Spelling Bee answers — today's word list and full archive
Every accepted Spelling Bee word for every published date, with pangrams highlighted, point totals, and the path to Genius and Queen Bee. Updated daily.
Today's Spelling Bee
Today's puzzle — tap for full word list
View the full list of accepted words, pangrams, and the Genius point threshold for May 13, 2026.
View today's word list →
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Open Spelling Bee on The New York Times →
About Spelling Bee
Spelling Bee is a daily word puzzle published by The New York Times. Players are given seven letters arranged in a honeycomb, with one letter highlighted in the center. The goal is to make as many words as possible using those seven letters, where every word must include the center letter and be at least four letters long.
Each word earns points based on length: 4-letter words score 1 point, longer words score 1 point per letter, and a pangram — a word that uses all seven letters at least once — earns a 7-point bonus on top. Letters can repeat in the same word.
The Spelling Bee was originally a Sunday print feature in The New York Times Magazine starting in 2014, designed by puzzle editor Frank Longo. It moved online in 2018 and is now edited by Sam Ezersky. This archive contains every published puzzle so you can look up the verified word list, pangram(s), and Genius threshold for any date.
How to play Spelling Bee
Open Spelling Bee on the NYT site and look at the seven letters in the honeycomb. The yellow letter in the center must appear in every word.
Type or click letters to form a word of at least 4 letters. The center letter is required; the other six are optional. Letters can repeat.
Press Enter. If the word is in the puzzle's accepted list, it's added to your found-words and you score points. Four-letter words earn 1 point each; longer words score 1 point per letter.
Find a pangram — a word using all seven letters — for a 7-point bonus. Every daily puzzle has at least one pangram.
Climb the rank ladder: Beginner, Good Start, Moving Up, Good, Solid, Nice, Great, Amazing, Genius (~70% of total points), and finally Queen Bee (every word). The day rolls over at 3:00 AM ET.
Recent Spelling Bee answers
Strategy & tips
Pangram first
Always look for the pangram early
Finding the pangram is worth 7 bonus points and often unlocks letter combinations you'd otherwise miss. Try anagramming all 7 letters before anything else — most pangrams are common 7- to 9-letter words.
Suffixes
Cycle through common endings
Try -ING, -ED, -LY, -ER, -EST, -TION on every base word you find. The NYT accepts most standard inflections, so each base often yields 3–4 valid variants.
Prefixes
Don't forget RE-, UN-, OVER-, OUT-
When you find a 4- or 5-letter base word, prepend common prefixes. RE- is especially productive (REDO, REUSE, REREAD). The center letter often slots cleanly into a prefix.
Long words pay
Hunt 6-, 7-, and 8-letter words
Each letter beyond 4 adds 1 point, and Genius requires roughly 70% of total points. A single 8-letter word is worth as much as 8 four-letter words. Always check whether your shorter finds extend.
Repeated letters
Letters can repeat freely
Words like EERIE, ESSAY, ABBA, or NOON are valid even though the puzzle only shows each letter once. Don't artificially limit yourself to using each tile once.
What's excluded
Skip proper nouns and obscure terms
The NYT excludes proper nouns, abbreviations, hyphenated words, obscure scientific terms, and anything not in their dictionary. If a word "feels" unusual, it's probably not accepted — don't waste guesses.
Frequently asked questions
What is today's Spelling Bee answer?
The full word list for today's Spelling Bee (May 13, 2026) is on the daily page. Every accepted word, pangram(s), and the Genius point threshold are listed in full.
When does the new Spelling Bee release each day?
A new Spelling Bee puzzle is released at 3:00 AM US Eastern time every day. We post the verified word list and pangrams shortly after.
What is a pangram in Spelling Bee?
A pangram is a word that uses all seven letters in the puzzle at least once. Each daily puzzle has at least one pangram and earns a 7-point bonus on top of the word's regular points (1 point per letter).
Some puzzles have multiple pangrams — these are called "perfect pangrams" or just multi-pangram days. Finding the pangram is the fastest way to climb to Genius.
How do I reach Genius?
Genius is approximately 70% of the puzzle's total possible points. The exact threshold varies by day depending on how many words are in the answer list. We list the Genius threshold on each daily archive page.
Most daily puzzles have a Genius score between 100 and 250 points. Solid is around 50%, Amazing is around 50–70%, and Genius locks at 70%.
What is Queen Bee?
Queen Bee means finding every accepted word in the puzzle, hitting 100% of total points. Most solvers don't reach this rank without help, since each puzzle typically has 25–75 valid words and includes some that are quite obscure.
Many solvers use word lists like this one as a final hint, after they've reached Genius and want to push for Queen Bee. We highlight pangrams in our daily lists so you know what's worth the most points.
What words are not accepted?
Spelling Bee excludes proper nouns (names, places, brands), abbreviations, hyphenated words, and obscure scientific or technical terms. Vulgar, offensive, and very specialized words are also typically rejected.
Three-letter words are never accepted regardless of definition — the minimum word length is always 4.
Is Spelling Bee free to play?
The free version of Spelling Bee gives you a limited number of words and stops you from reaching Amazing or Genius. To play unlimited words and chase Queen Bee, you need an NYT Games subscription ($6/month or $40/year as of 2025).
The subscription also includes the full Wordle archive, Connections archive, the daily Crossword, and other NYT Games products.
Are these word lists official?
No. AppWalkthrough is an independent site. Spelling Bee is a trademark of The New York Times Company, and we're not affiliated with the NYT in any way.
We solve and verify each daily puzzle ourselves before publishing. If a word in our list isn't accepted in your live puzzle, please let us know — the NYT occasionally adjusts their accepted list and we'll update accordingly.