NYT Spelling Bee

Answers · Analysis · Spoiler controlled

Spelling Bee Answers & Analysis

Friday, May 22, 2026

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

AHILNT O
55Answers
2Pangrams
262Maximum
184Genius

Answer shape

Use the distributions before revealing any words.

Words by first letter

A12
H3
I5
L12
N8
O4
T11

Words by length

422
514
66
72
83
91
105
111
121

Two-letter starts

AI1
AL3
AN6
AT2
HA1
HO2
IN4
IO1
LA1
LI2
LL1
LO8
NA2
NO6
OA1
OL1
ON2
TA2
TI1
TO8

Pangram ladder

Open one clue at a time.

Pangram 1
Length

12 letters · 19 points

First and last letters

A … N

Letter pattern

A••••••••••N

A × 2, N × 3, I × 3

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

annihilation

Pangram 2
Length

10 letters · 17 points

First and last letters

I … N

Letter pattern

I••••••••N

I × 2, N × 2, A × 2

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

inhalation

Complete answer list

Reveal full answers — spoiler

A 12

  • aioli
  • allot
  • aloha
  • alto
  • anion
  • annatto
  • annihilationPangram
  • annotation
  • anoint
  • anon
  • atoll
  • atonal

H 3

  • halo
  • holt
  • hoot

I 5

  • inhalationPangram
  • initiation
  • into
  • intonation
  • iota

L 12

  • lanolin
  • lion
  • litho
  • llano
  • loan
  • loath
  • loin
  • loll
  • loon
  • loot
  • lotion
  • lotto

N 8

  • nation
  • national
  • nonillion
  • noon
  • notation
  • notational
  • notion
  • notional

O 4

  • oath
  • olio
  • onion
  • onto

T 11

  • talon
  • tattoo
  • titillation
  • toil
  • toll
  • tonal
  • tool
  • toon
  • toot
  • tooth
  • total

How hard was this puzzle?

This puzzle's structural difficulty is Moderate at 40/100, compared with 142 available puzzles through this date.

Read the difficulty methodology and comparisons