NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 28, 2022
Game Summary
| Center Letter | B |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, k, o, t, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 30 words |
| Total Points | 121 points |
| Genius Level | 85 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 | Σ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | 4 |
| B | 11 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | 18 |
| C | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| K | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| O | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| T | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 13 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 30 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×4 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×4 BO×9 BU×5 |
| C | CA×1 CO×1 CU×1 |
| K | KA×1 |
| O | OU×1 |
| T | TA×1 TO×1 TU×1 |
| U |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABA×1 ABB×1 ABO×1 ABU×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×2 BAC×1 BAO×1 BOA×1 BOB×2 BOC×1 BOO×4 BOU×1 BUB×1 BUC×2 BUT×2 |
| C | CAT×1 COO×1 CUT×1 |
| K | KAB×1 |
| O | OUT×1 |
| T | TAB×1 TOB×1 TUB×1 |
| U |
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 | Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'. |
| ab... | AB5 | The superior or head of an abbey or monastery. |
| ab... | AB5 | In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of. |
| ab.. | AB4 | To touch by means of a mutual border, edge or end; to border on; to lie adjacent (to); to be contiguous (said of an area of land) |
| ba.. | BA4 | A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup. |
| ba... | BA5 | A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins. |
| ba.. | BA4 | At or near the rear. |
| ba.... | BA6 | A tree, Adansonia digitata (and similar species), native to tropical Africa, having a broad swollen trunk and edible gourd-like hanging fruits. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A craft used for transportation of goods, fishing, racing, recreational cruising, or military use on or in the water, propelled by oars or outboard motor or inboard motor or by wind. |
| bo.. | BO4 | Synonym of tapioca pearl. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A North American wild cat, Lynx rufus, having tufted ears and a short tail. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A strong dark beer brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for spring consumption. |
| bo.. | BO4 | An idiot; a fool. |
| bo.... | BO6 | Alternative spelling of boo-boo |
| bo.. | BO4 | A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg. A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A period of something, especially one painful or unpleasant. |
| bu... | BU5 | Brother; used as term of familiar address. |
| bu.. | BU4 | A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret and shad. |
| bu... | BU5 | Buckaroo. |
| bu.. | BU4 | The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end The buttocks . |
| bu..... | BU7 | Each of the two large fleshy halves of the posterior part of the body between the base of the back, the perineum and the top of the legs. |
| ca..... | CA7 | A sailing boat with a single sail, usually rigged on a gaff spar, used for fishing in New England and later adapted for racing and cruising. It has a single mast set near to the bow and a long boom which may extend over the stern. |
| co...... | CO8 | A book or an encyclopedia of recipes and cookery tips. |
| cu..... | CU7 | A reduction of some sort in an existing program or service. |
| ka... | KA5 | US spelling of kebab |
| ou..... † | OU7 | The most remote and desolate areas of Australia; the desert and areas too arid for growing crops. |
| ta... | TA5 | An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion. |
| to..... | TO7 | Any plant of the genus Nicotiana. |
| tu.. | TU4 | A large brass musical instrument, usually in the bass range, played through a vibration of the lips upon the mouthpiece and fingering of the keys. |
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.
- aback (AB5)
- abbot (AB5)
- about (AB5)
- abut (AB4)
- baba (BA4)
- babka (BA5)
- back (BA4)
- baobab (BA6)
- boat (BO4)
- boba (BO4)
- bobcat (BO6)
- bock (BO4)
- boob (BO4)
- booboo (BO6)
- book (BO4)
- boot (BO4)
- bout (BO4)
- bubba (BU5)
- buck (BU4)
- bucko (BU5)
- butt (BU4)
- buttock (BU7)
- catboat (CA7)
- cookbook (CO8)
- cutback (CU7)
- kabob (KA5)
- outback† (OU7)
- taboo (TA5)
- tobacco (TO7)
- tuba (TU4)
Answer Definitions
- aback (adverb): Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'.
- abbot (noun): The superior or head of an abbey or monastery.
- about (preposition): In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.
- abut (verb): To touch by means of a mutual border, edge or end; to border on; to lie adjacent (to); to be contiguous (said of an area of land)
- baba (noun): A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
- babka (noun): A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins.
- back (adjective): At or near the rear.
- baobab (noun): A tree, Adansonia digitata (and similar species), native to tropical Africa, having a broad swollen trunk and edible gourd-like hanging fruits.
- boat (noun): A craft used for transportation of goods, fishing, racing, recreational cruising, or military use on or in the water, propelled by oars or outboard motor or inboard motor or by wind.
- boba (noun): Synonym of tapioca pearl.
- bobcat (noun): A North American wild cat, Lynx rufus, having tufted ears and a short tail.
- bock (noun): A strong dark beer brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for spring consumption.
- boob (noun): An idiot; a fool.
- booboo (noun): Alternative spelling of boo-boo
- book (noun): A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
- boot (noun): A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg. A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football.
- bout (noun): A period of something, especially one painful or unpleasant.
- bubba (noun): Brother; used as term of familiar address.
- buck (noun): A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret and shad.
- bucko (noun): Buckaroo.
- butt (noun): The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end The buttocks .
- buttock (noun): Each of the two large fleshy halves of the posterior part of the body between the base of the back, the perineum and the top of the legs.
- catboat (noun): A sailing boat with a single sail, usually rigged on a gaff spar, used for fishing in New England and later adapted for racing and cruising. It has a single mast set near to the bow and a long boom which may extend over the stern.
- cookbook (noun): A book or an encyclopedia of recipes and cookery tips.
- cutback (noun): A reduction of some sort in an existing program or service.
- kabob (noun): US spelling of kebab
- outback† (noun): The most remote and desolate areas of Australia; the desert and areas too arid for growing crops.
- taboo (noun): An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion.
- tobacco (noun): Any plant of the genus Nicotiana.
- tuba (noun): A large brass musical instrument, usually in the bass range, played through a vibration of the lips upon the mouthpiece and fingering of the keys.