The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

BCEKLOA

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Words
60
Points
266
Genius
186
Pangrams
3

Official answers

Show the 60 answersHide answers

Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • aback

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • able

    adjective — Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task.

    adjective — Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from.

    adjective — Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence.

    adjective — Having the physical strength; robust; healthy.

    adjective — Suitable; competent.

    adjective — Legally qualified or competent.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • alack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • allele

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • allocable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • aloe

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • baba

    noun — A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.

    noun — (esp. among people of East European ancestry) A grandmother.

    noun — An old woman, especially a traditional old woman from an eastern European culture.

    noun — (esp. among people of Indian ancestry) A father.

    noun — (Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism) A holy man, a spiritual leader.

    noun — A baby, child.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • babble

    noun — Idle talk; senseless prattle

    noun — Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.

    verb — To talk too much; to chatter; to prattle.

    verb — To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds

    verb — To talk incoherently; to utter meaningless words.

    noun — A sound like that of water gently flowing around obstructions.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • babe

    noun — A baby or infant; a very young human or animal.

    noun — An attractive person, especially a young woman.

    noun — Darling (term of endearment).

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • babel

    noun — A confused mixture of sounds and voices, especially in different languages.

    noun — A place or scene of noise and confusion.

    noun — A tall, looming structure.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • babka

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • back

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • bake

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • bale

    noun — A bundle of compressed wool or hay, compacted for shipping and handling.

    noun — A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation.

    noun — A measurement of hay equal to 10 flakes. Approximately 70-90 lbs (32-41 kg).

    noun — A measurement of paper equal to 10 reams.

    verb — To remove water from a boat with buckets etc.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • balk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • ball

    noun — A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.

    noun — A round or ellipsoidal object.

    verb — To play basketball.

    noun — A very enjoyable time.

    verb — To form or wind into a ball.

    noun — A formal dance.

    Appeared in 19 recorded puzzles.

  • ballcock

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • baobab

    noun — A tree, Adansonia digitata (and similar species), native to tropical Africa, having a broad swollen trunk and edible gourd-like hanging fruits.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • beak

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • blab

    verb — To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.

    noun — Gossip; prattle.

    noun — One who blabs; a babbler; a telltale; a gossip or gossiper.

    Appeared in 19 recorded puzzles.

  • black

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • blackball

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • bleak

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • blockable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • boba

    noun — Short for boba tea.

    noun — A small edible ball made primarily from tapioca starch; used in bubble tea.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • bola

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • bookable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cabal

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • cabala

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • cable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cacao

    noun — A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate.

    noun — This tree's seed, the cocoa bean.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • cackle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cake

    noun — A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.

    verb — Coat (something) with a crust of solid material.

    verb — To cackle like a goose.

    noun — A small mass of baked dough, especially a thin loaf from unleavened dough.

    noun — A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake.

    noun — A block of any of various dense materials.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • call

    noun — A telephone conversation.

    verb — (heading) To use one's voice.

    noun — A decision or judgement.

    noun — The characteristic cry of a bird or other animal.

    noun — A cry or shout.

    noun — A short visit, usually for social purposes.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • calla

    noun — The calla lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica.

    noun — A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • callable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • callaloo

    noun — Any of various tropical plants grown in the Americas, especially of the genus Xanthosoma, cultivated for their edible leaves.

    noun — A spicy soup or stew made from such leaves.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • callback

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • clack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cloaca

    noun — (sometimes figurative) A sewer.

    noun — The duct in reptiles, amphibians and birds, as well as most fish and some mammals, which serves as the common outlet for urination, defecation, and reproduction.

    noun — An outhouse or lavatory.

    noun — A duct through which gangrenous material escapes a body.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • cloak

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • coal

    noun — A black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.

    verb — To take on a supply of coal (usually of steam ships).

    noun — A piece of coal used for burning (this use is less common in American English)

    noun — A type of coal, such as bituminous, anthracite, or lignite, and grades and varieties thereof.

    noun — A glowing or charred piece of coal, wood, or other solid fuel.

    noun — Charcoal.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • coca

    noun — Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.

    noun — A pastry typically made and consumed in the Spanish Mediterranean coast.

    noun — The dried leaf of one of these plants, the South American shrub (Erythroxylum coca), widely cultivated in Andean countries, which is the source of cocaine.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • cocoa

    noun — The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made.

    adjective — Of a light to medium brown colour, like that of cocoa powder.

    noun — Coconut palm.

    noun — An unsweetened brown powder made from roasted, ground cocoa beans, used in making chocolate, and in cooking.

    noun — A hot drink made with milk, cocoa powder, and sugar.

    noun — A serving of this drink.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • cola

    noun — The kola plant, genus Cola, famous for its nut, or one of these nuts.

    noun — The punctuation mark ":".

    noun — Part of the large intestine; the final segment of the digestive system, after (distal to) the ileum and before (proximal to) the anus.

    noun — A cluster of buds on a cannabis plant.

    noun — A beverage or a drink made with kola nut flavoring, caramel and carbonated water.

    noun — The triangular colon (especially in context of not being able to type the actual triangular colon).

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • collab

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • cookable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • kabob

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • kale

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • kebab

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • koala

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • kola

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • label

    noun — A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached.

    noun — A name given to something or someone to categorise them as part of a particular social group.

    verb — To put a label (a ticket or sign) on (something).

    verb — (ditransitive) To give a label to (someone or something) in order to categorise that person or thing.

    noun — A company that sells records.

    noun — In mediaeval art, the representation of a band or scroll containing an inscription.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • lace

    noun — A cord or ribbon passed through eyelets in a shoe or garment, pulled tight and tied to fasten the shoe or garment firmly. Wp

    noun — A light fabric containing patterns of holes, usually built up from a single thread. Wp

    verb — To fasten (something) with laces.

    verb — To add alcohol, poison, a drug or anything else potentially harmful to (food or drink).

    noun — Spirits added to coffee or another beverage.

    verb — To interweave items.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • lack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • lake

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • leak

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • local

    noun — A person who lives near a given place.

    adjective — From or in a nearby location.

    adverb — In the local area; within a city, state, country, etc.

    noun — An anesthetic (anesthetic substance) that causes loss of sensation only to the area to which it is applied.

    noun — A branch of a nationwide organization such as a trade union.

    noun — A train that stops at all, or almost all, stations between its origin and destination, including very small ones.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • locale

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • lockable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ab×2
  • al×4
  • ba×12
  • be×1
  • bl×5
  • bo×3
  • ca×11
  • cl×3
  • co×6
  • ka×2
  • ke×1
  • ko×2
  • la×4
  • le×1
  • lo×3

Words by first letter and length

45689Σ
a 221·1 6
b 114222 21
c 5744· 20
k 23··· 5
l 4211· 8
Σ 2418873 60

The numbers

Genius today takes 186 points of 266 available. The average answer runs 5.3 letters.

Total points vs. all 440 recorded puzzles
75th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
83rd percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 19911 recorded answers

424 today34.5% all-time518 today22.9% all-time68 today20.1% all-time712.0% all-time87 today6.2% all-time93 today2.6% all-time101.2% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a ● Sunday, March 1, 2026 Monday, February 16, 2026
b Friday, February 27, 2026 Sunday, February 1, 2026
c Monday, March 2, 2026 Sunday, January 18, 2026
e Saturday, February 28, 2026 Friday, February 6, 2026
k Saturday, February 28, 2026 Friday, January 23, 2026
l Saturday, February 28, 2026 Sunday, February 22, 2026
o Monday, March 2, 2026 Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 45
  2. naan 35
  3. nana 35
  4. toot 32
  5. onion 31
  6. loll 30
  7. mama 28
  8. mamma 28
  9. acacia 26
  10. acai 26
  11. nene 26
  12. imam 25
  13. maim 25
  14. mini 25
  15. minim 25
  16. cocoon 24
  17. lilt 24
  18. till 24
  19. tilt 24
  20. aria 24
  21. mitt 24
  22. onto 24
  23. toon 24
  24. loon 24
  25. olio 24

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.