NYT Spelling Bee · Daily puzzle archive
Spelling Bee answers · Sunday, May 17, 2026
Longest word
allocator
9 letters
Top scorer
cartload
15 points
Starting letters
7 of 7
every letter starts a word
Average length
5.1
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
1
3
1
–
–
1
6
C
9
4
3
4
2
–
22
D
2
3
1
–
1
–
7
L
6
2
–
1
–
–
9
O
1
1
–
–
–
–
2
R
1
–
–
–
–
–
1
T
5
2
–
–
–
–
7
Σ
25
15
5
5
3
1
54
Two-letter pairs
The first two letters of every answer, and how many words start with each pair.
A
al 4ao 1at 1
C
ca 7cl 4co 11
D
do 5dr 2
L
la 1lo 8
O
oc 1or 1
R
ro 1
T
ta 2to 4tr 1
All 54 answers
212 points total · tap a word for its definition · pangram gets a ★allocator9
allot5
altar5
alto1
aortal6
atoll5
call1
calla5
callaloo8
carload7
carol5
★cartloadpangram15
catcall7
clad1
cloaca6
clod1
clot1
coal1
cola1
cold1
collar6
collard7
color5
colt1
cool1
coral5
corolla7
corral6
★doctoralpangram15
doll1
dollar6
dolor5
dolt1
droll5
drool5
lard1
load1
local5
locator7
loco1
loll1
loot1
lord1
lotto5
octal5
oral1
roll1
talc1
tall1
told1
toll1
tool1
total5
troll5