Spelling Bee Answers for Saturday, May 09, 2026

May 09, 2026, Saturday Spelling Bee Answers for the A, E, G, H, I, M, T honeycomb (center letter T) feature 53 words, a 205-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 9-letter longest word: EIGHTIETH.

Spelling Bee hive for May 9, 2026 with center letter T and surrounding letters A,E,G,H,I and M

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Saturday, May 9, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

3/10

Medium

32nd percentile

Avg Word Length

5.09

Short words

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

20/100

Common

Rarer than 20% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

44 minutes

Typical solve

To reach Genius

2LL

15

Typical spread

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

22

words to Genius
1×9L3×8L5×7L6×6L7×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 144 pts
22 words1×9L3×8L5×7L4×6L9×5L

Vowel Split

44%

Balanced mix

120 vowels · 150 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start10 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up31 PTS
  • 25%Good51 PTS
  • 40%Solid82 PTS
  • 50%Nice103 PTS
  • 60%Great123 PTS
  • 65%Amazing133 PTS
  • 70%Genius144 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee205 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 53 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Saturday, May 9, 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

T
36%
M
26%
H
15%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2026-05-08
Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.
Other days with this pangram

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

9-Letter Words 1 word

8-Letter Words 3 words

7-Letter Words 5 words

6-Letter Words 6 words

5-Letter Words 14 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

24 words
4L
24
14 words
5L
14
6 words
6L
6
5 words (Pangram)
7L
5
3 words
8L
3
1 word
9L
1

Share of 53 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

T
53 words
100%
E
40 words
75%
A
31 words
58%
M
29 words
55%
H
26 words
49%
I
23 words
43%
G
16 words
30%

Share of 53 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

24 pts
24
4L
70 pts
70
5L
36 pts
36
6L
42 pts (Pangram)
42
7L
24 pts
24
8L
9 pts
9
9L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

T
1936%
M
1426%
H
815%
E
48%
A
36%
G
36%
I
24%

Share of 53 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 205 ranks in the 54th percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-05-05.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 53 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 76th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-05-08.
  • 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 Low, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2026-05-08.
  • The estimated solve time of 37–51 min is comparable 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*:

  • aetat
  • agamete
  • agatha
  • aheight
  • amate
  • amati
  • amit
  • amitie
  • atma
  • atta
  • eatage
  • eath
  • emmet
  • emmett
  • etta
  • gagate
  • gageite
  • gata
  • gateage
  • gatha
  • geat
  • geet
  • gemmate
  • geta
  • getae
  • getah
  • ghat
  • ghetti
  • gigget
  • giggit
  • gite
  • gith
  • gittite
  • gittith
  • haematite
  • haet
  • haiti
  • hamathite
  • hamite
  • hathi
  • hati
  • hatt
  • hatti
  • hattie
  • heighth
  • heth
  • hettie
  • hiate
  • hight
  • highth
  • himatia
  • hithe
  • hittite
  • imamate
  • imitatee
  • immit
  • itea
  • maat
  • magmata
  • mammate
  • mammati
  • mammet
  • matai
  • matamata
  • matha
  • mathemeg
  • matie
  • matt
  • matta
  • meath
  • meathe
  • meeth
  • megagamete
  • meithei
  • metae
  • metage
  • metate
  • migmatite
  • mimetite
  • mtge
  • tagmeme
  • taha
  • tahami
  • tahiti
  • taiaha
  • taig
  • tait
  • tama
  • tammie
  • tate
  • tath
  • tathata
  • tatie
  • tatta
  • tattie
  • teathe
  • teet
  • teetee
  • tega
  • tegg
  • tehee
  • tema
  • teth
  • thai
  • thea
  • theah
  • theat
  • theemim
  • thema
  • themata
  • thig
  • tige
  • tite
  • titi
  • tittie
  • tmema
  • tmemata

*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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