NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 20, 2024
Game Summary
| Center Letter | O |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, m, n, t, x, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 33 words |
| Total Points | 124 points |
| Genius Level | 87 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 | 4 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| M | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| N | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| O | 3 | - | - | 1 | - | 4 |
| T | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | 7 |
| X | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 17 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 33 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AM×1 AN×5 AT×1 AX×1 |
|---|---|
| M | MA×2 MO×11 |
| N | NO×1 |
| O | OA×1 ON×2 OT×1 |
| T | TA×3 TO×4 |
| X | |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AMM×1 ANA×1 ANN×1 ANO×1 ANT×2 ATO×1 AXO×1 |
|---|---|
| M | MAM×1 MAY×1 MOA×2 MOM×2 MON×3 MOO×3 MOT×1 |
| N | NOO×1 |
| O | OAT×1 ONT×1 ONY×1 OTT×1 |
| T | TAT×1 TAX×2 TOM×1 TON×1 TOO×2 |
| X | |
| Y |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ta...... † | TA8 | The science or the technique used to make a classification. |
| am.. | AM4 | Ammunition. |
| an..... | AN7 | The art of studying the different parts of any organized body, to discover their situation, structure, and economy. |
| an... | AN5 | To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds. |
| an.. | AN4 | Straight away; at once. |
| an..... | AN7 | A word which has the opposite meaning of another word. |
| an...... | AN8 | The semantic relation between antonyms; the quality of being antonymous. |
| at.. | AT4 | The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons. |
| ax.. | AX4 | A nerve fibre which is a long slender projection of a nerve cell, and which conducts nerve impulses away from the body of the cell to a synapse. |
| ma.... | MA6 | Alternative letter-case form of Mammon (wealth, material avarice). |
| ma.. | MA4 | Clipping of mayonnaise. |
| mo.. | MO4 | a low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure |
| mo.. | MO4 | A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation. |
| mo... | MO5 | mother |
| mo... | MO5 | Mother. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Clipping of mononucleosis. |
| mo..... | MO7 | A single name by which a person, thing, etc., is known. |
| mo...... | MO8 | Tedium as a result of repetition or a lack of variety. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”). |
| mo... | MO5 | Resembling the moon. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve. |
| mo... | MO5 | A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| oa.. | OA4 | Containing oats. |
| on.. | ON4 | Upon; on top of. |
| on.. | ON4 | A banded variety of chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline form of quartz. |
| ot..... | OT7 | An upholstered sofa, without arms or a back, sometimes with a compartment for storing linen etc. |
| ta.... | TA6 | An image made in the skin with ink and a needle. |
| ta... | TA5 | A group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. |
| to.... | TO6 | A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit. |
| to.. | TO4 | Stylish, high-toned, upscale. |
| to.. | TO4 | A cartoon, especially an animated television show. |
| to.. | TO4 | The noise of a horn or whistle. |
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.
- taxonomy† (TA8)
- ammo (AM4)
- anatomy (AN7)
- annoy (AN5)
- anon (AN4)
- antonym (AN7)
- antonymy (AN8)
- atom (AT4)
- axon (AX4)
- mammon (MA6)
- mayo (MA4)
- moan (MO4)
- moat (MO4)
- momma (MO5)
- mommy (MO5)
- mono (MO4)
- mononym (MO7)
- monotony (MO8)
- moon (MO4)
- moony (MO5)
- moot (MO4)
- motto (MO5)
- noon (NO4)
- oaty (OA4)
- onto (ON4)
- onyx (ON4)
- ottoman (OT7)
- tattoo (TA6)
- taxon (TA5)
- tomato (TO6)
- tony (TO4)
- toon (TO4)
- toot (TO4)
Answer Definitions
- taxonomy† (noun): The science or the technique used to make a classification.
- ammo (noun): Ammunition.
- anatomy (noun): The art of studying the different parts of any organized body, to discover their situation, structure, and economy.
- annoy (verb): To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds.
- anon (adverb): Straight away; at once.
- antonym (noun): A word which has the opposite meaning of another word.
- antonymy (noun): The semantic relation between antonyms; the quality of being antonymous.
- atom (noun): The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
- axon (noun): A nerve fibre which is a long slender projection of a nerve cell, and which conducts nerve impulses away from the body of the cell to a synapse.
- mammon (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Mammon (wealth, material avarice).
- mayo (noun): Clipping of mayonnaise.
- moan (noun): a low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure
- moat (noun): A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.
- momma (noun): mother
- mommy (noun): Mother.
- mono (noun): Clipping of mononucleosis.
- mononym (noun): A single name by which a person, thing, etc., is known.
- monotony (noun): Tedium as a result of repetition or a lack of variety.
- moon (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).
- moony (adjective): Resembling the moon.
- moot (adjective): Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve.
- motto (noun): A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- oaty (adjective): Containing oats.
- onto (preposition): Upon; on top of.
- onyx (noun): A banded variety of chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline form of quartz.
- ottoman (noun): An upholstered sofa, without arms or a back, sometimes with a compartment for storing linen etc.
- tattoo (noun): An image made in the skin with ink and a needle.
- taxon (noun): A group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit.
- tomato (noun): A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.
- tony (adjective): Stylish, high-toned, upscale.
- toon (noun): A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
- toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.