NYT Dictionary

GAUM

/ɡɔːm/
NounVerbAdvanced/Professional

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Meaning

Heed; attention.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

The noun is from dialectal (Northern) English, from Middle English gome, from Old Norse gaum, gaumr (“heed, attention”), from Proto-Germanic *gaumō (“attention”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰowe- (“to heed, pay attention”). The verb is from Middle English *gomen, from the noun. Compare native Middle English yemen, from Old English ġīeman (“to care for, heed”), and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌿𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaumjan, “observe”).

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

albumenbatterbutterclabbercreamcurddoughgelgelatinglair

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 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.

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