NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 12, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | V |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, e, n, o, t |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 28 words |
| Total Points | 118 points |
| Genius Level | 83 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 | - | - | 1 |
| C | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| E | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| N | 2 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 4 |
| O | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| T | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| V | 4 | - | 2 | - | - | 6 | Σ | 12 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 28 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AV×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×3 CO×8 |
| E | EA×1 EV×2 |
| N | NA×1 NO×3 |
| O | OC×1 OV×2 |
| T | |
| V | VA×3 VE×2 VO×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AVO×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAV×3 CON×4 COV×4 |
| E | EAV×1 EVE×2 |
| N | NAV×1 NON×1 NOV×2 |
| O | OCT×1 OVA×1 OVE×1 |
| T | |
| V | VAC×2 VAN×1 VEN×1 VET×1 VOT×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) |
|---|---|---|
| co...... † | CO8 | An agreement to do or not do a particular thing. |
| av.... | AV6 | Any of four species of wading birds in the genus Recurvirostra, of the family Recurvirostridae, with long, slender recurved bills, long legs, and webbed feet. |
| ca.. | CA4 | Alternative letter-case form of Cava, a Catalan white sparkling wine. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A warning. |
| co..... | CO7 | Curved like the inner surface of a sphere or bowl. |
| co..... | CO7 | To move (a warm fluid) upward through a cooler fluid, to transfer (heat or a fluid) by convection. |
| co..... | CO7 | To come together; to meet; to unite. |
| co..... | CO7 | A religious community whose members live under strict observation of religious rules and self-imposed vows. |
| co.. | CO4 | A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern. |
| co... | CO5 | A formal group or assembly of witches. |
| co... | CO5 | To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously. |
| ea.. | EA4 | Alternative form of eaves (“the underside of a roof that extends beyond the external walls of a building”) |
| ev.. | EV4 | Flat and level. |
| ev... | EV5 | An occurrence; something that happens. |
| na.. | NA4 | The middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances. |
| no...... | NO8 | An anticipated event that does not occur, or one that is a disappointing anticlimax. |
| no.. | NO4 | Any sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star. |
| no... | NO5 | plural of nova |
| oc.... | OC6 | An interval of twelve semitones spanning eight degrees of the diatonic scale, representing a doubling or halving in pitch frequency. |
| ov... | OV5 | Shaped like an egg. |
| ov.. | OV4 | A chamber used for baking or heating. |
| va.... | VA6 | Not occupied; empty. |
| va.... | VA6 | To move out of a dwelling, either by choice or by eviction. |
| va.. | VA4 | A weather vane. |
| ve.. | VE4 | An opening through which gases, especially air, can pass. |
| ve.. | VE4 | A political right to disapprove of (and thereby stop) the process of a decision, a law etc. |
| vo.. | VO4 | a formalized choice on legally relevant measures such as employment or appointment to office or a proceeding about a legal dispute. |
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.
- covenant† (CO8)
- avocet (AV6)
- cava (CA4)
- cave (CA4)
- caveat (CA6)
- concave (CO7)
- convect (CO7)
- convene (CO7)
- convent (CO7)
- cove (CO4)
- coven (CO5)
- covet (CO5)
- eave (EA4)
- even (EV4)
- event (EV5)
- nave (NA4)
- nonevent (NO8)
- nova (NO4)
- novae (NO5)
- octave (OC6)
- ovate (OV5)
- oven (OV4)
- vacant (VA6)
- vacate (VA6)
- vane (VA4)
- vent (VE4)
- veto (VE4)
- vote (VO4)
Answer Definitions
- covenant† (noun): An agreement to do or not do a particular thing.
- avocet (noun): Any of four species of wading birds in the genus Recurvirostra, of the family Recurvirostridae, with long, slender recurved bills, long legs, and webbed feet.
- cava (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Cava, a Catalan white sparkling wine.
- cave (noun): A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside.
- caveat (noun): A warning.
- concave (adjective): Curved like the inner surface of a sphere or bowl.
- convect (verb): To move (a warm fluid) upward through a cooler fluid, to transfer (heat or a fluid) by convection.
- convene (verb): To come together; to meet; to unite.
- convent (noun): A religious community whose members live under strict observation of religious rules and self-imposed vows.
- cove (noun): A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern.
- coven (noun): A formal group or assembly of witches.
- covet (verb): To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously.
- eave (noun): Alternative form of eaves (“the underside of a roof that extends beyond the external walls of a building”)
- even (adjective): Flat and level.
- event (noun): An occurrence; something that happens.
- nave (noun): The middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances.
- nonevent (noun): An anticipated event that does not occur, or one that is a disappointing anticlimax.
- nova (noun): Any sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star.
- novae (noun): plural of nova
- octave (noun): An interval of twelve semitones spanning eight degrees of the diatonic scale, representing a doubling or halving in pitch frequency.
- ovate (adjective): Shaped like an egg.
- oven (noun): A chamber used for baking or heating.
- vacant (adjective): Not occupied; empty.
- vacate (verb): To move out of a dwelling, either by choice or by eviction.
- vane (noun): A weather vane.
- vent (noun): An opening through which gases, especially air, can pass.
- veto (noun): A political right to disapprove of (and thereby stop) the process of a decision, a law etc.
- vote (noun): a formalized choice on legally relevant measures such as employment or appointment to office or a proceeding about a legal dispute.