NYT Spelling Bee · Daily puzzle archive
Spelling Bee answers · Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Longest word
noncombatant
12 letters
Top scorer
noncombatant
19 points
Starting letters
5 of 7
letters that start a word
Average length
5.7
letters per word
Words by length
Spoiler-safe. Use it to see where the long ones hide.
The hints grid
How many words of each length start with each letter — the classic Bee cheat sheet.
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Σ
B
1
1
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
3
C
7
6
9
3
1
1
–
–
–
27
N
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
2
O
–
–
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
T
2
–
1
2
–
–
–
–
–
5
Σ
10
7
13
5
1
1
0
0
1
38
Two-letter pairs
The first two letters of every answer, and how many words start with each pair.
B
ba 2bo 1
C
ca 12co 15
N
no 2
O
oc 1
T
ta 2to 3
All 38 answers
201 points total · tap a word for its definition · pangram gets a ★bacon5
banc1
bobcat6
cabana6
cacao5
camo1
cancan6
canna5
cannon6
cannot6
canon5
cant1
cantata7
canton6
catacomb8
coat1
coca1
cocoa5
cocoon6
coma1
comb1
combat6
★combatantpangram16
combo5
comma5
common6
concoct7
contact7
coot1
cotton6
noncom6
★noncombatantpangram19
octant6
taco1
tact1
tobacco7
toccata7
tomcat6