Spelling Bee Answers for Wednesday, May 20, 2026
May 20, 2026, Wednesday Spelling Bee Answers for the B, O, D, C, K, R, A honeycomb (center letter A) feature 51 words, a 229-point total, 3 Pangrams (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 11-letter longest word: ABRACADABRA.
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Wednesday, May 20, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights
A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.
Difficulty
5/10
Medium46th percentile
Avg Word Length
5.31
Typical lengthAll-time avg: 5.4
Rarity
39/100
UncommonRarer than 39% of puzzles
Avg Solve Time
42 minutes
Typical solveTo reach Genius
2LL
18
Typical spreadUnique two-letter openings
Bingo Status
Yes
All 7 coveredAll 7 letters start at least 1 word
GN4L
21
words to GeniusGN4L OTN
Yes
Exact 160 ptsVowel Split
40%
Balanced mix108 vowels · 163 consonants
Score Milestones
- 0%Beginner0 PTS
- 5%Good Start11 PTS
- 15%Moving Up34 PTS
- 25%Good57 PTS
- 40%Solid92 PTS
- 50%Nice115 PTS
- 60%Great137 PTS
- 65%Amazing149 PTS
- 70%Genius160 PTS
- 100%Queen Bee229 PTS
Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Here is the complete list of 51 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Wednesday, May 20, 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
Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.
Puzzle Letters
Pangrams
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Complete Answers
Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.
11-Letter Words 1 word
9-Letter Words 3 words
8-Letter Words 3 words
7-Letter Words 2 words
6-Letter Words 6 words
5-Letter Words 15 words
4-Letter Words 21 words
Browse calendar of past puzzles
Word Length Distribution
Share of 51 answers at each word length.
Letter Coverage
Share of 51 words using each hive letter.
Points by Length
Total points available at each word length.
Letter Frequency Distribution
Share of 51 words starting with each letter.
How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?
- Today’s score of 229 ranks in the 65th percentile among all puzzles.
- The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-05-18.
- The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
- The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
- With 51 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 72nd percentile overall.
- The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-05-18.
- 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 2026-05-18.
- The estimated solve time of 36–48 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*:
- abac
- abaca
- abada
- abaka
- abba
- abbr
- abkar
- aborad
- abord
- abrood
- abrook
- acad
- acara
- acca
- accra
- acock
- acrab
- acrook
- adad
- adar
- adda
- adrad
- akaroa
- akka
- akkad
- akra
- arab
- araba
- araca
- arad
- arado
- arak
- arara
- ararao
- araroba
- arba
- arca
- arkab
- aroar
- arrack
- arroba
- baar
- babcock
- baboo
- baccara
- backbar
- baka
- bakra
- bara
- barabara
- barabora
- barabra
- baraca
- barad
- baraka
- barbar
- barbara
- barbra
- barcoo
- bardo
- barocco
- baroco
- baroko
- barr
- barra
- barrabora
- barrad
- bobac
- boca
- bocardo
- bocca
- bookboard
- bora
- borak
- bordar
- brab
- brack
- brocard
- caaba
- caba
- cabob
- cabook
- caca
- cack
- caddo
- cakra
- caoba
- cara
- carabao
- caracara
- carack
- caraco
- caracoa
- caracora
- caradoc
- carbo
- carbora
- carbro
- cardo
- cark
- caro
- caroa
- carr
- carrack
- carrara
- coak
- coarb
- cobbra
- cora
- cordoba
- coroado
- crackback
- cradock
- crocard
- crockard
- crookback
- dabb
- dabba
- dada
- daddock
- dado
- darb
- dard
- darr
- doab
- dobra
- doddard
- doodab
- dora
- dorab
- dorad
- draco
- kaaba
- kabab
- kabaka
- kabar
- kabard
- kaka
- kakar
- kakkak
- karaka
- karo
- karoo
- karroo
- kbar
- koda
- kodak
- kokako
- kokra
- kooka
- kora
- koroa
- orad
- orra
- raad
- rackboard
- rada
- raob
- roadbook
- roak
- roka
- roorback
*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.