Spelling Bee Answers for Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Feb 18, 2026, Wednesday Spelling Bee Answers for the A, C, V, N, O, R, D honeycomb (center letter N) feature 39 words, a 180-point total, 1 Pangram (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 8-letter longest word: ANACONDA, CORDOVAN.

Spelling Bee hive for February 18, 2026 with center letter N and surrounding letters A,C,V,O,R and D

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Wednesday, February 18, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.

Difficulty

5/10

Medium

50th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.28

Short words

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

53/100

Rare

Rarer than 53% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

32 minutes

Quicker than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

13

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: V, O

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

20

words to Genius
2×8L3×7L10×6L5×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 126 pts
20 words2×8L3×7L7×6L8×5L

Vowel Split

40%

Balanced mix

82 vowels · 124 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start9 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up27 PTS
  • 25%Good45 PTS
  • 40%Solid72 PTS
  • 50%Nice90 PTS
  • 60%Great108 PTS
  • 65%Amazing117 PTS
  • 70%Genius126 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee180 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 39 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Wednesday, February 18, 2026. The answers are organized by word length and point value, along with today's pangram. Prefer a spoiler-free approach? Try the spelling bee hints for today or browse the full list of NYT spelling bee words.

Common openings

C
46%
N
18%
R
18%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2026-02-17
Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

8-Letter Words 2 words

7-Letter Words 3 words

6-Letter Words 10 words

5-Letter Words 13 words

4-Letter Words 11 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

11 words
4L
11
13 words
5L
13
10 words
6L
10
3 words
7L
3
2 words (Pangram)
8L
2

Share of 39 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

N
39 words
100%
O
28 words
72%
A
27 words
69%
C
25 words
64%
R
24 words
62%
D
17 words
44%
V
4 words
10%

Share of 39 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

11 pts
11
4L
65 pts
65
5L
60 pts
60
6L
21 pts
21
7L
23 pts (Pangram)
23
8L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

C
1846%
N
718%
R
718%
A
513%
D
25%

Share of 39 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 180 ranks in the 42nd percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-02-11.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 39 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 39th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-02-11.
  • The highest number of answers in any puzzle is 80, on 2026-02-01.
  • The lowest number of answers in any puzzle is 16, on 2023-03-27.
  • This puzzle ranks among the Medium puzzles, based on overall difficulty scoring.
  • Compared to recent puzzles, today’s challenge is easier than usual.
  • The letter set in this puzzle is considered Medium, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2026-02-17.
  • The estimated solve time of 27–37 min is faster than typical puzzles.
  • Players can expect a steady solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:

  • aaron
  • acana
  • acron
  • addn
  • adorno
  • anan
  • anana
  • ananda
  • ancon
  • ancona
  • anconad
  • ancora
  • anda
  • andor
  • andorra
  • andorran
  • andron
  • anna
  • annona
  • anoa
  • anodon
  • anorn
  • anova
  • arna
  • arrand
  • avadana
  • cacana
  • cacoon
  • caddoan
  • cana
  • canaan
  • canada
  • cand
  • cann
  • caranda
  • caranna
  • carcoon
  • cardon
  • cardoon
  • carn
  • carnac
  • caroon
  • coan
  • cocona
  • cond
  • conn
  • conor
  • conrad
  • coon
  • cooncan
  • coran
  • corno
  • coronad
  • coronado
  • cran
  • dacron
  • dana
  • danaan
  • dand
  • danda
  • dardan
  • dodona
  • dona
  • donar
  • donn
  • donna
  • donovan
  • doon
  • dorn
  • drona
  • dvandva
  • nanda
  • nard
  • nardoo
  • narr
  • narra
  • navar
  • nona
  • noncon
  • nonda
  • nondo
  • nora
  • norn
  • novo
  • onan
  • onca
  • oraon
  • racon
  • racoon
  • rana
  • randan
  • randon
  • rann
  • roncador
  • rond
  • roon
  • vanda
  • varan
  • varna

*Every word here uses only the hive's seven letters, includes the center letter, and appears in our dictionary, but it was never published in the NYT's official answer list.

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