The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

BCKMORA

Monday, February 16, 2026

Words
57
Points
221
Genius
154
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 57 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • aback

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • ammo

    noun — Ammunition.

    verb — To load up on ammunition.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • amok

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • arbor

    noun — A shady sitting place or pergola usually in a park or garden, surrounded by climbing shrubs, vines or other vegetation.

    noun — An axis or shaft supporting a rotating part on a lathe.

    noun — A grove of trees.

    noun — A bar for supporting cutting tools.

    noun — A spindle of a wheel.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • arco

    adverb — A note in string instrument musical notation indicating that the bow is to be used in the usual way, usually following a passage that is played pizzicato.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • armor

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • aroma

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • baba

    noun — A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.

    noun — (esp. among people of East European ancestry) A grandmother.

    noun — An old woman, especially a traditional old woman from an eastern European culture.

    noun — (esp. among people of Indian ancestry) A father.

    noun — (Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism) A holy man, a spiritual leader.

    noun — A baby, child.

    Appeared in 19 recorded puzzles.

  • babka

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • back

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • backcomb

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • backroom

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • bamboo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • baobab

    noun — A tree, Adansonia digitata (and similar species), native to tropical Africa, having a broad swollen trunk and edible gourd-like hanging fruits.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • barb

    noun — The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.

    verb — To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc.

    noun — The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors.

    noun — A barbiturate.

    noun — A hurtful or disparaging remark.

    noun — A beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • barback

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • barbacoa

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • bark

    noun — The short, loud, explosive sound uttered by a dog, a fox, and some other animals.

    verb — To make a short, loud, explosive noise with the vocal organs (said of animals, especially dogs).

    noun — The exterior covering of the trunk and branches of a tree.

    verb — To strip the bark from; to peel.

    noun — A small sailing vessel, e.g. a pinnace or a fishing smack; a rowing boat or barge.

    noun — An abrupt loud vocal utterance.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • barrack

    noun — (chiefly in the plural) A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings.

    verb — To house military personnel; to quarter.

    verb — To jeer and heckle; to attempt to disconcert by verbal means.

    noun — (chiefly in the plural) primitive structure resembling a long shed or barn for (usually temporary) housing or other purposes

    noun — (chiefly in the plural) any very plain, monotonous, or ugly large building

    noun — A movable roof sliding on four posts, to cover hay, straw, etc.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • barroom

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • boar

    noun — A wild boar (Sus scrofa), the wild ancestor of the domesticated pig.

    noun — A male pig.

    noun — A male boar (sense 1).

    noun — A male bear.

    noun — A male guinea pig.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • boba

    noun — Short for boba tea.

    noun — A small edible ball made primarily from tapioca starch; used in bubble tea.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • bookmark

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • bookrack

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cacao

    noun — A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate.

    noun — This tree's seed, the cocoa bean.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • camo

    noun — A pattern on clothing consisting of irregularly shaped patches that are either greenish/brownish, brownish/whitish, or bluish/whitish, as used by ground combat forces.

    verb — To camouflage.

    noun — Clothes made from camouflage fabric, for concealment in combat or hunting.

    verb — To put on camouflage clothing.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • carb

    noun — Clipping of carburettor / carburetor.

    noun — (nutrition) A sugar, starch, or cellulose that is a food source of energy for an animal or plant.

    noun — (by extension, metonym) Any food rich in starch or other carbohydrates.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • carob

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • carom

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cobra

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • coca

    noun — Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.

    noun — A pastry typically made and consumed in the Spanish Mediterranean coast.

    noun — The dried leaf of one of these plants, the South American shrub (Erythroxylum coca), widely cultivated in Andean countries, which is the source of cocaine.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • cocoa

    noun — The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made.

    adjective — Of a light to medium brown colour, like that of cocoa powder.

    noun — Coconut palm.

    noun — An unsweetened brown powder made from roasted, ground cocoa beans, used in making chocolate, and in cooking.

    noun — A hot drink made with milk, cocoa powder, and sugar.

    noun — A serving of this drink.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • coma

    noun — A state of unconsciousness from which one may not wake up, usually induced by some form of trauma.

    noun — A cloud of dust surrounding the nucleus of a comet.

    noun — A defect characterized by diffuse, pear-shaped images that in an ideal image would appear as points.

    noun — A tuft or bunch, such as the assemblage of branches forming the head of a tree, a cluster of bracts when empty and terminating the inflorescence of a plant, or a tuft of long hairs on certain seeds.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • comma

    noun — The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set off parts of a sentence or between elements of a list.

    verb — To place a comma or commas within text; to follow, precede, or surround a portion of text with commas.

    noun — A similar-looking subscript diacritical mark.

    noun — Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Polygonia, having a comma-shaped white mark on the underwings, especially Polygonia c-album and Polygonia c-aureum of North Africa, Europe, and Asia.

    noun — A difference in the calculation of nearly identical intervals by different ways.

    noun — A delimiting marker between items in a genetic sequence.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • crab

    noun — A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.

    verb — To fish for crabs.

    noun — The crab apple or wild apple.

    verb — (obsolete) To irritate, make surly or sour

    noun — The tree species Carapa guianensis, native to South America.

    noun — Short for carabiner.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • crack

    noun — A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.

    verb — To form cracks.

    adjective — Highly trained and competent.

    noun — A narrow opening.

    noun — A sharply humorous comment; a wisecrack.

    noun — Crack cocaine, a potent, relatively cheap, addictive variety of cocaine; often a rock, usually smoked through a crack-pipe.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cram

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • croak

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • kabob

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • kaboom

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • karma

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • korma

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • macro

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • mako

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • mama

    noun — (hypocoristic, usually childish) Mother, female parent.

    Appeared in 27 recorded puzzles.

  • mamba

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • mambo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • mamma

    noun — The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder. (plural: mammae)

    noun — (hypocoristic, usually childish) Mother, female parent.

    noun — An accessory cloud like a mammary in appearance, which can form on the underside of most cloud genera

    Appeared in 27 recorded puzzles.

  • maraca

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • mark

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • marm

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • momma

    noun — Mother

    noun — A voluptuous woman.

    noun — One's wife or girlfriend.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • okra

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • orca

    noun — A sea mammal (Orcinus orca) related to dolphins and porpoises, commonly called the killer whale.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • rack

    noun — A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other

    verb — To place in or hang on a rack.

    verb — To stretch a person's joints.

    noun — Thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapour in the sky.

    verb — To drive; move; go forward rapidly; stir

    verb — To clarify, and thereby deter further fermentation of, beer, wine or cider by draining or siphoning it from the dregs.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • roam

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • roar

    noun — A long, loud, deep shout, as of rage or laughter, made with the mouth wide open.

    verb — To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.

    verb — To laugh in a particularly loud manner.

    noun — A loud resounding noise.

    verb — Generally, of inanimate objects etc., to make a loud resounding noise.

    verb — Of animals (especially the lion), to make a loud deep noise.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ab×1
  • am×2
  • ar×4
  • ba×13
  • bo×4
  • ca×5
  • co×5
  • cr×4
  • ka×3
  • ko×1
  • ma×9
  • mo×1
  • ok×1
  • or×1
  • ra×1
  • ro×2

Words by first letter and length

45678Σ
a 34··· 7
b 61235 17
c 68··· 14
k ·31·· 4
m 451·· 10
o 2···· 2
r 3···· 3
Σ 2421435 57

The numbers

Genius today takes 154 points of 221 available. The average answer runs 5.0 letters.

Total points vs. all 412 recorded puzzles
56th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
77th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 18634 recorded answers

424 today34.5% all-time521 today23.0% all-time64 today20.0% all-time73 today12.0% all-time85 today6.2% all-time92.6% all-time101.3% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a ● Sunday, February 15, 2026 Sunday, February 15, 2026
b Saturday, February 14, 2026 Sunday, February 1, 2026
c Monday, February 9, 2026 Sunday, January 18, 2026
k Monday, February 9, 2026 Friday, January 23, 2026
m Saturday, February 14, 2026 Saturday, February 14, 2026
o Friday, February 13, 2026 Thursday, February 5, 2026
r Sunday, February 15, 2026 Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 44
  2. naan 33
  3. nana 33
  4. onion 31
  5. toot 29
  6. loll 29
  7. mama 27
  8. mamma 27
  9. nene 25
  10. cocoon 24
  11. acacia 24
  12. acai 24
  13. loon 24
  14. olio 24
  15. imam 23
  16. maim 23
  17. cancan 23
  18. canna 23
  19. mini 23
  20. minim 23
  21. neon 23
  22. none 23
  23. aria 22
  24. mitt 22
  25. bill 22

Valid words the Bee rejected

Dictionary words the Bee never takes

Legitimate words (per the ENABLE list) that fit the letters but aren't official answers — usually judged too obscure.