NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 18, 2024
Game Summary
| Center Letter | T |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, i, r, u, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 37 words |
| Total Points | 161 points |
| Genius Level | 113 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 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 5 |
| B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 8 |
| I | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| R | - | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| T | 5 | 8 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 15 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Y | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | Σ | 13 | 14 | 5 | 2 | - | 3 | 37 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×1 AR×2 AT×2 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×3 BR×3 BU×2 |
| I | IT×1 |
| R | RA×5 RI×1 RU×1 |
| T | TA×6 TI×2 TR×3 TU×4 |
| U | |
| Y | YU×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABU×1 ARB×1 ART×1 ATR×1 ATT×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAI×1 BAR×1 BAT×1 BRA×2 BRU×1 BUR×1 BUT×1 |
| I | ITT×1 |
| R | RAB×1 RAI×1 RAR×1 RAT×2 RIB×1 RUT×1 |
| T | TAB×1 TAR×3 TAT×1 TAU×1 TIA×1 TIB×1 TRA×2 TRI×1 TUB×2 TUT×2 |
| U | |
| Y | YUR×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) |
|---|---|---|
| tr....... † | TR9 | A natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water. |
| ab.. | AB4 | To touch by means of a mutual border, edge or end; to border on; to lie adjacent (to); to be contiguous (said of an area of land) |
| ar....... | AR9 | Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random. |
| ar.. | AR4 | Inclined toward paintings, music, etc. |
| at... | AT5 | plural of atrium |
| at... | AT5 | An essential oil extracted from flowers. |
| ba.. | BA4 | Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net. |
| ba....... | BA9 | The state of being barbarous; brutality |
| ba... | BA5 | Mad, crazy, silly. |
| br.. | BR4 | A human child. A child who is regarded as mischievous, unruly, spoiled, or selfish. |
| br.... | BR6 | Characteristic of a brat; unruly and impolite. |
| br.. | BR4 | very dry, and not sweet |
| bu..... | BU7 | A fresh southern Italian cheese similar to creamy mozzarella. |
| bu.. | BU4 | The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end The buttocks . |
| it.. | IT4 | Extremely small. |
| ra.... | RA6 | A mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail. |
| ra... | RA5 | A condiment used as a dip or sauce in the cuisine of southern Asia, made from seasoned yogurt. |
| ra.... | RA6 | A measure of the scarcity of an object. |
| ra..... | RA7 | A swiftly repeated knocking sound. |
| ra... | RA5 | Resembling or characteristic of a certain rodent. |
| ri.... | RI6 | The vocal sound made by a frog or toad. |
| ru... | RU5 | Imprinted with ruts. |
| ta... | TA5 | A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering. |
| ta... | TA5 | To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Sharp to the taste; acid; sour. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A red compound deposited during wine making; mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate — a source of cream of tartar. |
| ta... | TA5 | worn and shabby; in poor condition. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight. |
| ti... | TI5 | The papal crown. |
| ti... | TI5 | The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone |
| tr... | TR5 | An identifying characteristic, habit or trend. |
| tr.. | TR4 | A small, typically rectangular or round, flat, and rigid object upon which things are carried. |
| tu.. | TU4 | A large brass musical instrument, usually in the bass range, played through a vibration of the lips upon the mouthpiece and fingering of the keys. |
| tu... | TU5 | stout, rotund |
| tu... | TU5 | All together. Indicates that the remainder of a group should join in playing after a solo or other passage with a reduced number of voices. |
| tu.. | TU4 | A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting. |
| yu.. | YU4 | A large, round, semi-permanent tent with vertical walls and a conical roof, usually associated with Central Asia and Mongolia (where it is known as a ger). |
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.
- tributary† (TR9)
- abut (AB4)
- arbitrary (AR9)
- arty (AR4)
- atria (AT5)
- attar (AT5)
- bait (BA4)
- barbarity (BA9)
- batty (BA5)
- brat (BR4)
- bratty (BR6)
- brut (BR4)
- burrata (BU7)
- butt (BU4)
- itty (IT4)
- rabbit (RA6)
- raita (RA5)
- rarity (RA6)
- ratatat (RA7)
- ratty (RA5)
- ribbit (RI6)
- rutty (RU5)
- tabby (TA5)
- tarry (TA5)
- tart (TA4)
- tartar (TA6)
- tatty (TA5)
- taut (TA4)
- tiara (TI5)
- tibia (TI5)
- trait (TR5)
- tray (TR4)
- tuba (TU4)
- tubby (TU5)
- tutti (TU5)
- tutu (TU4)
- yurt (YU4)
Answer Definitions
- tributary† (noun): A natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water.
- abut (verb): To touch by means of a mutual border, edge or end; to border on; to lie adjacent (to); to be contiguous (said of an area of land)
- arbitrary (adjective): Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random.
- arty (adjective): Inclined toward paintings, music, etc.
- atria (noun): plural of atrium
- attar (noun): An essential oil extracted from flowers.
- bait (noun): Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
- barbarity (noun): The state of being barbarous; brutality
- batty (adjective): Mad, crazy, silly.
- brat (noun): A human child. A child who is regarded as mischievous, unruly, spoiled, or selfish.
- bratty (adjective): Characteristic of a brat; unruly and impolite.
- brut (adjective): very dry, and not sweet
- burrata (noun): A fresh southern Italian cheese similar to creamy mozzarella.
- butt (noun): The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end The buttocks .
- itty (adjective): Extremely small.
- rabbit (noun): A mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail.
- raita (noun): A condiment used as a dip or sauce in the cuisine of southern Asia, made from seasoned yogurt.
- rarity (noun): A measure of the scarcity of an object.
- ratatat (noun): A swiftly repeated knocking sound.
- ratty (adjective): Resembling or characteristic of a certain rodent.
- ribbit (interjection): The vocal sound made by a frog or toad.
- rutty (adjective): Imprinted with ruts.
- tabby (noun): A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering.
- tarry (verb): To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.
- tart (adjective): Sharp to the taste; acid; sour.
- tartar (noun): A red compound deposited during wine making; mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate — a source of cream of tartar.
- tatty (noun): worn and shabby; in poor condition.
- taut (adjective): Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.
- tiara (noun): The papal crown.
- tibia (noun): The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone
- trait (noun): An identifying characteristic, habit or trend.
- tray (noun): A small, typically rectangular or round, flat, and rigid object upon which things are carried.
- tuba (noun): A large brass musical instrument, usually in the bass range, played through a vibration of the lips upon the mouthpiece and fingering of the keys.
- tubby (adjective): stout, rotund
- tutti (adverb): All together. Indicates that the remainder of a group should join in playing after a solo or other passage with a reduced number of voices.
- tutu (noun): A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.
- yurt (noun): A large, round, semi-permanent tent with vertical walls and a conical roof, usually associated with Central Asia and Mongolia (where it is known as a ger).