NYT Dictionary

COVE

/koʊv/
NounVerbKOHVGrade 5

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

Meaning

A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

From Middle English cove, from Old English cofa (“chamber; den”), from Proto-West Germanic *kobō, from Proto-Germanic *kubô. Cognate with Dutch koof (“cove”), German Low German Koov (“small room”), German Koben (“nook, shed”), Icelandic kofi (“hut, shack”). This word has probably survived as long as it has due to its coincidental phonetic resemblance to the unrelated word English cave. Also unrelated to Spanish cueva, which itself is a cognate of cave.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

blokeboybrobroskibruhcatchapchappychieldcove

Antonyms

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 6 recorded puzzles:

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