NYT Spelling Bee Answers for September 20, 2022
Game Summary
| Center Letter | M |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, h, o, r, t |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 38 words |
| Total Points | 149 points |
| Genius Level | 104 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 8 |
| H | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| M | 8 | 6 | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | 19 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| T | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 17 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 38 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AM×1 AR×2 AT×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×4 BO×3 BR×1 |
| H | HA×2 |
| M | MA×10 MO×9 |
| O | |
| R | RO×2 |
| T | TO×2 TR×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AMM×1 ARM×1 ARO×1 ATO×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAM×1 BAR×1 BAT×2 BOM×1 BOO×1 BOT×1 BRO×1 |
| H | HAR×2 |
| M | MAH×1 MAM×5 MAR×3 MAT×1 MOA×1 MOM×1 MOO×2 MOR×1 MOT×4 |
| O | |
| R | ROA×1 ROO×1 |
| T | TOM×2 TRA×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ba...... † | BA8 | A room containing a shower and/or bathtub, and a toilet. |
| am.. | AM4 | Ammunition. |
| ar... | AR5 | A protective layer over a body, vehicle, or other object intended to deflect or diffuse damaging forces. |
| ar... | AR5 | A smell; especially a pleasant spicy or fragrant one. |
| at.. | AT4 | The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons. |
| ba.... | BA6 | A fast-growing grass of the Poaceae family, characterised by its woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem, all of which are in the Bambuseae tribe. |
| ba..... | BA7 | A room where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter. |
| ba..... | BA7 | Alternative spelling of bath mat |
| bo.. | BO4 | An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, one dropped from an aircraft. The atomic bomb. |
| bo.. | BO4 | To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound. |
| bo.... | BO6 | The lowest part of anything. |
| br... | BR5 | A domestic utensil with fibers bound together at the end of a long handle, used for sweeping. |
| ha... | HA5 | A sin. |
| ha.. | HA4 | physical injury; hurt; damage |
| ma..... | MA7 | An epithet granted in India and Tibet to people thought to have great knowledge and love of humanity |
| ma.. | MA4 | Mother, female parent. |
| ma... | MA5 | Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees. |
| ma... | MA5 | A voodoo priestess (in Haiti) |
| ma... | MA5 | The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder. |
| ma..... | MA7 | Any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, of large, usually hairy, elephant-like mammals with long curved tusks and an inclined back, which became extinct with the last retreat of ice age glaciers during the late Pleistocene period, and are known from fossils, frozen carcasses, and Paleolithic cave paintings found in North America and Eurasia. |
| ma.. | MA4 | madam; a polite term of address for a lady. |
| ma.... | MA6 | Any of several large ground-dwelling rodents of the genera Marmota and Cynomys in the squirrel family. |
| ma.. | MA4 | A shop, store. |
| ma.. | MA4 | Clipping of mathematics. |
| mo.. | MO4 | A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation. |
| mo... | MO5 | mother |
| mo.. | MO4 | An extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath |
| mo.. | MO4 | Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve. |
| mo.... | MO6 | A mixture of lime or cement, sand and water used for bonding building blocks. |
| mo.. | MO4 | A usually nocturnal insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from butterflies by feather-like antennae. |
| mo... | MO5 | A machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion. |
| mo....... | MO9 | Any vessel driven by an engine (either inboard or outboard), but especially a small one. |
| mo... | MO5 | A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To wander or travel freely and with no specific destination. |
| ro.. | RO4 | Opportunity or scope (to do something). |
| to.... | TO6 | A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit. |
| to.. | TO4 | A small building (or "vault") for the remains of the dead, with walls, a roof, and (if it is to be used for more than one corpse) a door. It may be partly or wholly in the ground (except for its entrance) in a cemetery, or it may be inside a church proper or in its crypt. Single tombs may be permanently sealed; those for families (or other groups) have doors for access whenever needed. |
| tr.. | TR4 | A passenger vehicle for public use that runs on tracks in the road (called a streetcar or trolley in North America). |
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.
- bathroom† (BA8)
- ammo (AM4)
- armor (AR5)
- aroma (AR5)
- atom (AT4)
- bamboo (BA6)
- barroom (BA7)
- bathmat (BA7)
- bomb (BO4)
- boom (BO4)
- bottom (BO6)
- broom (BR5)
- haram (HA5)
- harm (HA4)
- mahatma (MA7)
- mama (MA4)
- mamba (MA5)
- mambo (MA5)
- mamma (MA5)
- mammoth (MA7)
- marm (MA4)
- marmot (MA6)
- mart (MA4)
- math (MA4)
- moat (MO4)
- momma (MO5)
- moor (MO4)
- moot (MO4)
- mortar (MO6)
- moth (MO4)
- motor (MO5)
- motorboat (MO9)
- motto (MO5)
- roam (RO4)
- room (RO4)
- tomato (TO6)
- tomb (TO4)
- tram (TR4)
Answer Definitions
- bathroom† (noun): A room containing a shower and/or bathtub, and a toilet.
- ammo (noun): Ammunition.
- armor (noun): A protective layer over a body, vehicle, or other object intended to deflect or diffuse damaging forces.
- aroma (noun): A smell; especially a pleasant spicy or fragrant one.
- atom (noun): The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
- bamboo (noun): A fast-growing grass of the Poaceae family, characterised by its woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem, all of which are in the Bambuseae tribe.
- barroom (noun): A room where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter.
- bathmat (noun): Alternative spelling of bath mat
- bomb (noun): An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, one dropped from an aircraft. The atomic bomb.
- boom (verb): To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound.
- bottom (noun): The lowest part of anything.
- broom (noun): A domestic utensil with fibers bound together at the end of a long handle, used for sweeping.
- haram (noun): A sin.
- harm (noun): physical injury; hurt; damage
- mahatma (noun): An epithet granted in India and Tibet to people thought to have great knowledge and love of humanity
- mama (noun): Mother, female parent.
- mamba (noun): Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees.
- mambo (noun): A voodoo priestess (in Haiti)
- mamma (noun): The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder.
- mammoth (noun): Any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, of large, usually hairy, elephant-like mammals with long curved tusks and an inclined back, which became extinct with the last retreat of ice age glaciers during the late Pleistocene period, and are known from fossils, frozen carcasses, and Paleolithic cave paintings found in North America and Eurasia.
- marm (noun): madam; a polite term of address for a lady.
- marmot (noun): Any of several large ground-dwelling rodents of the genera Marmota and Cynomys in the squirrel family.
- mart (noun): A shop, store.
- math (noun): Clipping of mathematics.
- moat (noun): A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.
- momma (noun): mother
- moor (noun): An extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath
- moot (adjective): Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve.
- mortar (noun): A mixture of lime or cement, sand and water used for bonding building blocks.
- moth (noun): A usually nocturnal insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from butterflies by feather-like antennae.
- motor (noun): A machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion.
- motorboat (noun): Any vessel driven by an engine (either inboard or outboard), but especially a small one.
- motto (noun): A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
- roam (verb): To wander or travel freely and with no specific destination.
- room (noun): Opportunity or scope (to do something).
- tomato (noun): A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.
- tomb (noun): A small building (or "vault") for the remains of the dead, with walls, a roof, and (if it is to be used for more than one corpse) a door. It may be partly or wholly in the ground (except for its entrance) in a cemetery, or it may be inside a church proper or in its crypt. Single tombs may be permanently sealed; those for families (or other groups) have doors for access whenever needed.
- tram (noun): A passenger vehicle for public use that runs on tracks in the road (called a streetcar or trolley in North America).