NYT Spelling Bee Answers for February 17, 2022
Game Summary
| Center Letter | Y |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, c, e, i, l |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 32 words |
| Total Points | 161 points |
| Genius Level | 113 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</th><th>10 | Σ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 7 |
| B | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 9 |
| C | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | 2 | - | 1 | 9 |
| E | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| I | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| L | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Y | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | Σ | 9 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 3 | - | 2 | 32 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×3 AC×1 AL×3 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×1 BE×2 BI×5 BL×1 |
| C | CA×1 CE×1 CI×1 CL×2 CY×4 |
| E | EE×1 EY×1 |
| I | IC×1 IL×1 |
| L | LA×1 LI×1 |
| Y | YE×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABB×2 ABL×1 ACY×1 ALL×3 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×1 BEL×2 BIA×1 BIB×1 BIC×2 BIL×1 BLA×1 |
| C | CAB×1 CEL×1 CIC×1 CLA×2 CYC×4 |
| E | EEL×1 EYE×1 |
| I | ICI×1 ILL×1 |
| L | LAC×1 LIL×1 |
| Y | YEL×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ab.... | AB6 | The dignity, estate, term, or jurisdiction of an abbot or abbess. |
| ab... | AB5 | the building or buildings occupied by a community of monks or nuns. |
| ab.. | AB4 | In an able manner; with great ability. |
| ac..... | AC7 | Not cyclic; having an open chain structure. |
| al... | AL5 | To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm. |
| al... | AL5 | A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings. |
| al.. | AL4 | To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered. |
| be... | BE5 | To make (a rope) fast by turning it around a fastening point such as a cleat or piton. |
| be... | BE5 | The abdomen, especially a fat one. |
| bi... | BI5 | A flat bread roll topped with onion flakes. Instead of a hole like a bagel, it has a depression in the middle. |
| bi........ | BI10 | In a biblical manner. |
| bi..... | BI7 | A vehicle that has two wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s feet upon pedals. |
| bi...... | BI8 | Having two cycles. |
| bi... | BI5 | A billy club. |
| bl.... | BL6 | Tending to blab or gossip a lot. |
| ca... | CA5 | A cabdriver; someone who drives a taxi. |
| ce...... † | CE8 | Abstaining from marriage; the state of being unmarried. |
| ci.... | CI6 | Myrrhis odorata, a plant in the genus Myrrhis, in the family Apiaceae. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics. |
| cl.... | CL6 | Composed of clay or containing (much) clay; clayish. |
| cy... | CY5 | An interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed. |
| cy.... | CY6 | Characterized by, or moving in cycles, or happening at regular intervals. |
| cy...... | CY8 | recurring at regular intervals |
| cy........ | CY10 | In a cyclic manner; in cycles; periodically. |
| ee.. | EE4 | Resembling an eel: long, thin and slippery. |
| ey..... | EY7 | The ball of the eye. |
| ic... | IC5 | In the manner of ice; with a cold or chilling effect. |
| il.. | IL4 | Badly; poorly. |
| la.. | LA4 | Made of lace or decorated with it. |
| li.. | LI4 | Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species. |
| ye.. | YE4 | shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice. |
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.
- abbacy (AB6)
- abbey (AB5)
- ably (AB4)
- acyclic (AC7)
- allay (AL5)
- alley (AL5)
- ally (AL4)
- baby (BA4)
- belay (BE5)
- belly (BE5)
- bialy (BI5)
- biblically (BI10)
- bicycle (BI7)
- bicyclic (BI8)
- billy (BI5)
- blabby (BL6)
- cabby (CA5)
- celibacy† (CE8)
- cicely (CI6)
- clay (CL4)
- clayey (CL6)
- cycle (CY5)
- cyclic (CY6)
- cyclical (CY8)
- cyclically (CY10)
- eely (EE4)
- eyeball (EY7)
- icily (IC5)
- illy (IL4)
- lacy (LA4)
- lily (LI4)
- yell (YE4)
Answer Definitions
- abbacy (noun): The dignity, estate, term, or jurisdiction of an abbot or abbess.
- abbey (noun): the building or buildings occupied by a community of monks or nuns.
- ably (adverb): In an able manner; with great ability.
- acyclic (adjective): Not cyclic; having an open chain structure.
- allay (verb): To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
- alley (noun): A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings.
- ally (verb): To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty.
- baby (noun): A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered.
- belay (verb): To make (a rope) fast by turning it around a fastening point such as a cleat or piton.
- belly (noun): The abdomen, especially a fat one.
- bialy (noun): A flat bread roll topped with onion flakes. Instead of a hole like a bagel, it has a depression in the middle.
- biblically (adverb): In a biblical manner.
- bicycle (noun): A vehicle that has two wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s feet upon pedals.
- bicyclic (adjective): Having two cycles.
- billy (noun): A billy club.
- blabby (adjective): Tending to blab or gossip a lot.
- cabby (noun): A cabdriver; someone who drives a taxi.
- celibacy† (noun): Abstaining from marriage; the state of being unmarried.
- cicely (noun): Myrrhis odorata, a plant in the genus Myrrhis, in the family Apiaceae.
- clay (noun): A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics.
- clayey (adjective): Composed of clay or containing (much) clay; clayish.
- cycle (noun): An interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed.
- cyclic (adjective): Characterized by, or moving in cycles, or happening at regular intervals.
- cyclical (adjective): recurring at regular intervals
- cyclically (adverb): In a cyclic manner; in cycles; periodically.
- eely (adjective): Resembling an eel: long, thin and slippery.
- eyeball (noun): The ball of the eye.
- icily (adverb): In the manner of ice; with a cold or chilling effect.
- illy (adverb): Badly; poorly.
- lacy (adjective): Made of lace or decorated with it.
- lily (noun): Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species.
- yell (verb): shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice.