The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

AEHILTB

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Edited by Sam Ezersky

Words
64
Points
303
Genius
212
Pangrams
3

Official answers

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Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • abate

    verb — To moderate; to lessen in force, intensity, to subside.

    verb — To decrease in intensity or force; to subside.

    verb — To reduce in amount, size, or value.

    verb — To decrease in size, value, or amount.

    verb — To humble; to lower in status; to bring someone down physically or mentally.

    verb — (obsolete outside law) To put an end to; to cause to cease.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • abet

    verb — To incite; to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime.

    verb — To support, countenance, maintain, uphold, or aid (any good cause, opinion, or action); to maintain.

    verb — To urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.

    noun — An act of abetting; of helping; of giving aid.

    verb — To back up one's forecast of a doubtful issue, by staking money, etc., to bet.

    noun — Fraud or cunning.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • ablate

    verb — To remove or decrease something by cutting, erosion, melting, evaporation, or vaporization.

    verb — To undergo ablation; to become melted or evaporated and removed at a high temperature.

    Appeared in 2 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.

  • albeit

    conjunction — Although, despite (it) being.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • alibi

    noun — The plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove being in another place when the alleged act was committed

    verb — To provide an excuse for.

    verb — To provide an alibi for.

    Appeared in 17 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 18 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 9 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.

  • baht

    noun — The official currency of Thailand, equal to 100 satang.

    adverb — Without (Yorkshire dialect, famously part of the song title On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at)

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • bail

    noun — Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.

    noun — Release from imprisonment on payment of such money.

    verb — To exit quickly.

    verb — To fail to meet a commitment.

    noun — A hoop, ring or handle (especially of a kettle or bucket).

    verb — To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • bait

    noun — Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.

    noun — Anything which allures; something used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something

    verb — To attract with bait; to entice.

    verb — To intentionally annoy, torment, or threaten by constant rebukes or threats; to harass.

    noun — Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests.

    verb — To affix bait to a trap or a fishing hook or fishing line.

    Appeared in 12 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.

  • 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 18 recorded puzzles.

  • ballet

    noun — A classical form of dance.

    noun — A theatrical presentation of such dancing, usually with music, sometimes in the form of a story.

    noun — The company of persons who perform this dance.

    noun — Any intricate series of operations involving coordination between individuals.

    verb — To perform an action reminiscent of ballet dancing.

    noun — A light part song, frequently with a fa-la-la chorus, common among Elizabethan and Italian Renaissance composers.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • bate

    verb — To win against; to defeat or overcome; to do better than, outdo, or excel (someone) in a particular, competitive event.

    verb — To hit; strike

    verb — To strike or pound repeatedly, usually in some sort of rhythm.

    verb — To strike repeatedly; to inflict repeated blows; to knock vigorously or loudly.

    verb — To move with pulsation or throbbing.

    verb — To mix food in a rapid fashion. Compare whip.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • bath

    noun — A tub or pool which is used for bathing: bathtub.

    noun — The act of bathing.

    verb — To wash a person or animal in a bath

    noun — A room containing a shower and/or bathtub, and (typically but not necessarily) a toilet.

    noun — A substance or preparation in which something is immersed.

    noun — A building or area where bathing occurs.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • bathe

    verb — To clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a bath.

    verb — To immerse oneself, or part of the body, in water for pleasure or refreshment; to swim.

    verb — To clean a person by immersion in water or using water; to give someone a bath.

    verb — To sunbathe.

    noun — The act of swimming or bathing, especially in the sea, a lake, or a river; a swimming bath.

    verb — To apply water or other liquid to; to suffuse or cover with liquid.

  • battle

    noun — A contest, a struggle.

    noun — A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement.

    verb — To fight or struggle; to enter into a battle with.

    verb — To join in battle; to contend in fight

    noun — A division of an army; a battalion.

    noun — The main body of an army, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; the battalia.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • beat

    verb — To win against; to defeat or overcome; to do better than, outdo, or excel (someone) in a particular, competitive event.

    verb — To hit; strike

    verb — To strike or pound repeatedly, usually in some sort of rhythm.

    noun — A pulsation or throb.

    noun — A rhythm.

    adjective — Exhausted

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • beatable

    adjective — Able to be beaten.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • beet

    noun — A beetroot, a swollen root of such a plant.

    noun — Beta vulgaris, a plant with a swollen root which is eaten or used to make sugar.

    verb — To improve; to mend.

    verb — To kindle a fire.

    verb — To rouse.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • beetle

    noun — Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest.

    noun — A small car, the Volkswagen Beetle (original version made 1938–2003, similar models made 1997–2010 and since 2011)

    adjective — Protruding, jutting, overhanging. (As in beetle brows.)

    noun — A game of chance in which players attempt to complete a drawing of a beetle, different dice rolls allowing them to add the various body parts.

    verb — To move away quickly, to scurry away.

    verb — To loom over; to extend or jut.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • belie

    verb — To contradict, to show (something) to be false.

    verb — To give a false representation of.

    verb — To conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).

    verb — To show, evince, demonstrate: to show (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.

    verb — To tell lies about.

    verb — (of an army) To surround; beleaguer.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • belittle

    verb — To knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is, especially as a way of showing contempt or deprecation.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • bell

    noun — A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck.

    noun — The sounding of a bell as a signal.

    noun — A signal at a school that tells the students when a class is starting or ending.

    noun — A telephone call.

    noun — An instrument situated on a bicycle's handlebar, used by the cyclist to warn of his or her presence.

    noun — Anything shaped like a bell, such as the cup or corolla of a flower.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • belle

    noun — An attractive woman.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • belt

    noun — A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing.

    noun — A band used as a restraint for safety purposes, such as a seat belt.

    noun — (usually capitalized) A geographical region known for a particular product, feature or demographic (Corn Belt, Bible Belt, Black Belt, Green Belt).

    verb — To scream or sing in a loud manner.

    verb — To hit someone or something.

    verb — To hit a pitched ball a long distance, usually for a home run.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • beta

    noun — The second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β), preceded by alpha (Α, α) and followed by gamma, (Γ, γ). In modern Greek it represents the voiced labiodental fricative sound of v found in the English words have and vase.

    noun — The phase of development after alpha testing and before launch, in which software, while not complete, has been released to potential users for testing.

    noun — Software in such a phase; a preliminary version.

    noun — Average sensitivity of a security's price to overall securities market prices.

    noun — Used in marking scheme: α, β, γ or α+, α, α-, β etc.

    adjective — Preliminary; prerelease. Refers to an incomplete version of a product released for initial testing.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • betel

    noun — Either of two plants often used in combination:

    noun — A quid (chewing preparation) containing these and other plant materials; paan.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • biathlete

    noun — An athlete who competes in the biathlon.

  • bible

    noun — An exemplar of the Bible.

    noun — A comprehensive manual that describes something. (e.g., handyman’s bible).

    noun — (at certain US universities) A compilation of problems and solutions from previous years of a given course, used by some students to cheat on tests or assignments.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • bilabial

    adjective — Articulated with both lips.

    noun — A speech sound articulated with both lips.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • bile

    noun — A bitter brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow secretion produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion.

    noun — Bitterness of temper; ill humour; irascibility.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • bill

    noun — A piece of paper money; a banknote.

    noun — A written note of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; an invoice.

    verb — To charge; to send a bill to.

    noun — A draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.

    noun — The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal.

    noun — Of a cap or hat: the brim or peak, serving as a shade to keep sun off the face and out of the eyes.

    Appeared in 22 recorded puzzles.

  • billable

    adjective — Capable of being billed for.

    noun — Something that is billed for.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • billet

    noun — A place where a soldier is assigned to lodge.

    noun — An allocated space or berth in a boat or ship.

    noun — A short piece of wood, especially one used as firewood.

    noun — Berth; position.

    verb — (of a householder etc.) To lodge soldiers, or guests, usually by order.

    noun — A written order to quarter soldiers.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • bite

    verb — To cut into something by clamping the teeth.

    noun — The act of biting.

    noun — The swelling of one's skin caused by an insect's mouthparts or sting.

    noun — A piece of food of a size that would be produced by biting; a mouthful.

    verb — To attack with the teeth.

    verb — (of an insect) To sting.

    Appeared in 6 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 18 recorded puzzles.

  • blah

    interjection — (When spoken repeatedly, often three times in succession: blah blah blah!) Imitative of idle, meaningless talk; used sometimes in a slightly derogatory manner to mock or downplay another's words, or to show disinterest in a diatribe, rant, instructions, unsolicited advice, parenting, etc. Also used when recalling and retelling another's words, as a substitute for the portions of the speech deemed irrelevant.

    adjective — Dull; uninteresting; insipid.

    noun — (in plural, the blahs) A general or ambiguous feeling of discomfort, dissatisfaction, uneasiness, boredom, mild depression, etc.

    interjection — An expression of mild frustration.

    noun — Nonsense; drivel; idle, meaningless talk.

    verb — To utter idle, meaningless talk.

  • blat

    verb — To make a senseless noise.

    verb — To cry, as a calf or sheep; to bleat.

    verb — To produce an overrich or overblown sound on a brass instrument such as a trumpet, trombone, or tuba.

    verb — To talk inconsiderately.

    noun — Connections; relationships; one's social or business network (in Russian or Soviet society).

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • bleat

    noun — The characteristic cry of a sheep or a goat.

    verb — Of a sheep or goat, to make its characteristic cry; of a human, to mimic this sound.

    verb — Of a person, to complain.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • blithe

    adjective — Casually indifferent, careless, showing a lack of concern.

    adjective — (dated or literary) Happy, cheerful.

  • habit

    noun — An action performed on a regular basis.

    noun — An action performed repeatedly and automatically, usually without awareness.

    noun — An addiction.

    noun — A long piece of clothing worn by monks and nuns.

    noun — A piece of clothing worn uniformly for a specific activity.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • habitable

    adjective — Safe and comfortable, where humans, or other animals, can live; fit for habitation.

  • habitat

    noun — Conditions suitable for an organism or population of organisms to live.

    noun — A place or type of site where an organism or population naturally occurs.

    noun — A terrestrial or aquatic area distinguished by geographic, abiotic and biotic features, whether entirely natural or semi-natural.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • hateable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • healable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • heatable

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • hittable

    adjective — Able to be hit; fit to be hit

  • 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.

  • labia

    noun — The folds of tissue at the opening of the vulva, at either side of the vagina.

    noun — A liplike structure; especially one of the two pairs of folds of skin either side of the vulva.

    noun — The lip of a labiate corolla.

    noun — The lip against which pressured air is driven to produce sound in a recorder and in a pipe organ with flue pipes.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • labial

    adjective — Of or pertaining to the lips or labia.

    adjective — Articulated by the lips, as the consonants b, m and w.

    noun — A consonant articulated by the lips.

    adjective — Of an incisor or canine, on the side facing the lips. See mesial.

    noun — Any of the scales bordering the mouth opening of a reptile.

    noun — An organ pipe having a lip that influences its sound.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • labile

    adjective — Apt or likely to change.

    adjective — (of a compound or bond) Kinetically unstable; rapidly cleaved (and possibly reformed).

    adjective — (of a verb) Able to change valency without changing its form; especially, able to be used both transitively and intransitively without changing its form.

    adjective — Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • liable

    adjective — (as predicate, with "to" and an infinitive) likely.

    adjective — Subject; susceptible.

    adjective — Exposed to a certain contingency or causality, more or less probable.

    adjective — Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • libel

    noun — A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.

    verb — To defame someone, especially in a manner that meets the legal definition of libel.

    noun — The act or crime of displaying such a statement publicly.

    noun — A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of their cause of action, and of the relief they seek.

    noun — Any defamatory writing; a lampoon; a satire.

    noun — A brief writing of any kind, especially a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • libelee

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • tabla

    noun — A pair of tuned hand drums, used in various musical genres of the Indian subcontinent, that are similar to bongos.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • table

    noun — Furniture with a top surface to accommodate a variety of uses.

    noun — A two-dimensional presentation of data.

    verb — To tabulate; to put into a table or grid.

    verb — (non-US) To put on the table of a commission or legislative assembly; to propose for formal discussion or consideration, to put on the agenda.

    verb — To remove from the agenda, to postpone dealing with; to shelve (to indefinitely postpone consideration or discussion of something).

    verb — To supply (a guest, client etc.) with food at a table; to feed.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • tablet

    noun — A tablet computer, a type of portable computer.

    noun — A pill; a small, easily swallowed portion of a substance.

    noun — A block of several sheets of blank paper that are bound together at the top; pad of paper.

    noun — A graphics tablet.

    noun — A confection made from sugar, condensed milk and butter, produced in flat slabs.

    verb — To form (a drug, etc.) into tablets.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • tibia

    noun — The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone

    noun — The second segment from the end of an insect's leg, between the femur and tarsus.

    noun — The third segment from the end of an arachnid's leg, between the patella and metatarsus.

    noun — A musical instrument of the flute kind, originally made of the leg bone of an animal.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • tibiae

    noun — The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone

    noun — The second segment from the end of an insect's leg, between the femur and tarsus.

    noun — The third segment from the end of an arachnid's leg, between the patella and metatarsus.

    noun — A musical instrument of the flute kind, originally made of the leg bone of an animal.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • tibial

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ab×4
  • al×2
  • ba×14
  • be×11
  • bi×8
  • bl×5
  • ha×4
  • he×2
  • hi×1
  • la×4
  • li×3
  • ta×3
  • ti×3

Words by first letter and length

456789Σ
a 222··· 6
b 2076·41 38
h ·1·141 7
l ·331·· 7
t ·33··· 6
Σ 221614282 64

The numbers

Genius today takes 212 points of 303 available. The average answer runs 5.4 letters.

Total points vs. all 378 recorded puzzles
87th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
90th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17142 recorded answers

422 today34.5% all-time516 today22.8% all-time614 today20.0% all-time72 today12.1% all-time88 today6.3% all-time92 today2.5% 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 Friday, July 3, 2026 Friday, July 3, 2026
b ● Saturday, June 27, 2026 Tuesday, April 21, 2026
e Thursday, July 2, 2026 Wednesday, July 1, 2026
h Wednesday, July 1, 2026 Monday, June 15, 2026
i Friday, July 3, 2026 Thursday, June 25, 2026
l Friday, July 3, 2026 Tuesday, June 2, 2026
t Thursday, July 2, 2026 Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 41
  2. naan 30
  3. nana 30
  4. onion 28
  5. toot 27
  6. loll 27
  7. mama 24
  8. mamma 24
  9. cocoon 23
  10. nene 23
  11. acacia 22
  12. acai 22
  13. bill 22
  14. loon 22
  15. aria 21
  16. onto 21
  17. toon 21
  18. cancan 21
  19. canna 21
  20. neon 21
  21. none 21
  22. olio 21
  23. anon 20
  24. lull 19
  25. lulu 19

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.