NYT Spelling Bee · Daily puzzle archive
Spelling Bee answers · Saturday, May 16, 2026
Longest word
panettone
9 letters
Top scorer
pantheon
15 points
Starting letters
7 of 7
every letter starts a word
Average length
5.4
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
Σ
A
4
2
–
2
2
–
10
E
–
1
1
–
–
–
2
H
4
3
1
2
–
–
10
N
5
1
3
1
–
–
10
O
1
1
–
–
–
–
2
P
7
2
3
4
2
2
20
T
5
2
3
–
–
–
10
Σ
26
12
11
9
4
2
64
Two-letter pairs
The first two letters of every answer, and how many words start with each pair.
A
ae 1an 6ap 1at 2
E
ea 1et 1
H
ha 4he 6
N
na 4ne 5no 1
O
oa 2
P
pa 10pe 4ph 3po 3
T
ta 3te 3th 4
All 64 answers
286 points total · tap a word for its definition · pangram gets a ★aeon1
annatto7
annotate8
anon1
ante1
antenna7
antennae8
apnea5
atone5
atop1
eaten5
ethane6
happen6
hate1
hath1
hatha5
heap1
heat1
heath5
heathen7
henna5
heptane7
naan1
nana1
nape1
natant6
neap1
neat1
neaten6
neath5
neonate7
notate6
oaten5
oath1
paean5
pane1
panettone9
pant1
★pantheonpangram15
papa1
pate1
patent6
patentee8
path1
peahen6
peat1
pennant7
pentane7
★phaetonpangram14
phat1
★phonatepangram14
poppa5
potato6
potentate9
tapa1
tape1
tattoo6
teapot6
teat1
tenant6
than1
thane5
that1
theta5