NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Today's New York Times Spelling Bee honeycomb grid features M as the mandatory center letter, surrounded by the letters A, B, L, N, T and U.
Today's puzzle has 33 possible words and 144 total points, including 1 pangram. The longest words in today's puzzle are AMBULANT, AUTUMNAL and TANTALUM, each 8 letters.
Reaching Genius takes 101 of the 144 points in today's puzzle. Depending on word length, that can be as few as 15 words or as many as 28. You also need at least one 6-letter word to get there. Queen Bee means finding all 33 words for 144 points.
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Today's NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights
A closer look at today's NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.
Difficulty
2/10
Easy24th percentile
Avg Word Length
5.24
Short wordsAll-time avg: 5.4
Rarity
30/100
UncommonRarer than 30% of puzzles
Avg Solve Time
23 minutes
Quicker than usualTo reach Genius
2LL
14
Few pairsUnique two-letter openings
Bingo Status
Yes
All 7 coveredAll 7 letters start at least 1 word
GN4L
15
words to GeniusGN4L OTN
Yes
Exact 101 ptsVowel Split
40%
Balanced mix69 vowels · 104 consonants
Score Milestones
- 0%Beginner0 PTS
- 5%Good Start7 PTS
- 15%Moving Up22 PTS
- 25%Good36 PTS
- 40%Solid58 PTS
- 50%Nice72 PTS
- 60%Great86 PTS
- 65%Amazing94 PTS
- 70%Genius101 PTS
- 100%Queen Bee144 PTS
Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Here is the complete list of 33 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Saturday, October 17, 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
Oct 17, 2026 Spelling Bee has 1 Pangram. A pangram is a word that uses all seven letters in the puzzle at least once, which gives you a 7-point bonus.
Spelling Bee Words
Here are all 33 answers in Oct 17, 2026 Spelling Bee puzzle, organized by word length and points.
8-Letter Words 3 words
6-Letter Words 11 words
5-Letter Words 7 words
4-Letter Words 12 words
Browse calendar of past puzzles
Word Length Distribution (Today)
Share of 33 answers at each word length.
Letter Coverage (Today)
Share of 33 words using each hive letter.
Points by Length (Today)
Total points available at each word length.
Letter Frequency Distribution (Today)
Share of 33 words starting with each letter.
How does Oct 17, 2026 spelling bee compare to other puzzles?
- Today’s score of 144 ranks in the 24th percentile among all puzzles.
- The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-10-14.
- The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
- The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
- With 33 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 23rd percentile overall.
- The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-10-14.
- 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 Easy 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 2026-10-16.
- The estimated solve time of 20–26 min is faster than typical puzzles.
- Players can expect a steady solving experience.
Other Dictionary Words Not on Today's Official List
Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:
- alabama
- alabaman
- alma
- alumnal
- amal
- amala
- amamau
- amant
- amaut
- amba
- ambalam
- amban
- amla
- amma
- amman
- amtman
- anam
- anatman
- annam
- annum
- antum
- ataman
- atma
- atman
- babuma
- balaam
- bamban
- bambuba
- batman
- lamba
- lamm
- lamut
- lantum
- lanum
- lunatum
- maat
- maba
- mala
- malam
- mallam
- mallum
- malm
- malta
- maltman
- malum
- mana
- manal
- manana
- mann
- mannan
- mantua
- mantuan
- manul
- manuma
- matamata
- matambala
- matman
- matt
- matta
- maulana
- maun
- mmmm
- mulatta
- mulla
- mulm
- mulmul
- mulmull
- mult
- multum
- mumm
- mumu
- munt
- muta
- mutuum
- naam
- nama
- nanmu
- numa
- talma
- tama
- tamal
- tamanu
- tambala
- tamul
- tubman
- tumtum
- tutman
- ulama
- unautumnal
- unmutual
- utum
*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.