Game Summary

Table of Contents

As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!

1. Spelling Bee Grid
2. Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
3. Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
4. Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
5. Today's Complete Solution
6. 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.

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.

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 (^†).

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.

• cocktail^†  (CO8)
• aioli  (AI5)
• allot  (AL5)
• alto  (AL4)
• atoll  (AT5)
• cacao  (CA5)
• calico  (CA6)
• callaloo  (CA8)
• ciao  (CI4)
• cloaca  (CL6)
• cloak  (CL5)
• clock  (CL5)
• clot  (CL4)
• coal  (CO4)
• coat  (CO4)
• coati  (CO5)
• coattail  (CO8)
• coca  (CO4)
• cocci  (CO5)
• cock  (CO4)
• cockatoo  (CO8)
• cocoa  (CO5)
• coil  (CO4)
• coital  (CO6)
• cola  (CO4)
• colic  (CO5)
• colt  (CO4)
• cook  (CO4)
• cool  (CO4)
• coot  (CO4)
• iota  (IO4)
• kilo  (KI4)
• koala  (KO5)
• kola  (KO4)
• kook  (KO4)
• local  (LO5)
• loci  (LO4)
• lock  (LO4)
• loco  (LO4)
• loll  (LO4)
• look  (LO4)
• loot  (LO4)
• lotto  (LO5)
• octal  (OC5)
• olio  (OL4)
• taco  (TA4)
• tailcoat  (TA8)
• tattoo  (TA6)
• ticktock  (TI8)
• toccata  (TO7)
• tock  (TO4)
• toil  (TO4)
• toll  (TO4)
• took  (TO4)
• tool  (TO4)
• toolkit  (TO7)
• toot  (TO4)
• total  (TO5)

Answer Definitions

• cocktail^† (noun): A mixed alcoholic beverage.
• aioli (noun): A type of sauce, similar to mayonnaise, made from garlic, egg, lemon juice and olive oil.
• allot (verb): To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot.
• alto (noun): A musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody.
• atoll (noun): a type of island consisting of a ribbon reef that nearly or entirely surrounds a lagoon and supports, in most cases, one to many islets on the reef platform. Atolls have a unique geology, so not all islands with a reef and a lagoon are atolls
• cacao (noun): A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate.
• calico (noun): A kind of rough cloth made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton, often printed with a bright pattern.
• callaloo (noun): Any of various tropical plants grown in the Americas, especially of the genera Amaranthus and Xanthosoma, cultivated for their edible leaves.
• ciao (interjection): hello, hi.
• cloaca (noun): A sewer.
• cloak (noun): A long outer garment worn over the shoulders covering the back; a cape, often with a hood.
• clock (noun): An instrument that measures or keeps track of time; a non-wearable timepiece.
• clot (noun): A thrombus, solidified mass of blood.
• coal (noun): A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.
• coat (noun): An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms.
• coati (noun): Any of several omnivorous mammals, of the genus Nasua or Nasuella, in order Carnivora, that live in the range from southern United States to northern Argentina.
• coattail (noun): The flap at the back of a coat that hangs down, sometimes below the waist.
• coca (noun): Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.
• cocci (noun): plural of coccus
• cock (noun): A male bird, especially: A rooster: a male gallinaceous bird, especially a male domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). A cock pigeon.
• cockatoo (noun): A bird of the family Cacatuidae with a curved beak and a zygodactyl foot.
• cocoa (noun): The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made.
• coil (noun): Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
• coital (adjective): of or relating to the sex act or coitus
• cola (noun): The kola plant, genus Cola, famous for its nut, or one of these nuts.
• colic (noun): Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).
• colt (noun): A young male horse.
• cook (noun): A person who prepares food.
• cool (adjective): Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold.
• coot (noun): Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead.
• iota (noun): The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet.
• kilo (noun): Clipping of kilogram.
• koala (noun): A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.
• kola (noun): A tree, genus Cola, bearing large brown seeds ("nuts") that are the source of cola extract.
• kook (noun): An eccentric, strange or crazy person.
• local (adjective): From or in a nearby location.
• loci (noun): plural of locus
• lock (noun): Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.
• loco (adverb): A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower.
• loll (verb): To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
• look (verb): To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes.
• loot (noun): A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks.
• lotto (noun): a game of chance similar to bingo
• octal (noun): The number system that uses the eight digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
• olio (noun): A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
• taco (noun): A Mexican snack food made of a small tortilla (soft or hard shelled) filled with ingredients such as meat, rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables and salsa.
• tailcoat (noun): A formal evening jacket with an extended back panel; a dress coat.
• tattoo (noun): An image made in the skin with ink and a needle.
• ticktock (interjection): Alternative form of tick tock
• toccata (noun): A piece of music (usually for a keyboard instrument) designed to emphasise the dexterity of the performer.
• tock (noun): A clicking sound similar to one made by the hands of a clock.
• toil (noun): Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
• toll (noun): Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.
• took (verb): simple past tense of take
• tool (noun): A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.
• toolkit (noun): A set of tools kept together, especially comprising all the tools suitable for some particular type of work.
• toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.
• total (noun): An amount obtained by the addition of smaller amounts.