NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Today's New York Times Spelling Bee honeycomb grid features H as the mandatory center letter, surrounded by the letters C, I, K, M, N and U.
Today's puzzle has 18 possible words and 79 total points, including 1 pangram. The longest words in today's puzzle are MUNCHKIN and NUNCHUCK, each 8 letters.
Reaching Genius takes 55 of the 79 points in today's puzzle. Depending on word length, that can be as few as 8 words or as many as 16. You also need at least one 7-letter word to get there. Queen Bee means finding all 18 words for 79 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
1/10
Easy13th percentile
Avg Word Length
5.17
Short wordsAll-time avg: 5.4
Rarity
33/100
UncommonRarer than 33% of puzzles
Avg Solve Time
12 minutes
Quicker than usualTo reach Genius
2LL
8
Few pairsUnique two-letter openings
Bingo Status
No
Missing: UAll 7 letters start at least 1 word
GN4L
8
words to GeniusGN4L OTN
Yes
Exact 55 ptsVowel Split
25%
Consonant-heavy puzzle23 vowels · 70 consonants
Score Milestones
- 0%Beginner0 PTS
- 5%Good Start4 PTS
- 15%Moving Up12 PTS
- 25%Good20 PTS
- 40%Solid32 PTS
- 50%Nice40 PTS
- 60%Great47 PTS
- 65%Amazing51 PTS
- 70%Genius55 PTS
- 100%Queen Bee79 PTS
Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Here is the complete list of 18 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Tuesday, October 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
Oct 20, 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 18 answers in Oct 20, 2026 Spelling Bee puzzle, organized by word length and points.
8-Letter Words 2 words
7-Letter Words 1 word
6-Letter Words 2 words
5-Letter Words 6 words
4-Letter Words 7 words
Browse calendar of past puzzles
Word Length Distribution (Today)
Share of 18 answers at each word length.
Letter Coverage (Today)
Share of 18 words using each hive letter.
Points by Length (Today)
Total points available at each word length.
Letter Frequency Distribution (Today)
Share of 18 words starting with each letter.
How does Oct 20, 2026 spelling bee compare to other puzzles?
- Today’s score of 79 ranks in the 2nd percentile among all puzzles.
- The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-09-22.
- The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
- The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
- With 18 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 1st percentile overall.
- The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-08-05.
- 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 Medium, compared to typical puzzles.
- Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2026-10-19.
- The estimated solve time of 9–15 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*:
- chich
- chih
- chinch
- chinin
- chink
- chmn
- chukchi
- chun
- hinch
- huck
- humhum
- humic
- humin
- hummum
- hunh
- hunnic
- ichu
- kinch
- kinchin
- kinhin
- munich
- unchic
- uncinch
*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.