NYT Spelling Bee

Answers · Analysis · Spoiler controlled

Spelling Bee Answers & Analysis

Saturday, July 18, 2026

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

AEILPT C
73Answers
2Pangrams
389Maximum
273Genius

Answer shape

Use the distributions before revealing any words.

Words by first letter

A10
C19
E10
I5
L10
P11
T8

Words by length

416
517
618
714
85
92
101

Two-letter starts

AC6
AL1
AP2
AT1
CA11
CE3
CI2
CL3
EC3
EL5
EP2
IC1
IL2
IP1
IT1
LA7
LI3
PA3
PE3
PI3
PL2
TA8

Pangram ladder

Open one clue at a time.

Pangram 1
Length

10 letters · 17 points

First and last letters

E … L

Letter pattern

E••••••••L

L × 3, I × 2

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

elliptical

Pangram 2
Length

9 letters · 16 points

First and last letters

T … E

Letter pattern

T•••••••E

I × 2, E × 2

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

tailpiece

Complete answer list

Reveal full answers — spoiler

A 10

  • acacia
  • acai
  • accept
  • acetal
  • acetate
  • acetic
  • alpaca
  • apace
  • apiece
  • attic

C 19

  • cacti
  • calcite
  • call
  • calla
  • cape
  • capital
  • caplet
  • catalpa
  • catcall
  • cattail
  • cattle
  • celiac
  • cell
  • celli
  • cilia
  • cite
  • clap
  • cleat
  • clip

E 10

  • eclat
  • eclectic
  • ecliptic
  • elect
  • electee
  • elicit
  • elliptic
  • ellipticalPangram
  • epic
  • epileptic

I 5

  • icicle
  • iliac
  • illicit
  • ipecac
  • italic

L 10

  • lace
  • lactate
  • lacteal
  • lactic
  • laic
  • laical
  • lattice
  • lice
  • licit
  • lilac

P 11

  • pace
  • pact
  • palace
  • peace
  • pellicle
  • peptic
  • pica
  • piccata
  • piece
  • placate
  • place

T 8

  • tacet
  • tacit
  • tact
  • tactic
  • tactical
  • tactile
  • tailpiecePangram
  • talc

How hard was this puzzle?

This puzzle's structural difficulty is Easy at 20/100, compared with 199 available puzzles through this date.

Read the difficulty methodology and comparisons