May 22, 2026, Friday

Spelling Bee Answers for Friday, May 22, 2026

May 22, 2026, Friday Spelling Bee Answers for the A, T, H, I, N, L, O honeycomb (center letter O) feature 55 words, a 262-point total, 2 Pangrams (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 12-letter longest word: ANNIHILATION.

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Spelling Bee hive for May 22, 2026 with center letter O and surrounding letters A,T,H,I,N and L

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Friday, May 22, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

4/10

Medium

42nd percentile

Avg Word Length

5.71

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

20/100

Common

Rarer than 20% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

45 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

Typical spread

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

words to Genius

1×12L1×11L5×10L1×9L3×8L2×7L6×6L3×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 183 pts

22 words1×12L1×11L5×10L1×9L3×8L2×7L4×6L5×5L

Vowel Split

49%

Vowel-heavy puzzle

153 vowels · 161 consonants

Score Milestones

0%Beginner0 PTS
5%Good Start13 PTS
15%Moving Up39 PTS
25%Good66 PTS
40%Solid105 PTS
50%Nice131 PTS
60%Great157 PTS
65%Amazing170 PTS
70%Genius183 PTS
100%Queen Bee262 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 55 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Friday, May 22, 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

22%

20%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2026-05-21

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

2024-07-08(H)

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

22 words

14 words

6 words

2 words

3 words

1 word

5 words (Pangram)

10L

1 word

11L

1 word (Pangram)

12L

Share of 55 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

55 words

100%

39 words

71%

34 words

62%

32 words

58%

32 words

58%

26 words

47%

10 words

18%

Share of 55 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

22 pts

70 pts

36 pts

14 pts

24 pts

9 pts

57 pts (Pangram)

10L

11 pts

11L

19 pts (Pangram)

12L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

1222%

1120%

815%

59%

47%

35%

Share of 55 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

Today’s score of 262 ranks in the 78th percentile among all puzzles.
The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-05-21.
The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
With 55 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 80th percentile overall.
The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-05-21.
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 2026-05-21.
The estimated solve time of 38–52 min is slower 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*:

ailanto
ainoi
aion
aionial
aition
alantol
alation
alinota
alintatao
alioth
allantoin
allo
allolalia
alloo
aloin
altho
altitonant
anatolian
anatto
anhalonin
anilao
anilino
annona
annotto
anoa
anoia
anoil
anotia
anotta
antihalation
antinational
antlion
anton
antonia
antonina
antoniniani
antonio
aonian
atonia
halation
hallion
hallo
halloa
halloo
hallot
halloth
haloa
hano
hanoi
hiation
hillo
hilloa
hoit
hola
holi
holl
holla
hollin
hollo
holloa
holloo
honan
honiton
hool
hoolihan
hoon
hoti
ilion
illano
illation
illinition
illinoian
ilot
inanition
inhalational
inion
inition
intonational
ioni
ionian
italianation
italiot
itonia
lahontan
lallation
lalo
lanao
laotian
latino
lation
laton
latona
latonian
linaloa
linalol
linalool
lino
linon
lintol
litation
lithol
lithotint
loanin
lohan
lohana
lola
loli
lolo
lota
lotah
loth
loti
loto
lotta
naio
naoi
nataloin
natation
natational
nato
nilot
ninon
nitinol
niton
noah
noil
noint
nolition
noll
nolo
nolt
nona
nonhalation
nonillionth
noninitial
nonion
nonnat
nonnational
nonnotional
nontan
nontannin
nontonal
nota
notal
notitia
ohia
ohio
ohioan
oint
olla
olona
onan
oolith
oont
othin
otiant
otolith
otto
tahona
taihoa
taino
talanton
talao
taliation
talion
tallitoth
tallol
tano
tanoa
tanoan
tanto
taotai
tatoo
thiol
thionation
thionin
tholi
tholoi
thon
thoo
tionontati
tithonia
toat
toatoa
toho
toit
toitoi
tola
tolan
tolt
tonation
tonn
tonto
toona
toto

*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.