NYT Spelling Bee · Daily puzzle archive
Spelling Bee answers · Friday, May 22, 2026
Longest word
annihilation
12 letters
Top scorer
annihilation
19 points
Starting letters
7 of 7
every letter starts 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
A
2
5
2
1
–
–
1
–
1
12
H
3
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
3
I
2
–
–
–
–
–
3
–
–
5
L
6
4
1
1
–
–
–
–
–
12
N
1
–
2
–
3
1
1
–
–
8
O
3
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
4
T
5
4
1
–
–
–
–
1
–
11
Σ
22
14
6
2
3
1
5
1
1
55
Two-letter pairs
The first two letters of every answer, and how many words start with each pair.
A
ai 1al 3an 6at 2
H
ha 1ho 2
I
in 4io 1
L
la 1li 2ll 1lo 8
N
na 2no 6
O
oa 1ol 1on 2
T
ta 2ti 1to 8
All 55 answers
262 points total · tap a word for its definition · pangram gets a ★aioli5
allot5
aloha5
alto1
anion5
annatto7
★annihilationpangram19
annotation10
anoint6
anon1
atoll5
atonal6
halo1
holt1
hoot1
★inhalationpangram17
initiation10
into1
intonation10
iota1
lanolin7
lion1
litho5
llano5
loan1
loath5
loin1
loll1
loon1
loot1
lotion6
lotto5
nation6
national8
nonillion9
noon1
notation8
notational10
notion6
notional8
oath1
olio1
onion5
onto1
talon5
tattoo6
titillation11
toil1
toll1
tonal5
tool1
toon1
toot1
tooth5
total5