NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 28, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | d, k, o, r, a, b |
| # of Pangrams | 3 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 38 words |
| Total Points | 179 points |
| Genius Level | 125 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</th><th>10</th><th>11 | Σ | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 4 |
| B | 2 | - | - | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 8 |
| C | 10 | 8 | - | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | 21 |
| D | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| K | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| R | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 17 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | 38 |
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×1 AR×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×6 BO×2 |
| C | CA×5 CO×10 CR×6 |
| D | DO×1 |
| K | |
| O | OR×1 |
| R | RA×1 RO×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABA×1 ABR×1 ACC×1 ARC×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAC×3 BAR×3 BOC×1 BOO×1 |
| C | CAC×1 CAR×4 COB×1 COC×3 COD×1 COO×2 COR×3 CRA×2 CRO×4 |
| D | DOC×1 |
| K | |
| O | ORC×1 |
| R | RAC×1 ROC×2 |
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....... † | BA9 | The flat vertical surface to which the basket is attached. |
| ba...... † | BA8 | Alternative spelling of back door, which can be used attributively. |
| co....... † | CO9 | Alternative spelling of cork-board |
| ab... | AB5 | Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'. |
| ab......... | AB11 | A use of the mystical term ‘abracadabra’, supposed to work as part of a healing charm or a magical spell; any spell or incantation making use of the word. |
| ac.... | AC6 | Agreement or concurrence of opinion, will, or action. |
| ar.. | AR4 | A note in string instrument musical notation indicating that the bow is to be used in the usual way, usually following a passage that is played pizzicato. |
| ba.. | BA4 | At or near the rear. |
| ba..... | BA7 | An assistant to a bartender |
| ba...... | BA8 | Meat slow-cooked over an open fire, characteristic of Latin American cuisine. |
| ba..... | BA7 | A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A strong dark beer brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for spring consumption. |
| bo...... | BO8 | A rack for books; a bookshelf. |
| ca... | CA5 | A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate. |
| ca.. | CA4 | Clipping of carbohydrate. |
| ca.. | CA4 | cardinality |
| ca....... | CA9 | A wood-based material resembling heavy paper, used in the manufacture of boxes, cartons and signs. |
| ca... | CA5 | An evergreen shrub or tree, Ceratonia siliqua, native to the Mediterranean region. |
| co... | CO5 | Any of various venomous snakes of the family Elapidae. |
| co.. | CO4 | Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. |
| co.. | CO4 | A male bird, especially: A rooster: a male gallinaceous bird, especially a male domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). A cock pigeon. |
| co... | CO5 | The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. |
| co.. | CO4 | A passage that brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation. |
| co.. | CO4 | A person who prepares food. |
| co...... | CO8 | A book or an encyclopedia of recipes and cookery tips. |
| co.. | CO4 | A long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fiber (rope, for example); such a length of twisted strands considered as a commodity. |
| co.. | CO4 | The bark of the cork oak, which is very light and porous and used for making bottle stoppers, flotation devices, and insulation material. |
| cr.. | CR4 | A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace. |
| cr... | CR5 | To form cracks. |
| cr... | CR5 | A faint, harsh sound made in the throat. |
| cr.. | CR4 | A crocodile. |
| cr... | CR5 | A stoneware or earthenware jar or storage container. |
| cr... | CR5 | A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure. |
| do.. | DO4 | Any of the genus Rumex of coarse weedy plants with small green flowers related to buckwheat, especially bitter dock (Rumex obtusifolius), and used as potherbs and in folk medicine, especially in curing nettle rash. |
| or.. | OR4 | A sea mammal (Orcinus orca) related to dolphins and porpoises, commonly called the killer whale. |
| ra.. | RA4 | A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other |
| ro.. | RO4 | A formation of minerals, specifically: The naturally occurring aggregate of solid mineral matter that constitutes a significant part of the earth's crust. |
| ro.... | RO6 | A style of baroque architecture and decorative art, from 18th-century France, having elaborate ornamentation. |
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.
- backboard† (BA9)
- backdoor† (BA8)
- corkboard† (CO9)
- aback (AB5)
- abracadabra (AB11)
- accord (AC6)
- arco (AR4)
- back (BA4)
- barback (BA7)
- barbacoa (BA8)
- barrack (BA7)
- bock (BO4)
- bookrack (BO8)
- cacao (CA5)
- carb (CA4)
- card (CA4)
- cardboard (CA9)
- carob (CA5)
- cobra (CO5)
- coca (CO4)
- cock (CO4)
- cocoa (CO5)
- coda (CO4)
- cook (CO4)
- cookbook (CO8)
- cord (CO4)
- cork (CO4)
- crab (CR4)
- crack (CR5)
- croak (CR5)
- croc (CR4)
- crock (CR5)
- crook (CR5)
- dock (DO4)
- orca (OR4)
- rack (RA4)
- rock (RO4)
- rococo (RO6)
Answer Definitions
- backboard† (noun): The flat vertical surface to which the basket is attached.
- backdoor† (noun): Alternative spelling of back door, which can be used attributively.
- corkboard† (noun): Alternative spelling of cork-board
- aback (adverb): Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'.
- abracadabra (noun): A use of the mystical term ‘abracadabra’, supposed to work as part of a healing charm or a magical spell; any spell or incantation making use of the word.
- accord (noun): Agreement or concurrence of opinion, will, or action.
- arco (adverb): A note in string instrument musical notation indicating that the bow is to be used in the usual way, usually following a passage that is played pizzicato.
- back (adjective): At or near the rear.
- barback (noun): An assistant to a bartender
- barbacoa (noun): Meat slow-cooked over an open fire, characteristic of Latin American cuisine.
- barrack (noun): A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings.
- bock (noun): A strong dark beer brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for spring consumption.
- bookrack (noun): A rack for books; a bookshelf.
- cacao (noun): A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate.
- carb (noun): Clipping of carbohydrate.
- card (symbol): cardinality
- cardboard (noun): A wood-based material resembling heavy paper, used in the manufacture of boxes, cartons and signs.
- carob (noun): An evergreen shrub or tree, Ceratonia siliqua, native to the Mediterranean region.
- cobra (noun): Any of various venomous snakes of the family Elapidae.
- coca (noun): Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.
- cock (noun): A male bird, especially: A rooster: a male gallinaceous bird, especially a male domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). A cock pigeon.
- cocoa (noun): The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made.
- coda (noun): A passage that brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation.
- cook (noun): A person who prepares food.
- cookbook (noun): A book or an encyclopedia of recipes and cookery tips.
- cord (noun): A long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fiber (rope, for example); such a length of twisted strands considered as a commodity.
- cork (noun): The bark of the cork oak, which is very light and porous and used for making bottle stoppers, flotation devices, and insulation material.
- crab (noun): A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
- crack (verb): To form cracks.
- croak (noun): A faint, harsh sound made in the throat.
- croc (noun): A crocodile.
- crock (noun): A stoneware or earthenware jar or storage container.
- crook (noun): A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
- dock (noun): Any of the genus Rumex of coarse weedy plants with small green flowers related to buckwheat, especially bitter dock (Rumex obtusifolius), and used as potherbs and in folk medicine, especially in curing nettle rash.
- orca (noun): A sea mammal (Orcinus orca) related to dolphins and porpoises, commonly called the killer whale.
- rack (noun): A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other
- rock (noun): A formation of minerals, specifically: The naturally occurring aggregate of solid mineral matter that constitutes a significant part of the earth's crust.
- rococo (noun): A style of baroque architecture and decorative art, from 18th-century France, having elaborate ornamentation.