NYT Spelling Bee Answers for February 20, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, g, h, m, o, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 38 words |
| Total Points | 156 points |
| Genius Level | 109 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 | Σ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| G | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | 5 |
| H | 2 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| M | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| N | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | - | 6 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Y | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | Σ | 15 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 38 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AG×1 AM×1 AN×3 |
|---|---|
| G | GA×1 GO×4 |
| H | HA×2 HO×3 HY×1 |
| M | MA×7 MO×6 MY×2 |
| N | NA×4 NO×2 |
| O | |
| Y | YA×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AGO×1 AMO×1 ANN×1 ANO×1 ANY×1 |
|---|---|
| G | GAN×1 GON×2 GOO×2 |
| H | HAN×2 HOG×1 HOM×2 HYM×1 |
| M | MAH×1 MAM×1 MAN×5 MOA×1 MON×3 MOO×2 MYN×2 |
| N | NAA×1 NAG×1 NAN×2 NON×1 NOO×1 |
| O | |
| Y | YAN×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ma...... † | MA8 | The wood of any of various tropical American evergreen trees, of the genus Swietenia, mostly used to make furniture. |
| ag... | AG5 | Extreme pain. |
| am... | AM5 | Denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. (See Usage Note at amidst.) |
| an... | AN5 | To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds. |
| an.. | AN4 | Straight away; at once. |
| an.... | AN6 | anyhow |
| ga.. | GA4 | To go; walk; proceed. |
| go.. | GO4 | A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a sonorous sound when struck with a soft hammer. |
| go... | GO5 | Contraction of going to when followed by an infinitive verb: used to express a future action. |
| go.. | GO4 | A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon'). |
| go... | GO5 | Of or like a goon; thuggish; brutal. |
| ha.. | HA4 | To be or remain suspended. |
| ha..... | HA7 | An executioner responsible for hanging criminals. |
| ho... | HO5 | A one-room Navajo dwelling or ceremonial lodge, constructed of wood and earth and covered with mud. |
| ho..... | HO7 | A word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word. |
| ho...... | HO8 | The property of being a homonym. |
| hy.. | HY4 | A song of praise or worship, especially a religious one. |
| ma.... | MA6 | Alternative letter-case form of Mammon (wealth, material avarice). |
| ma... | MA5 | A comic originating in Japan. |
| ma... | MA5 | A tropical Asian fruit tree, Mangifera indica. |
| ma... | MA5 | Afflicted, or looking as if afflicted, with mange. |
| ma... | MA5 | Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus. |
| ma.. | MA4 | An indefinite large number of. |
| mo.. | MO4 | a low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure |
| mo.. | MO4 | Clipping of mononucleosis. |
| mo...... | MO8 | A form of sexual bonding involving a permanent pair bond between two beings. |
| mo..... | MO7 | A single name by which a person, thing, etc., is known. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”). |
| mo... | MO5 | Resembling the moon. |
| my.. | MY4 | One of the South and East Asian birds of the starling family Sturnidae. |
| my... | MY5 | Alternative spelling of myna |
| na.. | NA4 | A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine. |
| na... | NA5 | Prone to nag, irritable. |
| na.. | NA4 | A banana. |
| na... | NA5 | A child's nurse. |
| no..... | NO7 | A polygon with nine sides and nine angles; an enneagon. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| ya.. | YA4 | A principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with bright, hot, masculine, etc. elements of the natural world. |
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.
- mahogany† (MA8)
- agony (AG5)
- among (AM5)
- annoy (AN5)
- anon (AN4)
- anyhoo (AN6)
- gang (GA4)
- gong (GO4)
- gonna (GO5)
- goon (GO4)
- goony (GO5)
- hang (HA4)
- hangman (HA7)
- hogan (HO5)
- homonym (HO7)
- homonymy (HO8)
- hymn (HY4)
- mammon (MA6)
- manga (MA5)
- mango (MA5)
- mangy (MA5)
- manna (MA5)
- many (MA4)
- moan (MO4)
- mono (MO4)
- monogamy (MO8)
- mononym (MO7)
- moon (MO4)
- moony (MO5)
- myna (MY4)
- mynah (MY5)
- naan (NA4)
- naggy (NA5)
- nana (NA4)
- nanny (NA5)
- nonagon (NO7)
- noon (NO4)
- yang (YA4)
Answer Definitions
- mahogany† (noun): The wood of any of various tropical American evergreen trees, of the genus Swietenia, mostly used to make furniture.
- agony (noun): Extreme pain.
- among (preposition): Denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. (See Usage Note at amidst.)
- annoy (verb): To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds.
- anon (adverb): Straight away; at once.
- anyhoo (adverb): anyhow
- gang (verb): To go; walk; proceed.
- gong (noun): A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a sonorous sound when struck with a soft hammer.
- gonna (contraction): Contraction of going to when followed by an infinitive verb: used to express a future action.
- goon (noun): A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon').
- goony (adjective): Of or like a goon; thuggish; brutal.
- hang (verb): To be or remain suspended.
- hangman (noun): An executioner responsible for hanging criminals.
- hogan (noun): A one-room Navajo dwelling or ceremonial lodge, constructed of wood and earth and covered with mud.
- homonym (noun): A word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word.
- homonymy (noun): The property of being a homonym.
- hymn (noun): A song of praise or worship, especially a religious one.
- mammon (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Mammon (wealth, material avarice).
- manga (noun): A comic originating in Japan.
- mango (noun): A tropical Asian fruit tree, Mangifera indica.
- mangy (adjective): Afflicted, or looking as if afflicted, with mange.
- manna (noun): Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus.
- many (determiner): An indefinite large number of.
- moan (noun): a low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure
- mono (noun): Clipping of mononucleosis.
- monogamy (noun): A form of sexual bonding involving a permanent pair bond between two beings.
- mononym (noun): A single name by which a person, thing, etc., is known.
- moon (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).
- moony (adjective): Resembling the moon.
- myna (noun): One of the South and East Asian birds of the starling family Sturnidae.
- mynah (noun): Alternative spelling of myna
- naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
- naggy (adjective): Prone to nag, irritable.
- nana (noun): A banana.
- nanny (noun): A child's nurse.
- nonagon (noun): A polygon with nine sides and nine angles; an enneagon.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- yang (noun): A principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with bright, hot, masculine, etc. elements of the natural world.