NYT Spelling Bee · Daily puzzle archive
Spelling Bee answers · Saturday, May 23, 2026
Longest word
candidacy
9 letters
Top scorer
cyanide
14 points
Starting letters
6 of 7
letters that start a word
Average length
5.6
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
5
3
4
3
–
–
15
C
2
6
6
5
–
1
20
D
3
4
3
2
1
1
14
E
–
–
1
–
–
–
1
I
1
1
1
1
–
–
4
N
3
2
1
1
–
–
7
Σ
14
16
16
12
1
2
61
Two-letter pairs
The first two letters of every answer, and how many words start with each pair.
A
ac 9ad 4ai 2
C
ca 17ci 1cy 2
D
da 4de 9dy 1
E
en 1
I
id 1in 3
N
na 6ni 1
All 61 answers
307 points total · tap a word for its definition · pangram gets a ★acacia6
acai1
accede6
acceded7
aced1
acid1
acidic6
acidy5
acne1
added5
addend6
addenda7
adenine7
aide1
aided5
caddie6
caddied7
caddy5
cadence7
cancan6
candid6
candidacy9
candied7
candy5
cane1
caned5
canid5
canine6
canna5
canned6
canny5
cayenne7
cicada6
cyan1
★cyanidepangram14
daddy5
dance5
danced6
dandy5
dead1
deaden6
deadened8
deadeye7
dean1
decade6
decadence9
decay5
decayed7
dyad1
ennead6
idea1
inane5
indica6
indicia7
naan1
nada1
naiad5
nana1
nannied7
nanny5
niacin6