The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ACINOTM

Saturday, February 21, 2026

Words
66
Points
383
Genius
268
Pangrams
6

Official answers

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Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • amino

    noun — The amine functional group.

    adjective — Relating to an amine.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • ammo

    noun — Ammunition.

    verb — To load up on ammunition.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • ammonia

    noun — A gaseous compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, NH3, with a pungent smell and taste.

    noun — A solution of this compound in water used domestically as a cleaning fluid.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • amnio

    noun — Amniocentesis

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • amniotic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • anatomic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • anima

    noun — The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus.

    noun — (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not the external persona) of a person that is in touch with the unconscious as opposed to the persona.

    noun — (Jungian psychology) The unconscious feminine aspect of a person.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • animation

    noun — The act of animating, or giving life or spirit.

    noun — (in the sense of a cartoon) The technique of making inanimate objects or drawings appear to move in motion pictures or computer graphics; the object (film, computer game, etc.) so produced

    noun — The state of being lively, brisk, or full of spirit and vigor; vivacity; spiritedness

    noun — The condition of being animate or alive.

    noun — Conversion from the inanimate to animate grammatical category

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • atom

    noun — The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.

    noun — (history of science) A hypothetical particle posited by Greek philosophers as an ultimate and indivisible component of matter.

    noun — The smallest, indivisible constituent part or unit of something.

    noun — In logical atomism, a fundamental fact that cannot be further broken down.

    noun — The smallest medieval unit of time, equal to fifteen ninety-fourths of a second.

    noun — A mote of dust in a sunbeam.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • atomic

    noun — An atomic operation.

    adjective — Of or relating to atoms; composed of atoms; monatomic.

    adjective — Employing or relating to nuclear energy or processes.

    adjective — Infinitesimally small.

    adjective — Unable to be split or made any smaller.

    adjective — Of an operation: guaranteed to complete either fully or not at all while waiting in a pause, and running synchronously when called by multiple asynchronous threads.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • caiman

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cami

    noun — A camisole.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • camo

    noun — A pattern on clothing consisting of irregularly shaped patches that are either greenish/brownish, brownish/whitish, or bluish/whitish, as used by ground combat forces.

    verb — To camouflage.

    noun — Clothes made from camouflage fabric, for concealment in combat or hunting.

    verb — To put on camouflage clothing.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • catmint

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cinnamon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • coma

    noun — A state of unconsciousness from which one may not wake up, usually induced by some form of trauma.

    noun — A cloud of dust surrounding the nucleus of a comet.

    noun — A defect characterized by diffuse, pear-shaped images that in an ideal image would appear as points.

    noun — A tuft or bunch, such as the assemblage of branches forming the head of a tree, a cluster of bracts when empty and terminating the inflorescence of a plant, or a tuft of long hairs on certain seeds.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • comic

    noun — A comedian.

    adjective — Funny; amusing; comical.

    noun — A story composed of cartoon images arranged in sequence, usually with textual captions; a graphic novel.

    noun — A children's newspaper.

    adjective — Relating to comedy.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • comma

    noun — The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set off parts of a sentence or between elements of a list.

    verb — To place a comma or commas within text; to follow, precede, or surround a portion of text with commas.

    noun — A similar-looking subscript diacritical mark.

    noun — Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Polygonia, having a comma-shaped white mark on the underwings, especially Polygonia c-album and Polygonia c-aureum of North Africa, Europe, and Asia.

    noun — A difference in the calculation of nearly identical intervals by different ways.

    noun — A delimiting marker between items in a genetic sequence.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • commit

    noun — The act of committing (e.g. a database transaction or source code into a source control repository), making it a permanent change.

    verb — To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping; to entrust; to consign; used with to or formerly unto.

    verb — To put in charge of a jailer; to imprison.

    verb — To have (a person) enter an establishment, such as a hospital or asylum, as a patient.

    verb — To do (something bad); to perpetrate, as a crime, sin, or fault.

    verb — To join a contest; to match; followed by with.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • common

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • commotion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • contaminant

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • contamination

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • imam

    noun — (usually capitalized) A Shi'ite Muslim leader.

    noun — One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • imitation

    noun — The act of imitating.

    noun — (attributive) A copy or simulation; something that is not the real thing.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • intimation

    noun — The act of intimating.

    noun — The thing intimated.

    noun — Announcement; declaration.

    noun — A hint; an obscure or indirect suggestion or notice; a remote or ambiguous reference.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • maim

    noun — A serious wound

    verb — To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • main

    verb — Short for mainline.

    adjective — Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal.

    adverb — Exceedingly, extremely, greatly, mightily, very, very much.

    noun — That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross.

    noun — A hand or match in a game of dice.

    noun — A basket for gathering grapes.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • maintain

    verb — To support (someone), to back up or assist (someone) in an action.

    verb — To keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state, condition etc.).

    verb — To declare or affirm (a clause) to be true; to assert.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • mama

    noun — (hypocoristic, usually childish) Mother, female parent.

    Appeared in 27 recorded puzzles.

  • mamma

    noun — The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder. (plural: mammae)

    noun — (hypocoristic, usually childish) Mother, female parent.

    noun — An accessory cloud like a mammary in appearance, which can form on the underside of most cloud genera

    Appeared in 27 recorded puzzles.

  • mammon

    noun — The desire for wealth personified as an evil spirit or a malign influence.

    noun — Often mammon: wealth, material avarice, profit.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • mania

    noun — Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity.

    noun — Excessive or unreasonable desire; insane passion affecting one or many people; fanaticism.

    noun — The state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, arousal, and/or energy levels.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • maniac

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • manic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • manicotti

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • manna

    noun — Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus.

    noun — (by extension) Any boon which comes into one's hands by good luck.

    noun — The sugary sap of the manna gum tree which oozes out from holes drilled by insects and falls to the ground around the tree.http//www.museum.vic.gov.au/forest/plants/gum.html

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • manta

    noun — A kind of fabric or blanket used in Latin America and southwestern United States.

    noun — Any of several very large pelagic rays of the genus Manta, with winglike pectoral fins, a long tail, and two fins resembling horns that project from the head.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • mica

    noun — Any of a group of hydrous aluminosilicate minerals characterized by highly perfect cleavage, so that they readily separate into very thin leaves, more or less elastic.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • mimic

    noun — A person who practices mimicry, or mime.

    verb — To imitate, especially in order to ridicule.

    adjective — Pertaining to mimicry; imitative.

    noun — An imitation.

    verb — To take on the appearance of another, for protection or camouflage.

    adjective — Mock, pretended.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • mini

    adjective — Miniature, tiny, small.

    noun — A miniskirt.

    noun — A minicomputer.

    Appeared in 24 recorded puzzles.

  • minicam

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • minim

    noun — A half note, drawn as a semibreve with a stem.

    noun — Anything very minute; applied to animalcula and the like.

    noun — A unit of volume, in the Imperial and U.S. customary systems, 1/60 fluid drachm. Approximately equal to 1 drop, 62 μL or 0.9 grain (weight) of water.

    noun — A short vertical stroke used in handwriting.

    noun — A little man or being; a dwarf.

    noun — A small fish; a minnow.

    Appeared in 24 recorded puzzles.

  • minima

    noun — The lowest limit.

    noun — The smallest amount.

    noun — A period of minimum brightness or energy intensity (of a star).

    noun — A lower bound of a set which is also an element of that set.

    noun — The smallest member of a batch or sample or the lower bound of a probability distribution.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • minion

    noun — The lowest limit.

    noun — A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.

    adjective — Favoured, beloved; "pet".

    noun — The smallest amount.

    noun — A period of minimum brightness or energy intensity (of a star).

    noun — A lower bound of a set which is also an element of that set.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • mint

    adjective — (with condition) Like new.

    noun — Any plant in the genus Mentha in the family Lamiaceae, typically aromatic with square stems.

    noun — A mint-flavored candy, often eaten to sweeten the smell of the breath.

    noun — The flavouring of the plant, either a sweet, a jelly or sauce.

    noun — A large amount of money. A vast sum or amount, etc.

    noun — A building or institution where money (originally, only coins) is produced under government licence.

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • mitt

    noun — An oversized, protective glove such as an oven mitt or a baseball mitt.

    noun — A mitten

    noun — (especially in plural) A hand.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • moan

    noun — A low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure

    verb — To complain about; to bemoan, to bewail; to mourn.

    verb — To grieve.

    verb — To distress (someone); to sadden.

    verb — To make a moan or similar sound.

    verb — To say in a moan, or with a moaning voice.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • moat

    noun — A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.

    verb — To surround with a moat.

    noun — An aspect of a business which makes it more "defensible" from competitors, either because of the nature of its products, services, franchise or other reason.

    noun — A circular lowland between a resurgent dome and the walls of the caldera surrounding it.

    noun — A hill or mound.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • momma

    noun — Mother

    noun — A voluptuous woman.

    noun — One's wife or girlfriend.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • monatomic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • mono

    noun — A viral infection marked by extreme fatigue, high fever, and swollen lymph nodes.

    noun — A bicycle or motorcycle trick where the front wheel is lifted off the ground while riding

    adjective — Monaural or monophonic; having only a single audio channel.

    adjective — Monochrome.

    noun — An injective homomorphism

    noun — A monogamous person.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • monomania

    noun — Excessive interest or concentration on a singular object or subject.

    noun — A pathological obsession with one person, thing or idea.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • monomaniac

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • moon

    proper noun — The Earth's moon Luna; the sole natural satellite of the Earth, represented in astronomy and astrology by ☾.

    noun — (by extension of Moon) Any natural satellite of a planet.

    verb — To display one's buttocks to, typically as a jest, insult, or protest.

    proper noun — The god of the Moon in Heathenry.

    proper noun — A surname.

    proper noun — The 54th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • moot

    noun — A moot court.

    adjective — Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve.

    noun — A whisper, or an insinuation, also gossip or rumors.

    verb — To bring up as a subject for debate, to propose.

    noun — Vagina.

    noun — The stump of a tree; the roots and bottom end of a felled tree.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • motion

    noun — A state of progression from one place to another.

    verb — To gesture indicating a desired movement.

    noun — A change of position with respect to time.

    noun — A change from one place to another.

    noun — A parliamentary action to propose something. A similar procedure in any official or business meeting.

    noun — An entertainment or show, especially a puppet show.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • motto

    noun — A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.

    noun — A sentence, phrase, or word, prefixed to an essay, discourse, chapter, canto, or the like, suggestive of its subject matter; a short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle; a maxim.

    noun — A paper packet containing a sweetmeat, cracker, etc., together with a scrap of paper bearing a motto.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • nomination

    noun — An act or instance of nominating.

    noun — A device or means by which a person or thing is nominated.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • noncom

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • omit

    verb — To leave out or exclude.

    verb — To fail to perform.

    verb — To neglect or take no notice of.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • ottoman

    noun — An upholstered sofa, without arms or a back, sometimes with a compartment for storing linen, etc.

    noun — A low stool or thick cushion used to rest the feet or as a seat.

    noun — A fabric with a pronounced ribbed or corded effect, often made of silk or a mixture of cotton and silk-like yarns.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • tatami

    noun — Straw matting, in a standard size, used as a floor covering in Japanese houses

    Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.

  • tomato

    noun — A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.

    verb — To pelt with tomatoes

    noun — The savory fruit of this plant, red when ripe, treated as a vegetable in horticulture and cooking.

    noun — A shade of red, the colour of a ripe tomato.

    noun — A desirable-looking woman.

    noun — A stupid act or person.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • tomcat

    noun — A tom, a male cat.

    verb — To prowl for sexual gratification.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • tomtit

    noun — Petroica macrocephala, the miromiro or New Zealand tit, a bird of the Petroicidae (Australasian robin) family.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • am×5
  • an×3
  • at×2
  • ca×4
  • ci×1
  • co×8
  • im×2
  • in×1
  • ma×12
  • mi×9
  • mo×11
  • no×2
  • om×1
  • ot×1
  • ta×1
  • to×3

Words by first letter and length

456789101113Σ
a 231121··· 10
c 323111·11 13
i 1····11·· 3
m 12951131·· 32
n ··1···1·· 2
o 1··1····· 2
t ··4······ 4
Σ 191414446311 66

The numbers

Genius today takes 268 points of 383 available. The average answer runs 6.0 letters.

Total points vs. all 421 recorded puzzles
98th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
93rd percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 19028 recorded answers

419 today34.4% all-time514 today23.0% all-time614 today20.0% all-time74 today12.0% all-time84 today6.2% all-time96 today2.6% all-time103 today1.3% all-time111 today0.3% all-time120.1% all-time131 today0.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a Friday, February 20, 2026 Monday, February 16, 2026
c Thursday, February 19, 2026 Sunday, January 18, 2026
i Thursday, February 19, 2026 Sunday, February 8, 2026
m ● Thursday, February 19, 2026 Thursday, February 19, 2026
n Wednesday, February 18, 2026 Wednesday, February 18, 2026
o Wednesday, February 18, 2026 Thursday, February 5, 2026
t Thursday, February 19, 2026 Monday, February 9, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 45
  2. naan 34
  3. nana 34
  4. onion 31
  5. toot 30
  6. loll 29
  7. mama 27
  8. mamma 27
  9. acacia 25
  10. acai 25
  11. nene 25
  12. cocoon 24
  13. mini 24
  14. minim 24
  15. loon 24
  16. olio 24
  17. aria 23
  18. imam 23
  19. maim 23
  20. mitt 23
  21. onto 23
  22. toon 23
  23. cancan 23
  24. canna 23
  25. neon 23

Valid words the Bee rejected

Dictionary words the Bee never takes

Legitimate words (per the ENABLE list) that fit the letters but aren't official answers — usually judged too obscure.