The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ILNOPUR

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Edited by Sam Ezersky

Words
20
Points
60
Genius
42
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 20 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • inurn

    verb — To place (the remains of a person who has died) in an urn or other container.

    verb — To hold or contain (the remains of a person who has died).

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • iron

    noun — A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel.

    verb — To pass an iron over (clothing or some other item made of cloth) in order to remove creases.

    adjective — Made of the metal iron.

    noun — A metallic chemical element having atomic number 26 and symbol Fe.

    noun — Any material, not a steel, predominantly made of elemental iron.

    noun — A tool or appliance made of metal, which is heated and then used to transfer heat to something else; most often a thick piece of metal fitted with a handle and having a flat, roughly triangular bottom, which is heated and used to press wrinkles from clothing, and now usually containing an electrical heating apparatus.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • noir

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • nori

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • poor

    noun — (with "the") Those who have little or no possessions or money, taken as a group.

    adjective — With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.

    adjective — Of low quality.

    adjective — Used to express pity.

    adjective — Deficient in a specified way.

    adjective — Inadequate, insufficient.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • porn

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • porno

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • pour

    noun — The act of pouring.

    verb — To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it.

    noun — Something, or an amount, poured.

    noun — A downpour, or flood of precipitation.

    verb — To send out as in a stream or a flood; to cause (an emotion) to come out; to cause to escape.

    verb — To send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • prion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • prior

    noun — A high-ranking member of a monastery, usually lower in rank than an abbot.

    adjective — Advance; previous; coming before.

    adverb — Previously.

    noun — A chief magistrate in Italy.

    noun — (law enforcement) A previous arrest or criminal conviction on someone's record.

    noun — In Bayesian inference, a prior probability distribution, one based on information or belief before additional data is collected.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • pronoun

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • prop

    noun — An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports.

    verb — (sometimes figurative) To support or shore up something.

    noun — An item placed on a stage or set to create a scene or scenario in which actors perform.

    noun — The propeller of an aircraft.

    verb — To manually start the engine of a propeller-driven aircraft with no electric starter by pulling vigorously on one of the propeller blades using the hands, so that the propeller can catch ignition.

    noun — A proposition, especially on an election-day ballot.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • purl

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • purloin

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • purr

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • rill

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • roil

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • roll

    noun — The act or result of rolling, or state of being rolled.

    verb — To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface.

    noun — That which is rolled up.

    noun — A forward or backward roll in gymnastics; going head over heels. A tumble.

    noun — Something which rolls.

    noun — A swagger or rolling gait.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • ruin

    noun — (sometimes in the plural) The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.

    verb — To cause the fiscal ruin of.

    noun — The state of being a ruin, destroyed or decayed.

    noun — Something that leads to serious trouble or destruction.

    noun — A fall or tumble.

    noun — A change that destroys or defeats something; destruction; overthrow.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • unroll

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

purloin is a perfect pangram — all seven letters, each used exactly once.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • in×1
  • ir×1
  • no×2
  • po×4
  • pr×4
  • pu×3
  • ri×1
  • ro×2
  • ru×1
  • un×1

Words by first letter and length

4567Σ
i 11·· 2
n 2··· 2
p 63·2 11
r 4··· 4
u ··1· 1
Σ 13412 20

The numbers

Genius today takes 42 points of 60 available. The average answer runs 4.6 letters.

Total points vs. all 437 recorded puzzles
0th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
1st percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 19762 recorded answers

413 today34.4% all-time54 today22.9% all-time61 today20.1% all-time72 today12.0% all-time86.2% all-time92.6% 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
i Tuesday, September 8, 2026 Tuesday, September 8, 2026
l Tuesday, September 8, 2026 Monday, August 31, 2026
n Sunday, September 6, 2026 Monday, August 24, 2026
o Sunday, September 6, 2026 Monday, August 17, 2026
p Monday, September 7, 2026 Monday, September 7, 2026
r ● Monday, August 31, 2026 Saturday, August 1, 2026
u Wednesday, August 26, 2026 Friday, August 21, 2026

Other days with this pangram

Same seven letters

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. mini 25
  13. minim 25
  14. cocoon 24
  15. imam 24
  16. maim 24
  17. onto 24
  18. toon 24
  19. loon 24
  20. olio 24
  21. lilt 23
  22. till 23
  23. tilt 23
  24. aria 23
  25. mitt 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.