Spelling Bee Answers for Sunday, August 16, 2026
Aug 16, 2026, Sunday Spelling Bee Answers for the B, C, D, E, L, O, U honeycomb (center letter C) feature 52 words, a 257-point total, 2 Pangrams (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 9-letter longest word: BECLOUDED.
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Sunday, August 16, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights
A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.
Difficulty
8/10
Hard79th percentile
Avg Word Length
5.54
Typical lengthAll-time avg: 5.4
Rarity
78/100
Very RareRarer than 78% of puzzles
Avg Solve Time
50 minutes
Longer than usualTo reach Genius
2LL
11
Few pairsUnique two-letter openings
Bingo Status
No
Missing: UAll 7 letters start at least 1 word
GN4L
25
words to GeniusGN4L OTN
Yes
Exact 180 ptsVowel Split
41%
Balanced mix119 vowels · 169 consonants
Score Milestones
- 0%Beginner0 PTS
- 5%Good Start13 PTS
- 15%Moving Up39 PTS
- 25%Good64 PTS
- 40%Solid103 PTS
- 50%Nice129 PTS
- 60%Great154 PTS
- 65%Amazing167 PTS
- 70%Genius180 PTS
- 100%Queen Bee257 PTS
Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Here is the complete list of 52 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Sunday, August 16, 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
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Puzzle Letters
Pangrams
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Complete Answers
Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.
9-Letter Words 1 word
8-Letter Words 2 words
7-Letter Words 11 words
6-Letter Words 11 words
5-Letter Words 12 words
4-Letter Words 15 words
Browse calendar of past puzzles
Word Length Distribution
Share of 52 answers at each word length.
Letter Coverage
Share of 52 words using each hive letter.
Points by Length
Total points available at each word length.
Letter Frequency Distribution
Share of 52 words starting with each letter.
How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?
- Today’s score of 257 ranks in the 76th percentile among all puzzles.
- The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-08-15.
- The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
- The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
- With 52 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 74th percentile overall.
- The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-08-15.
- 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 Hard puzzles, based on overall difficulty scoring.
- Compared to recent puzzles, today’s challenge is harder than average.
- The letter set in this puzzle is considered Low, compared to typical puzzles.
- Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2026-08-15.
- The estimated solve time of 42–58 min is slower than typical puzzles.
- Players can expect a challenging solving experience.
Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List
Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:
- becco
- boce
- boucl
- bucco
- cebell
- cedule
- cele
- celebe
- cled
- cledde
- clee
- clodded
- clou
- clouee
- cobb
- cobbed
- coble
- cobol
- cocco
- coccule
- cocle
- coco
- cocobolo
- cocullo
- codded
- codec
- codo
- codol
- coldblood
- coldblooded
- cole
- coled
- coll
- colob
- colocolo
- cooboo
- coocoo
- coodle
- cooee
- cooeed
- coud
- coude
- coudee
- coue
- coul
- cubeb
- cubocube
- cucule
- cuculle
- culdee
- debcle
- decd
- decede
- decl
- decoll
- deluce
- deuced
- dolce
- douc
- douce
- doulce
- duce
- duco
- dulc
- dulce
- ebcd
- ecbole
- ecce
- eccl
- ecod
- ecol
- ecole
- ecuelle
- educ
- elec
- leuco
- locoed
- locule
- loculed
- luce
- lucule
- obclude
- obduce
- ulluco
- ullucu
*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.