NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 21, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | R |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, d, h, i, n |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 42 words |
| Total Points | 185 points |
| Genius Level | 130 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 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | 11 |
| C | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 11 |
| D | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| H | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| N | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| R | 6 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | 12 | Σ | 15 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 42 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×1 AN×1 AR×9 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×4 CH×3 CI×3 CR×1 |
| D | DA×1 DI×1 DR×1 |
| H | HA×3 |
| I | |
| N | NA×2 |
| R | RA×9 RI×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACR×1 ANA×1 ARA×1 ARC×5 ARI×2 ARN×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAI×1 CAN×1 CAR×2 CHA×3 CIR×3 CRA×1 |
| D | DAR×1 DIN×1 DRA×1 |
| H | HAI×1 HAR×2 |
| I | |
| N | NAD×1 NAR×1 |
| R | RAD×3 RAI×2 RAN×4 RIC×2 RIN×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ar...... † | AR8 | Any of the eight-legged creatures, including spiders, mites, and scorpions, of the class Arachnida. |
| ac... | AC5 | Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not to the taste. |
| an...... | AN8 | Relating to, supporting, or likely to cause anarchy. |
| ar..... | AR7 | Alternative letter-case form of Arcadia |
| ar...... | AR8 | Pertaining to an arcade. |
| ar.... | AR6 | Specialized knowledge that is mysterious to the uninitiated. |
| ar.. | AR4 | An inverted U shape. |
| ar..... | AR7 | A general term for the prehistoric period intermediate between the earliest period (‘Paleo-Indian’, ‘Paleo-American’, ‘American‐paleolithic’, &c.) of human presence in the Western Hemisphere, and the most recent prehistoric period (‘Woodland’, etc.). |
| ar.. | AR4 | A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata. |
| ar.. | AR4 | Very dry. |
| ar.... | AR6 | Any of several plants, of the genus Arnica, considered to have medicinal properties, especially Arnica montana. |
| ca... | CA5 | A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A false or misleading report or story, especially if deliberately so. |
| ca.. | CA4 | cardinality |
| ca..... | CA7 | Pertaining to the heart. |
| ch... | CH5 | An item of furniture used to sit on or in, comprising a seat, legs or wheels, back, and sometimes arm rests, for use by one person. Compare stool, couch, sofa, settee, loveseat and bench. |
| ch.. | CH4 | To burn something to charcoal. |
| ch... | CH5 | An edible leafy vegetable, Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla, with a slightly bitter taste. |
| ci... | CI5 | Approximately, about, around |
| ci....... | CI9 | of, relating to, or showing rhythmic behaviour with a period of 24 hours; especially of a biological process |
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers. |
| cr.... | CR6 | plural of cranium |
| da.. | DA4 | Damn. |
| di... | DI5 | The official currency of several countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, North Macedonia, Serbia and Tunisia. |
| dr... | DR5 | A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole |
| ha.. | HA4 | A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals. |
| ha.. | HA4 | Having a severe property; presenting difficulty. Resistant to pressure. |
| ha...... | HA8 | A vicious and scolding woman, especially an older one. |
| na... | NA5 | The point of the celestial sphere, directly opposite the zenith; inferior pole of the horizon; point of the celestial sphere directly under the place of observation. |
| na.. | NA4 | A police officer assigned to or engaging in illegal narcotics control. |
| ra... | RA5 | A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces |
| ra.... | RA6 | English Wikipedia has an article on:radianWikipedia In the International System of Units, the derived unit of plane angular measure of angle equal to the angle subtended at the centre of a circle by an arc of its circumference equal in length to the radius of the circle. Symbol: rad |
| ra... | RA5 | plural of radius |
| ra.. | RA4 | A quick hostile or predatory incursion or invasion in a battle. |
| ra.. | RA4 | Condensed water falling from a cloud. |
| ra... | RA5 | A large plot of land used for raising cattle, sheep or other livestock. |
| ra.... | RA6 | Rank in taste or smell. |
| ra.. | RA4 | The border of an area of land, especially marshland. |
| ra.. | RA4 | The wife of a rajah. |
| ri.. | RI4 | Wealthy: having a lot of money and possessions. |
| ri... | RI5 | An extremely toxic lectin extracted from the castor bean. |
| ri.. | RI4 | tree bark |
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.
- arachnid† (AR8)
- acrid (AC5)
- anarchic (AN8)
- arcadia (AR7)
- arcadian (AR8)
- arcana (AR6)
- arch (AR4)
- archaic (AR7)
- aria (AR4)
- arid (AR4)
- arnica (AR6)
- cairn (CA5)
- canard (CA6)
- card (CA4)
- cardiac (CA7)
- chair (CH5)
- char (CH4)
- chard (CH5)
- circa (CI5)
- circadian (CI9)
- cirri (CI5)
- crania (CR6)
- darn (DA4)
- dinar (DI5)
- drain (DR5)
- hair (HA4)
- hard (HA4)
- harridan (HA8)
- nadir (NA5)
- narc (NA4)
- radar (RA5)
- radian (RA6)
- radii (RA5)
- raid (RA4)
- rain (RA4)
- ranch (RA5)
- rancid (RA6)
- rand (RA4)
- rani (RA4)
- rich (RI4)
- ricin (RI5)
- rind (RI4)
Answer Definitions
- arachnid† (noun): Any of the eight-legged creatures, including spiders, mites, and scorpions, of the class Arachnida.
- acrid (adjective): Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not to the taste.
- anarchic (adjective): Relating to, supporting, or likely to cause anarchy.
- arcadia (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Arcadia
- arcadian (adjective): Pertaining to an arcade.
- arcana (noun): Specialized knowledge that is mysterious to the uninitiated.
- arch (noun): An inverted U shape.
- archaic (noun): A general term for the prehistoric period intermediate between the earliest period (‘Paleo-Indian’, ‘Paleo-American’, ‘American‐paleolithic’, &c.) of human presence in the Western Hemisphere, and the most recent prehistoric period (‘Woodland’, etc.).
- aria (noun): A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata.
- arid (adjective): Very dry.
- arnica (noun): Any of several plants, of the genus Arnica, considered to have medicinal properties, especially Arnica montana.
- cairn (noun): A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument.
- canard (noun): A false or misleading report or story, especially if deliberately so.
- card (symbol): cardinality
- cardiac (adjective): Pertaining to the heart.
- chair (noun): An item of furniture used to sit on or in, comprising a seat, legs or wheels, back, and sometimes arm rests, for use by one person. Compare stool, couch, sofa, settee, loveseat and bench.
- char (verb): To burn something to charcoal.
- chard (noun): An edible leafy vegetable, Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla, with a slightly bitter taste.
- circa (preposition): Approximately, about, around
- circadian (adjective): of, relating to, or showing rhythmic behaviour with a period of 24 hours; especially of a biological process
- cirri (noun): plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers.
- crania (noun): plural of cranium
- darn (adjective): Damn.
- dinar (noun): The official currency of several countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, North Macedonia, Serbia and Tunisia.
- drain (noun): A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole
- hair (noun): A pigmented filament of keratin which grows from a follicle on the skin of humans and other mammals.
- hard (adjective): Having a severe property; presenting difficulty. Resistant to pressure.
- harridan (noun): A vicious and scolding woman, especially an older one.
- nadir (noun): The point of the celestial sphere, directly opposite the zenith; inferior pole of the horizon; point of the celestial sphere directly under the place of observation.
- narc (noun): A police officer assigned to or engaging in illegal narcotics control.
- radar (noun): A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces
- radian (noun): English Wikipedia has an article on:radianWikipedia In the International System of Units, the derived unit of plane angular measure of angle equal to the angle subtended at the centre of a circle by an arc of its circumference equal in length to the radius of the circle. Symbol: rad
- radii (noun): plural of radius
- raid (noun): A quick hostile or predatory incursion or invasion in a battle.
- rain (noun): Condensed water falling from a cloud.
- ranch (noun): A large plot of land used for raising cattle, sheep or other livestock.
- rancid (adjective): Rank in taste or smell.
- rand (noun): The border of an area of land, especially marshland.
- rani (noun): The wife of a rajah.
- rich (adjective): Wealthy: having a lot of money and possessions.
- ricin (noun): An extremely toxic lectin extracted from the castor bean.
- rind (noun): tree bark