The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

AGILOYC

Friday, May 8, 2026

Words
48
Points
248
Genius
173
Pangrams
3

Official answers

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Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • acacia

    noun — A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.

    noun — (history) A roll or bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.

    noun — The thickened or dried juice of several species in Acacieae, in particular Vachellia nilotica (syn. Acacia nilotica), the Egyptian acacia.

    noun — A false acacia; robinia tree, Robinia pseudoacacia.

    noun — Gum arabic; gum acacia.

    noun — Any of several related trees, such as the locust tree.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • acai

    noun — The fruit of these trees, harvested for its juice.

    noun — Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • acyclic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 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 17 recorded puzzles.

  • cagily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cagy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • calico

    noun — A kind of rough cloth made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton, often printed with a bright pattern.

    adjective — Having a pattern of red and contrasting areas, resembling the color of calico cloth.

    noun — A tortoiseshell and white domestic cat.

    Appeared in 3 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.

  • 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.

  • ciao

    noun — A greeting or farewell using the word "ciao".

    interjection — Hello, hi.

    interjection — Bye, goodbye.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • cilia

    noun — Hairs or similar protrusions along the margin of a plant organ.

    noun — A hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a unicellular organism or one cell of a multicelled organism). These structures serve either for locomotion by moving or as sensors.

    noun — One of the fine hairs along an insect's wing.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • clay

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 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.

  • clog

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • cloy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • 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 17 recorded puzzles.

  • cocci

    noun — Any approximately spherical bacterium.

    noun — Coccidioidomycosis

    noun — One of the carpels or seed-vessels of a dry fruit.

    Appeared in 19 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 17 recorded puzzles.

  • coil

    noun — Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.

    verb — To wind or reel e.g. a wire or rope into regular rings, often around a centerpiece.

    noun — A noise, tumult, bustle, or turmoil.

    noun — Any intrauterine device (Abbreviation: IUD)—the first IUDs were coil-shaped.

    noun — A coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow.

    noun — Entanglement; perplexity.

    Appeared in 11 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.

  • colic

    noun — Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).

    adjective — Relating to the colon; colonic.

    noun — A medicinal plant used to relieve such symptoms.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • cool

    noun — A moderate or refreshing state of cold; moderate temperature of the air between hot and cold; coolness.

    adjective — Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold.

    verb — To lose heat, to get colder.

    noun — A calm temperament.

    noun — The property of being cool, popular or in fashion.

    adjective — Allowing or suggesting heat relief.

    Appeared in 19 recorded puzzles.

  • coolly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • coyly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cyclic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • cyclical

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cyclically

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • glacial

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • glacially

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • glaciology

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • icily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • iliac

    adjective — Of or pertaining to the ilium.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • illogic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • illogical

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • illogically

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • lacy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • laic

    noun — A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.

    adjective — Lay, relating to laypersons, as opposed to clerical.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • laical

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • lilac

    noun — A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink or purple flowers.

    adjective — Having a pale purple colour.

    noun — A flower of the lilac shrub.

    noun — (color) A pale purple color, the color of some lilac flowers.

    Appeared in 12 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.

  • locally

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • loci

    noun — A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime.

    noun — The set of all points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation or condition.

    noun — A fixed position on a chromosome that may be occupied by one or more genes.

    noun — (chiefly in the plural) A passage in writing, especially in a collection of ancient sacred writings arranged according to a theme.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • loco

    adverb — A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower.

    noun — A certain species of Astragalus or Oxytropis, capable of causing locoism.

    verb — To poison with the loco plant; to affect with locoism.

    adjective — Crazy.

    noun — A locomotive.

    verb — (by extension) To render insane.

    Appeared in 19 recorded puzzles.

  • logic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • logical

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • logically

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ac×3
  • ca×7
  • ci×2
  • cl×4
  • co×10
  • cy×3
  • gl×3
  • ic×1
  • il×4
  • la×3
  • li×1
  • lo×7

Words by first letter and length

4567891011Σ
a 1·11···· 3
c 1175·2·1· 26
g ···1·11· 3
i ·2·1·1·1 5
l 4312·1·· 11
Σ 1612752321 48

The numbers

Genius today takes 173 points of 248 available. The average answer runs 5.7 letters.

Total points vs. all 392 recorded puzzles
69th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
54th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17732 recorded answers

416 today34.6% all-time512 today22.8% all-time67 today19.9% all-time75 today12.0% all-time82 today6.3% all-time93 today2.6% all-time102 today1.3% all-time111 today0.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Wednesday, May 6, 2026
c ● Tuesday, May 5, 2026 Tuesday, May 5, 2026
g Monday, May 4, 2026 Saturday, May 2, 2026
i Thursday, May 7, 2026 Thursday, March 26, 2026
l Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Monday, May 4, 2026
o Sunday, May 3, 2026 Saturday, April 25, 2026
y Monday, May 4, 2026 Saturday, February 7, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 42
  2. onion 31
  3. naan 30
  4. nana 30
  5. toot 29
  6. loll 29
  7. mama 25
  8. mamma 25
  9. olio 24
  10. cocoon 23
  11. acacia 23
  12. acai 23
  13. loon 23
  14. nene 23
  15. bill 22
  16. neon 22
  17. none 22
  18. lilt 21
  19. till 21
  20. tilt 21
  21. aria 21
  22. imam 21
  23. maim 21
  24. onto 21
  25. toon 21

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.