... | UN7 | Not known; unidentified; not well known. |
| un... | UN5 | Not won. |
| wi..... | WI7 | present participle of wig |
| wi.. | WI4 | A collaborative website which can be directly edited merely by using a web browser, often by anyone with access to it. |
| wi.. | WI4 | An appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly |
| wi..... | WI7 | present participle of wing |
| wi.... | WI6 | present participle of wine |
| wi.. | WI4 | To close one's eyes in sleep. |
| wi..... | WI7 | present participle of wink |
| wi..... | WI7 | present participle of win |
| wi.... | WI6 | To subject (granular material, especially food grain) to a current of air separating heavier and lighter components, as grain from chaff. |
| wi....... | WI9 | present participle of winnow |
| wi.. | WI4 | A chronic or heavy drinker of cheap wine or other alcohol; a drunk or drunkard. |
| wo.. | WO4 | An overly studious person, particularly student. |
| wo.... | WO6 | present participle of woo |
| wo.... | WO6 | present participle of wow |
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.
- gown (GO4)
- gowning (GO7)
- kiwi (KI4)
- know (KN4)
- knowing (KN7)
- known (KN5)
- owing (OW5)
- owning (OW6)
- unknowing† (UN9)
- unknown (UN7)
- unwon (UN5)
- wigging (WI7)
- wiki (WI4)
- wing (WI4)
- winging (WI7)
- wining (WI6)
- wink (WI4)
- winking (WI7)
- winning (WI7)
- winnow (WI6)
- winnowing (WI9)
- wino (WI4)
- wonk (WO4)
- wooing (WO6)
- wowing (WO6)
Answer Definitions
- gown (noun): A loose, flowing upper garment.
- gowning (verb): present participle of gown
- kiwi (noun): A flightless bird of the genus Apteryx native to New Zealand.
- know (verb): To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of or that.
- knowing (adjective): Possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent.
- known (adjective): Identified as a specific type; famous, renowned.
- owing (adjective): Still to be paid; owed as a debt.
- owning (verb): present participle of own
- unknowing† (adjective): Without knowing; ignorant.
- unknown (adjective): Not known; unidentified; not well known.
- unwon (adjective): Not won.
- wigging (verb): present participle of wig
- wiki (noun): A collaborative website which can be directly edited merely by using a web browser, often by anyone with access to it.
- wing (noun): An appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly
- winging (verb): present participle of wing
- wining (verb): present participle of wine
- wink (verb): To close one's eyes in sleep.
- winking (verb): present participle of wink
- winning (verb): present participle of win
- winnow (verb): To subject (granular material, especially food grain) to a current of air separating heavier and lighter components, as grain from chaff.
- winnowing (verb): present participle of winnow
- wino (noun): A chronic or heavy drinker of cheap wine or other alcohol; a drunk or drunkard.
- wonk (noun): An overly studious person, particularly student.
- wooing (verb): present participle of woo
- wowing (verb): present participle of wow