The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ACDORVN

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Words
39
Points
180
Genius
125
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 39 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • acorn

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • adorn

    verb — To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.

    adjective — Adorned; ornate

    noun — Adornment

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • anaconda

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • anon

    noun — An anonymous person, especially an author.

    adverb — Straight away; at once.

    adverb — Soon; in a little while.

    adverb — At another time; then; again.

    adjective — Anonymous

    noun — A work with an unknown author.

    Appeared in 20 recorded puzzles.

  • arcana

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • canard

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cancan

    noun — A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.

    verb — To dance the cancan.

    noun — (motocross) A trick where one leg is brought over the seat, so that both legs are on one side.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • candor

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • canna

    noun — Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.

    noun — A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • cannon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • canon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • caravan

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cocoon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • codon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • concord

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • condo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • condor

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • convo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cordon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cordovan

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • corn

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • corona

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • croon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • darn

    verb — Euphemism of damn.

    adjective — Damn.

    adverb — (degree) Damned.

    verb — To repair by stitching with thread or yarn, particularly by using a needle to construct a weave across a damaged area of fabric.

    noun — A place mended by darning.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • donor

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • naan

    noun — A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.

    Appeared in 30 recorded puzzles.

  • nada

    pronoun — Nothing.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • nana

    noun — (term of endearment) one's grandmother

    noun — A banana

    noun — A fool

    noun — A nanny

    Appeared in 30 recorded puzzles.

  • narc

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • narco

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • noon

    noun — The ninth hour of the day counted from sunrise; around three o'clock in the afternoon.

    verb — To relax or sleep around midday

    noun — The letter ن in the Arabic script.

    noun — Time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.

    noun — The corresponding time in the middle of the night; midnight.

    noun — The highest point; culmination.

    Appeared in 42 recorded puzzles.

  • nova

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • raccoon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • radon

    noun — The chemical element (symbol Rn, formerly Ro) with atomic number 86. It is an odorless, colorless, chemically inert but radioactive noble gas.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • rancor

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • rand

    noun — The currency of South Africa, divided into 100 cents.

    noun — A border, edge or rim.

    noun — A rocky slope, especially the area over a river valley; specifically, the Rand

    noun — A strip of meat; a long fleshy piece of beef, cut from the flank or leg; a sort of steak.

    noun — A strip of leather used to fit the heels of a shoe.

    verb — To rant; to storm.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • rando

    noun — An arbitrary person with whom one has no shared social connection.

    noun — A person going to a party without being invited.

    adjective — Random; arbitrary.

    noun — Anything selected at random.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • roan

    noun — An animal such as a horse that has a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in.

    adjective — Especially of a horse, having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in

    noun — The color of such an animal.

    noun — A kind of leather used for slippers, bookbinding, etc., made from sheepskin, tanned with sumac and colored to imitate ungrained morocco.

    noun — Sorbus aucuparia, the European rowan.

    noun — Any of various small deciduous trees or shrubs of genus Sorbus, belonging to the rose family, with pinnate leaves, corymbs of white flowers, and usually with orange-red berries.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • rondo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ac×1
  • ad×1
  • an×2
  • ar×1
  • ca×7
  • co×10
  • cr×1
  • da×1
  • do×1
  • na×5
  • no×2
  • ra×5
  • ro×2

Words by first letter and length

45678Σ
a 121·1 5
c 16821 18
d 11··· 2
n 61··· 7
r 2311· 7
Σ 11131032 39

The numbers

Genius today takes 125 points of 180 available. The average answer runs 5.3 letters.

Total points vs. all 381 recorded puzzles
39th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
35th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17278 recorded answers

411 today34.6% all-time513 today22.8% all-time610 today19.9% all-time73 today12.1% all-time82 today6.3% all-time92.6% all-time101.2% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a Monday, February 16, 2026 Monday, February 16, 2026
c Monday, February 16, 2026 Sunday, January 18, 2026
d Friday, February 13, 2026 Monday, January 26, 2026
n ● Tuesday, February 17, 2026 Thursday, February 12, 2026
o Tuesday, February 17, 2026 Thursday, February 5, 2026
r Monday, February 16, 2026 Tuesday, February 3, 2026
v Friday, February 13, 2026 Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 42
  2. naan 30
  3. nana 30
  4. onion 29
  5. toot 28
  6. loll 28
  7. mama 25
  8. mamma 25
  9. cocoon 23
  10. loon 23
  11. nene 23
  12. acacia 22
  13. acai 22
  14. bill 22
  15. neon 22
  16. none 22
  17. olio 22
  18. aria 21
  19. onto 21
  20. toon 21
  21. cancan 21
  22. canna 21
  23. lilt 20
  24. till 20
  25. tilt 20

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.