NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 3, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | A |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, i, r, t, u, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 40 words |
| Total Points | 168 points |
| Genius Level | 118 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 | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | 9 |
| B | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 13 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R | - | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| T | 4 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 12 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 15 | 15 | 5 | 2 | - | 3 | 40 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×1 AI×1 AR×4 AT×2 AU×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×6 BR×5 BU×2 |
| I | |
| R | RA×6 |
| T | TA×6 TI×2 TR×3 TU×1 |
| U | |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABU×1 AIR×1 ARB×1 ARI×1 ARR×1 ART×1 ATR×1 ATT×1 AUR×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×2 BAI×1 BAR×2 BAT×1 BRA×3 BRI×2 BUB×1 BUR×1 |
| I | |
| R | RAB×2 RAI×1 RAR×1 RAT×2 |
| T | TAB×1 TAR×3 TAT×1 TAU×1 TIA×1 TIB×1 TRA×2 TRI×1 TUB×1 |
| U | |
| Y |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| tr....... † | TR9 | A natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water. |
| 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) |
| ai.. | AI4 | (of a room or building) spacious, well lit, and well ventilated. |
| ar....... | AR9 | Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random. |
| ar.. | AR4 | A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata. |
| ar... | AR5 | an ordered series or arrangement. |
| ar.. | AR4 | Inclined toward paintings, music, etc. |
| at... | AT5 | plural of atrium |
| at... | AT5 | An essential oil extracted from flowers. |
| au.. | AU4 | Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered. |
| ba.. | BA4 | Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net. |
| ba.. | BA4 | The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else. |
| ba....... | BA9 | The state of being barbarous; brutality |
| ba... | BA5 | Mad, crazy, silly. |
| br.. | BR4 | A human child. A child who is regarded as mischievous, unruly, spoiled, or selfish. |
| br.... | BR6 | Characteristic of a brat; unruly and impolite. |
| br.. | BR4 | Of an animal (now chiefly of animals related to the ass or donkey, and the camel): to make its cry. |
| br... | BR5 | Any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera. |
| br.... | BR6 | Like a briar; thorny. |
| bu... | BU5 | Brother; used as term of familiar address. |
| bu..... | BU7 | A fresh southern Italian cheese similar to creamy mozzarella. |
| ra... | RA5 | A Jewish scholar or teacher of halacha (Jewish law), capable of making halachic decisions. |
| ra.... | RA6 | A mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail. |
| ra... | RA5 | A condiment used as a dip or sauce in the cuisine of southern Asia, made from seasoned yogurt. |
| ra.... | RA6 | A measure of the scarcity of an object. |
| ra..... | RA7 | A swiftly repeated knocking sound. |
| ra... | RA5 | Resembling or characteristic of a certain rodent. |
| ta... | TA5 | A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering. |
| ta... | TA5 | To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Sharp to the taste; acid; sour. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A red compound deposited during wine making; mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate — a source of cream of tartar. |
| ta... | TA5 | worn and shabby; in poor condition. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight. |
| ti... | TI5 | The papal crown. |
| ti... | TI5 | The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone |
| tr... | TR5 | An identifying characteristic, habit or trend. |
| tr.. | TR4 | A small, typically rectangular or round, flat, and rigid object upon which things are carried. |
| 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.
- tributary† (TR9)
- abut (AB4)
- airy (AI4)
- arbitrary (AR9)
- aria (AR4)
- array (AR5)
- arty (AR4)
- atria (AT5)
- attar (AT5)
- aura (AU4)
- baba (BA4)
- baby (BA4)
- bait (BA4)
- barb (BA4)
- barbarity (BA9)
- batty (BA5)
- brat (BR4)
- bratty (BR6)
- bray (BR4)
- briar (BR5)
- briary (BR6)
- bubba (BU5)
- burrata (BU7)
- rabbi (RA5)
- rabbit (RA6)
- raita (RA5)
- rarity (RA6)
- ratatat (RA7)
- ratty (RA5)
- tabby (TA5)
- tarry (TA5)
- tart (TA4)
- tartar (TA6)
- tatty (TA5)
- taut (TA4)
- tiara (TI5)
- tibia (TI5)
- trait (TR5)
- tray (TR4)
- tuba (TU4)
Answer Definitions
- tributary† (noun): A natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water.
- 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)
- airy (adjective): (of a room or building) spacious, well lit, and well ventilated.
- arbitrary (adjective): Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random.
- aria (noun): A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata.
- array (noun): an ordered series or arrangement.
- arty (adjective): Inclined toward paintings, music, etc.
- atria (noun): plural of atrium
- attar (noun): An essential oil extracted from flowers.
- aura (noun): Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something.
- baba (noun): A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
- baby (noun): A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered.
- bait (noun): Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
- barb (noun): The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
- barbarity (noun): The state of being barbarous; brutality
- batty (adjective): Mad, crazy, silly.
- brat (noun): A human child. A child who is regarded as mischievous, unruly, spoiled, or selfish.
- bratty (adjective): Characteristic of a brat; unruly and impolite.
- bray (verb): Of an animal (now chiefly of animals related to the ass or donkey, and the camel): to make its cry.
- briar (noun): Any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera.
- briary (adjective): Like a briar; thorny.
- bubba (noun): Brother; used as term of familiar address.
- burrata (noun): A fresh southern Italian cheese similar to creamy mozzarella.
- rabbi (noun): A Jewish scholar or teacher of halacha (Jewish law), capable of making halachic decisions.
- rabbit (noun): A mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail.
- raita (noun): A condiment used as a dip or sauce in the cuisine of southern Asia, made from seasoned yogurt.
- rarity (noun): A measure of the scarcity of an object.
- ratatat (noun): A swiftly repeated knocking sound.
- ratty (adjective): Resembling or characteristic of a certain rodent.
- tabby (noun): A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering.
- tarry (verb): To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.
- tart (adjective): Sharp to the taste; acid; sour.
- tartar (noun): A red compound deposited during wine making; mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate — a source of cream of tartar.
- tatty (noun): worn and shabby; in poor condition.
- taut (adjective): Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.
- tiara (noun): The papal crown.
- tibia (noun): The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone
- trait (noun): An identifying characteristic, habit or trend.
- tray (noun): A small, typically rectangular or round, flat, and rigid object upon which things are carried.
- 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.