NYT Spelling Bee

Answers · Analysis · Spoiler controlled

Spelling Bee Answers & Analysis

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

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

ILNOPU R
20Answers
1Pangrams
60Maximum
42Genius

Answer shape

Use the distributions before revealing any words.

Words by first letter

I2
N2
P11
R4
U1

Words by length

413
54
61
72

Two-letter starts

IN1
IR1
NO2
PO4
PR4
PU3
RI1
RO2
RU1
UN1

Pangram ladder

Open one clue at a time.

Pangram 1
Length

7 letters · 14 points

First and last letters

P … N

Letter pattern

P•••••N

No repeated letters

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

purloin

Complete answer list

Reveal full answers — spoiler

I 2

  • inurn
  • iron

N 2

  • noir
  • nori

P 11

  • poor
  • porn
  • porno
  • pour
  • prion
  • prior
  • pronoun
  • prop
  • purl
  • purloinPangram
  • purr

R 4

  • rill
  • roil
  • roll
  • ruin

U 1

  • unroll

How hard was this puzzle?

This puzzle's structural difficulty is Hard at 76/100, compared with 252 available puzzles through this date.

Read the difficulty methodology and comparisons