NYT Spelling Bee Answers for March 17, 2022
Game Summary
| Center Letter | O |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | h, i, l, p, r, w |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 36 words |
| Total Points | 135 points |
| Genius Level | 95 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</th><th>10</th><th>11</th><th>12 | Σ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| L | 3 | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| P | 10 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 |
| R | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| W | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 8 | Σ | 20 | 6 | 7 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 36 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| H | HI×1 HO×4 |
|---|---|
| I | |
| L | LI×1 LO×4 |
| O | OL×1 |
| P | PI×1 PL×2 PO×8 PR×4 |
| R | RO×2 |
| W | WH×5 WI×1 WO×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| H | HIP×1 HOL×1 HOO×1 HOR×1 HOW×1 |
|---|---|
| I | |
| L | LIP×1 LOL×3 LOO×1 |
| O | OLI×1 |
| P | PIL×1 PLO×2 POL×3 POO×4 POW×1 PRI×1 PRO×3 |
| R | ROI×1 ROL×1 |
| W | WHI×2 WHO×3 WIL×1 WOO×2 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| hi... | HI5 | Clipping of hippopotamus. |
| ho.... | HO6 | A small valley between mountains. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A circular band of metal used to bind a barrel. |
| ho.... | HO6 | An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance. |
| ho.. | HO4 | The protracted, mournful cry of a dog, wolf or other canid; also of other animals. |
| li.. | LI4 | Clipping of liposuction. |
| lo.. | LO4 | To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease. |
| lo...... | LO8 | An item of confectionery consisting of a piece of candy/sweet attached to a stick. |
| lo.... | LO6 | To walk or move with a bouncing or undulating motion and at an unhurried pace. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening. |
| ol.. | OL4 | A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables. |
| pi.... | PI6 | A soft cushion used to support the head in bed. |
| pl.. | PL4 | A sound or action like liquid hitting a hard surface, or an object falling into a body of water. |
| pl.. | PL4 | Alternative spelling of plough |
| po... | PO5 | Abbreviation of poliomyelitis. |
| po.. | PO4 | A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion. |
| po.. | PO4 | A ball game where two teams of players on horseback use long-handled mallets to propel the ball along the ground and into their opponent's goal. |
| po.. | PO4 | Expressing dismissal, contempt, impatience, etc. |
| po.. | PO4 | A small and rather deep area of (usually) fresh water, as one supplied by a spring, or occurring in the course of a stream or river; a reservoir for water. |
| po.. | PO4 | To make a short blast on a horn. |
| po.. | PO4 | With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them. |
| po.... | PO6 | A ritual conducted by a Native American shaman. |
| pr... | PR5 | Advance; previous; coming before. |
| pr.. | PR4 | An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports. |
| pr.. | PR4 | The front part of a vessel |
| pr... | PR5 | To rove over, through, or about in a stealthy manner; especially, to search in, as for prey or booty. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface. |
| wh.......... † | WH12 | A nocturnal insectivorous bird of North America (Antrostomus vociferus, syn. Caprimulgus vociferus), a type of nightjar, named after its characteristic call. |
| wh....... † | WH9 | A swirling body of water. |
| wh... | WH5 | A loud, eager cry, usually of joy. |
| wh.. | WH4 | To throw or move (something) quickly, usually with an impact. |
| wh... | WH5 | A pattern of concentric circles. |
| wi.... | WI6 | Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus Salix, in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere. |
| wo.... | WO6 | Used to express sudden or exuberant joy, happiness, excitement, approval or delight. |
| wo.. | WO4 | The hair of the sheep, llama and some other ruminants. |
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.
- hippo (HI5)
- hollow (HO6)
- hoop (HO4)
- horror (HO6)
- howl (HO4)
- lipo (LI4)
- loll (LO4)
- lollipop (LO8)
- lollop (LO6)
- loop (LO4)
- olio (OL4)
- pillow (PI6)
- plop (PL4)
- plow (PL4)
- polio (PO5)
- poll (PO4)
- polo (PO4)
- pooh (PO4)
- pool (PO4)
- poop (PO4)
- poor (PO4)
- powwow (PO6)
- prior (PR5)
- prop (PR4)
- prow (PR4)
- prowl (PR5)
- roil (RO4)
- roll (RO4)
- whippoorwill† (WH12)
- whirlpool† (WH9)
- whoop (WH5)
- whop (WH4)
- whorl (WH5)
- willow (WI6)
- woohoo (WO6)
- wool (WO4)
Answer Definitions
- hippo (noun): Clipping of hippopotamus.
- hollow (noun): A small valley between mountains.
- hoop (noun): A circular band of metal used to bind a barrel.
- horror (noun): An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance.
- howl (noun): The protracted, mournful cry of a dog, wolf or other canid; also of other animals.
- lipo (noun): Clipping of liposuction.
- loll (verb): To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
- lollipop (noun): An item of confectionery consisting of a piece of candy/sweet attached to a stick.
- lollop (verb): To walk or move with a bouncing or undulating motion and at an unhurried pace.
- loop (noun): A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening.
- olio (noun): A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
- pillow (noun): A soft cushion used to support the head in bed.
- plop (noun): A sound or action like liquid hitting a hard surface, or an object falling into a body of water.
- plow (noun): Alternative spelling of plough
- polio (noun): Abbreviation of poliomyelitis.
- poll (noun): A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion.
- polo (noun): A ball game where two teams of players on horseback use long-handled mallets to propel the ball along the ground and into their opponent's goal.
- pooh (interjection): Expressing dismissal, contempt, impatience, etc.
- pool (noun): A small and rather deep area of (usually) fresh water, as one supplied by a spring, or occurring in the course of a stream or river; a reservoir for water.
- poop (verb): To make a short blast on a horn.
- poor (adjective): With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.
- powwow (noun): A ritual conducted by a Native American shaman.
- prior (adjective): Advance; previous; coming before.
- prop (noun): An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports.
- prow (noun): The front part of a vessel
- prowl (verb): To rove over, through, or about in a stealthy manner; especially, to search in, as for prey or booty.
- roil (verb): To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of.
- roll (verb): To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface.
- whippoorwill† (noun): A nocturnal insectivorous bird of North America (Antrostomus vociferus, syn. Caprimulgus vociferus), a type of nightjar, named after its characteristic call.
- whirlpool† (noun): A swirling body of water.
- whoop (noun): A loud, eager cry, usually of joy.
- whop (verb): To throw or move (something) quickly, usually with an impact.
- whorl (noun): A pattern of concentric circles.
- willow (noun): Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus Salix, in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere.
- woohoo (interjection): Used to express sudden or exuberant joy, happiness, excitement, approval or delight.
- wool (noun): The hair of the sheep, llama and some other ruminants.