NYT Spelling Bee

Answers · Analysis · Spoiler controlled

Spelling Bee Answers & Analysis

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Start with the shape of the puzzle, reveal only the help you want, and open the full list when you are ready.

BDELOU F
50Answers
1Pangrams
215Maximum
151Genius

Answer shape

Use the distributions before revealing any words.

Words by first letter

B12
D6
F30
L1
O1

Words by length

420
55
616
76
82
91

Two-letter starts

BE7
BL2
BO1
BU2
DO3
DU3
FE7
FL10
FO8
FU5
LU1
OF1

Pangram ladder

Open one clue at a time.

Pangram 1
Length

8 letters · 15 points

First and last letters

B … D

Letter pattern

B••••••D

E × 2

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

befouled

Complete answer list

Reveal full answers — spoiler

B 12

  • beef
  • beefed
  • befell
  • befoul
  • befouledPangram
  • befuddle
  • befuddled
  • bluff
  • bluffed
  • boffo
  • buff
  • buffed

D 6

  • doff
  • doffed
  • doleful
  • duff
  • duffel
  • duffle

F 30

  • feeble
  • feed
  • feel
  • fell
  • felled
  • feud
  • feuded
  • fled
  • flee
  • floe
  • flood
  • flooded
  • flub
  • flubbed
  • flue
  • fluff
  • fluffed
  • fobbed
  • fold
  • folded
  • food
  • fool
  • fooled
  • foul
  • fouled
  • fuddle
  • fuddled
  • fuel
  • fueled
  • full

L 1

  • luff

O 1

  • offed

How hard was this puzzle?

This puzzle's structural difficulty is Tricky at 49/100, compared with 76 available puzzles through this date.

Read the difficulty methodology and comparisons