NYT Spelling Bee Glossary

The seven-letter set shown for a Spelling Bee puzzle. The NYT digital game displays the letters in a honeycomb layout.

The required letter in the middle of the hive. Every accepted word must include it at least once.

The six letters arranged around the center letter. A word may use them, but it must also include the center letter.

A hive letter may appear more than once in a submitted word, even if it shows up only once on the board.

In the digital NYT Spelling Bee, a word must contain at least four letters to be eligible for points.

The editor-curated list of words accepted for one specific puzzle, also called the solution set. A word appearing in a general dictionary is not automatically part of every puzzle's answer list.

A word that satisfies the hive rules and appears in the selected puzzle's answer list. Acceptance is determined by that puzzle's curated list.

A word that is not accepted in a particular answer list or is known to have been excluded from a past puzzle.

One rejection does not prove the word is permanently disallowed in every puzzle.

The Spelling Bee puzzle published in The New York Times Magazine. The NYT Help Center says the print edition uses a different letter set and scoring system from the digital game.

The daily online and app version of the NYT puzzle. Its letter set and scoring rules are the ones covered on this site's rules page.

The score earned by submitting accepted words. The total possible score depends on the puzzle's complete answer list.

A valid answer with four letters. It earns one point in the digital NYT Spelling Bee.

A valid answer with at least five letters. It earns one point per letter before any pangram bonus.

A word that uses all seven hive letters at least once. It earns its normal word-length score plus seven bonus points. Letters may repeat, so a pangram can be longer than seven letters.

A seven-letter pangram that uses each hive letter exactly once.

The sum of the points for every accepted word in a puzzle, including pangram bonuses.

A progress label awarded as a player earns a larger share of the puzzle's maximum points. Rank names include Beginner, Good Start, Moving Up, Good, Solid, Nice, Great, Amazing, and Genius. Exact point thresholds depend on the puzzle.

The highest regular rank displayed in the digital NYT Spelling Bee. The target is commonly described as about 70 percent of the puzzle's maximum points; use the score target shown in the game for an exact value.

A common solver-community term for finding every accepted word and reaching the maximum score. NYT coverage has described it as an Easter egg beyond the regular rank ladder, which ends at Genius.

A count of accepted words that begin with each two-letter combination. For example, CA-4 means four words in the selected answer list begin with CA. It provides counts, not the complete words.

The same idea as the two-letter list grouped by the first three letters of each accepted word. This site's hints page shows three-letter counts at deeper reveal levels.

A solver and site convention rather than an official NYT feature.

A puzzle is a Bingo when at least one accepted word begins with each of the seven hive letters. The puzzle's answer list determines whether it qualifies.

In the NYT solver-community glossary, GN4L means reaching Genius without entering any four-letter words. It describes a solving challenge, not a universal official rank.

This website also uses GN4L for an estimate of the minimum number of five-or-more-letter words needed to reach its calculated Genius target. That count is the site's GN4L estimate, not the community definition.

The community phrase means reaching the Genius score exactly without four-letter words. This site's GN4L OTN metric checks whether a combination of five-or-more-letter words can total the target exactly.

Which definition applies depends on context; site analytics use the metric sense.

Genius, No Pangrams. The term describes reaching Genius without finding a pangram. The plural form GNPs appears in solver discussions.

An informal name for the community of people who solve and discuss the Spelling Bee. It is a community term, not a game feature.

The name of the NYT's personalized hint tool, introduced in 2023. It uses a player's progress to tailor hints. It is a New York Times product and is separate from Today's Spelling Bee.

A puzzle released before the current daily game. The NYT's past-puzzle access and subscription rules may change, so check the current NYT Help Center for availability.

A game control that changes the displayed order of the outer hive letters. It does not change the puzzle's seven letters or its answer list.

A word recorded for the first time in a defined puzzle archive or period. A site's first recorded appearance does not prove the word has never appeared in an earlier NYT puzzle.

A word formed from two or more smaller word parts. Whether a compound is accepted depends on the selected puzzle's answer list.

An informal phrase some players use for solving without opening hints or answers. Usage is not standardized, so treat it as community language rather than an official mode.

An informal term for a point in a solve when a player cannot see another word to try. It is not a game status.