NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 15, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | E |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, h, k, p, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 34 words |
| Total Points | 110 points |
| Genius Level | 77 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 | Σ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| C | 2 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 9 |
| E | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| H | 4 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| K | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| P | 6 | 5 | 1 | - | 1 | 13 |
| Y | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 18 | 13 | 2 | - | 1 | 34 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×1 AP×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×4 CH×5 |
| E | EA×1 EP×1 |
| H | HA×1 HE×2 HY×1 |
| K | KE×1 |
| P | PA×3 PE×10 |
| Y | YE×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACH×1 APA×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAC×1 CAK×2 CAP×1 CHE×5 |
| E | EAC×1 EPE×1 |
| H | HAK×1 HEA×1 HEC×1 HYP×1 |
| K | KEE×1 |
| P | PAC×1 PAY×2 PEA×5 PEC×1 PEE×2 PEK×1 PEP×1 |
| Y | YEA×1 YEC×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) |
|---|---|---|
| pa...... † | PA8 | Money received on payday as payment for work performed. |
| ac.. | AC4 | To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed. |
| ap... | AP5 | Quickly, rapidly, with speed. |
| ca... | CA5 | A store of things that may be required in the future, which can be retrieved rapidly, protected or hidden in some way. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing. |
| ca... | CA5 | Alternative spelling of caky |
| ca.. | CA4 | A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland. |
| ch... | CH5 | Trade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering. |
| ch... | CH5 | A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece. |
| ch... | CH5 | The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity. |
| ch.... | CH6 | Impudent; impertinent; impertinently bold, often in a way that is regarded as endearing or amusing. |
| ch... | CH5 | Of a small bird, to make short, high-pitched sounds. |
| ea.. | EA4 | All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every). |
| ep.. | EP4 | A sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing. |
| ha.. | HA4 | A hook; a pot-hook. |
| he.. | HE4 | A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of people. |
| he.. | HE4 | Hell. |
| hy.. | HY4 | Promotion or propaganda; especially exaggerated claims. |
| ke.. | KE4 | To continue in (a course or mode of action); not to intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain. |
| pa.. | PA4 | Step. A step taken with the foot. The distance covered in a step (or sometimes two), either vaguely or according to various specific set measurements. |
| pa... | PA5 | one to whom money is paid. |
| pe... | PE5 | A state of tranquility, quiet, and harmony; absence of violence. For instance, a state free from civil disturbance. |
| pe... | PE5 | A tree (Prunus persica), native to China and now widely cultivated throughout temperate regions, having pink flowers and edible fruit. |
| pe.... | PE6 | Resembling a peach, peach-like. |
| pe.. | PE4 | A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap. |
| pe... | PE5 | Sickly; peaked. |
| pe.. | PE4 | To strike or pierce with the beak or bill (of a bird). |
| pe.. | PE4 | To look slyly, or with the eyes half closed, or through a crevice; to peep. |
| pe.. | PE4 | A short, soft, high-pitched sound, as made by a baby bird. |
| pe.. | PE4 | Alternative letter-case form of Peke (“Pekinese dog”) |
| pe... | PE5 | Full of pep; energetic, cheerful, and vigorous; bouncy |
| ye.. | YE4 | yes. |
| ye... | YE5 | Alternative spelling of yech |
| ye.. | YE4 | An exclamation of disgust. |
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.
- paycheck† (PA8)
- ache (AC4)
- apace (AP5)
- cache (CA5)
- cake (CA4)
- cakey (CA5)
- cape (CA4)
- cheap (CH5)
- check (CH5)
- cheek (CH5)
- cheeky (CH6)
- cheep (CH5)
- each (EA4)
- epee (EP4)
- hake (HA4)
- heap (HE4)
- heck (HE4)
- hype (HY4)
- keep (KE4)
- pace (PA4)
- payee (PA5)
- peace (PE5)
- peach (PE5)
- peachy (PE6)
- peak (PE4)
- peaky (PE5)
- peck (PE4)
- peek (PE4)
- peep (PE4)
- peke (PE4)
- peppy (PE5)
- yeah (YE4)
- yecch (YE5)
- yech (YE4)
Answer Definitions
- paycheck† (noun): Money received on payday as payment for work performed.
- ache (verb): To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
- apace (adverb): Quickly, rapidly, with speed.
- cache (noun): A store of things that may be required in the future, which can be retrieved rapidly, protected or hidden in some way.
- cake (noun): A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.
- cakey (adjective): Alternative spelling of caky
- cape (noun): A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland.
- cheap (noun): Trade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering.
- check (noun): A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.
- cheek (noun): The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.
- cheeky (adjective): Impudent; impertinent; impertinently bold, often in a way that is regarded as endearing or amusing.
- cheep (verb): Of a small bird, to make short, high-pitched sounds.
- each (determiner): All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every).
- epee (noun): A sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing.
- hake (noun): A hook; a pot-hook.
- heap (noun): A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of people.
- heck (interjection): Hell.
- hype (noun): Promotion or propaganda; especially exaggerated claims.
- keep (verb): To continue in (a course or mode of action); not to intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain.
- pace (noun): Step. A step taken with the foot. The distance covered in a step (or sometimes two), either vaguely or according to various specific set measurements.
- payee (noun): one to whom money is paid.
- peace (noun): A state of tranquility, quiet, and harmony; absence of violence. For instance, a state free from civil disturbance.
- peach (noun): A tree (Prunus persica), native to China and now widely cultivated throughout temperate regions, having pink flowers and edible fruit.
- peachy (adjective): Resembling a peach, peach-like.
- peak (noun): A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap.
- peaky (adjective): Sickly; peaked.
- peck (verb): To strike or pierce with the beak or bill (of a bird).
- peek (verb): To look slyly, or with the eyes half closed, or through a crevice; to peep.
- peep (noun): A short, soft, high-pitched sound, as made by a baby bird.
- peke (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Peke (“Pekinese dog”)
- peppy (adjective): Full of pep; energetic, cheerful, and vigorous; bouncy
- yeah (particle): yes.
- yecch (interjection): Alternative spelling of yech
- yech (interjection): An exclamation of disgust.