NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 8, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, f, i, k, l |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 34 words |
| Total Points | 173 points |
| Genius Level | 121 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
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 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 |
| B | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| C | 2 | 6 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 10 |
| F | - | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 4 |
| I | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| K | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | - | 3 |
| L | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | Σ | 8 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 34 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×2 AC×2 AL×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×3 BI×1 BL×2 |
| C | CA×6 CI×1 CL×3 |
| F | FA×2 FL×2 |
| I | IL×1 |
| K | KI×3 |
| L | LA×3 LI×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABA×2 ACA×2 ALA×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAC×3 BIB×1 BLA×2 |
| C | CAB×2 CAL×4 CIL×1 CLA×1 CLI×2 |
| F | FAC×1 FAL×1 FLA×1 FLI×1 |
| I | ILI×1 |
| K | KIC×3 |
| L | LAC×1 LAI×2 LIC×1 LIL×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 | To refill a hole with the material dug out of it. |
| ab... | AB5 | plural form of an ancient bead calculator. |
| ab... | AB5 | Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'. |
| ac.... | AC6 | A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe. |
| al... | AL5 | An expression of sorrow or mourning. |
| ba..... | BA7 | plural of bacillus |
| ba.. | BA4 | At or near the rear. |
| bi...... | BI8 | Of or relating to the Bible. |
| bl... | BL5 | Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless. |
| bl....... | BL9 | A rejection; a vote against admitting someone. |
| ca... | CA5 | A secret political clique or faction. |
| ca.... | CA6 | Alternative spelling of Kabballah |
| ca.. | CA4 | A young cow or bull. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A telephone conversation; a phone call. |
| ca... | CA5 | A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe. |
| ca...... | CA8 | The return of a situation to a previous position or state. |
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cilium |
| cl... | CL5 | An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk. |
| cl... | CL5 | A brief, sharp, not particularly loud, relatively high-pitched sound produced by the impact of something small and hard against something hard, such as by the operation of a switch, a lock, or a latch. |
| cl... | CL5 | A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face. |
| fa.... | FA6 | Of or affecting the face. |
| fa...... | FA8 | An act of falling back. |
| fl... | FL5 | To flutter; palpitate. |
| fl... | FL5 | A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip. |
| il... | IL5 | Relating to the ilium. |
| ki.. | KI4 | To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg. |
| ki...... | KI8 | A backward kick, a retrograde movement of an extremity. |
| ki...... | KI8 | A sport similar to baseball, where a ball is kicked rather than hit. |
| la.. | LA4 | A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want. |
| la.. | LA4 | A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy. |
| la.... | LA6 | Of or pertaining to a layperson, layman, laywoman, or laypeople (laity). |
| li.. | LI4 | To stroke with the tongue. |
| li... | LI5 | A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers. |
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.
- backfill† (BA8)
- abaci (AB5)
- aback (AB5)
- acacia (AC6)
- acai (AC4)
- alack (AL5)
- bacilli (BA7)
- back (BA4)
- biblical (BI8)
- black (BL5)
- blackball (BL9)
- cabal (CA5)
- cabala (CA6)
- calf (CA4)
- call (CA4)
- calla (CA5)
- callback (CA8)
- cilia (CI5)
- clack (CL5)
- click (CL5)
- cliff (CL5)
- facial (FA6)
- fallback (FA8)
- flack (FL5)
- flick (FL5)
- iliac (IL5)
- kick (KI4)
- kickback (KI8)
- kickball (KI8)
- lack (LA4)
- laic (LA4)
- laical (LA6)
- lick (LI4)
- lilac (LI5)
Answer Definitions
- backfill† (verb): To refill a hole with the material dug out of it.
- abaci (noun): plural form of an ancient bead calculator.
- aback (adverb): Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'.
- acacia (noun): A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
- acai (noun): Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
- alack (interjection): An expression of sorrow or mourning.
- bacilli (noun): plural of bacillus
- back (adjective): At or near the rear.
- biblical (adjective): Of or relating to the Bible.
- black (adjective): Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.
- blackball (noun): A rejection; a vote against admitting someone.
- cabal (noun): A secret political clique or faction.
- cabala (proper noun): Alternative spelling of Kabballah
- calf (noun): A young cow or bull.
- call (noun): A telephone conversation; a phone call.
- calla (noun): A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.
- callback (noun): The return of a situation to a previous position or state.
- cilia (noun): plural of cilium
- clack (noun): An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk.
- click (noun): A brief, sharp, not particularly loud, relatively high-pitched sound produced by the impact of something small and hard against something hard, such as by the operation of a switch, a lock, or a latch.
- cliff (noun): A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face.
- facial (adjective): Of or affecting the face.
- fallback (noun): An act of falling back.
- flack (verb): To flutter; palpitate.
- flick (noun): A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.
- iliac (adjective): Relating to the ilium.
- kick (verb): To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.
- kickback (noun): A backward kick, a retrograde movement of an extremity.
- kickball (noun): A sport similar to baseball, where a ball is kicked rather than hit.
- lack (noun): A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want.
- laic (noun): A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.
- laical (adjective): Of or pertaining to a layperson, layman, laywoman, or laypeople (laity).
- lick (verb): To stroke with the tongue.
- lilac (noun): A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.