NYT Spelling Bee

Answers · Analysis · Spoiler controlled

Spelling Bee Answers & Analysis

Friday, May 1, 2026

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

CDEHIK L
49Answers
1Pangrams
212Maximum
149Genius

Answer shape

Use the distributions before revealing any words.

Words by first letter

C14
D6
E2
H8
I3
K4
L12

Words by length

418
59
614
77
91

Two-letter starts

CE3
CH6
CI1
CL4
DE3
DI3
EL2
HE6
HI2
IC1
ID2
KE2
KI2
LE5
LI7

Pangram ladder

Open one clue at a time.

Pangram 1
Length

9 letters · 16 points

First and last letters

C … E

Letter pattern

C•••••••E

I × 2, L × 2

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

childlike

Complete answer list

Reveal full answers — spoiler

C 14

  • cell
  • celled
  • celli
  • chicle
  • child
  • childlikePangram
  • chili
  • chill
  • chilled
  • cichlid
  • cliche
  • cliched
  • click
  • clicked

D 6

  • deckle
  • deli
  • dell
  • diddle
  • diddled
  • dill

E 2

  • elide
  • elided

H 8

  • heckle
  • heckled
  • heel
  • heeled
  • held
  • hell
  • hill
  • hilled

I 3

  • icicle
  • idle
  • idled

K 4

  • keel
  • keeled
  • kill
  • killed

L 12

  • lech
  • lede
  • leech
  • leeched
  • leek
  • lice
  • lick
  • licked
  • lidded
  • lied
  • like
  • liked

How hard was this puzzle?

This puzzle's structural difficulty is Tricky at 50/100, compared with 121 available puzzles through this date.

Read the difficulty methodology and comparisons