NYT Dictionary

BEACHBALL

/bˈitʃbˌɑl/
NounVerbBEACH-ballbeach-ball · 2 syllablesGrade 1

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025

Meaning

Alternative form of beach ball.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der. Proto-Germanic *bakiz Proto-West Germanic *baki Old English bæċ Middle English bache English beach Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der. Proto-Germanic *balluz Old English *beall Middle English bal English ball English beachball From beach + ball. For the computing sense, because Mac computers indicate waiting with a spinning coloured cursor like a beach ball.

NYT Puzzle Appearances

No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025.

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