The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

BEKLMOI

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Words
32
Points
109
Genius
76
Pangram
1

Official answers

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Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • belie

    verb — To contradict, to show (something) to be false.

    verb — To give a false representation of.

    verb — To conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).

    verb — To show, evince, demonstrate: to show (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.

    verb — To tell lies about.

    verb — (of an army) To surround; beleaguer.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • bible

    noun — An exemplar of the Bible.

    noun — A comprehensive manual that describes something. (e.g., handyman’s bible).

    noun — (at certain US universities) A compilation of problems and solutions from previous years of a given course, used by some students to cheat on tests or assignments.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • bike

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • bile

    noun — A bitter brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow secretion produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion.

    noun — Bitterness of temper; ill humour; irascibility.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • bilk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • bill

    noun — A piece of paper money; a banknote.

    noun — A written note of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; an invoice.

    verb — To charge; to send a bill to.

    noun — A draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.

    noun — The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal.

    noun — Of a cap or hat: the brim or peak, serving as a shade to keep sun off the face and out of the eyes.

    Appeared in 22 recorded puzzles.

  • biome

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • boil

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • bookie

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • bookmobile

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • imbibe

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • immobile

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • kibble

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • kill

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • kilo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • libel

    noun — A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.

    verb — To defame someone, especially in a manner that meets the legal definition of libel.

    noun — The act or crime of displaying such a statement publicly.

    noun — A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of their cause of action, and of the relief they seek.

    noun — Any defamatory writing; a lampoon; a satire.

    noun — A brief writing of any kind, especially a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • libelee

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • like

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • limb

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • limbo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • lime

    noun — Any of several green citrus fruit, somewhat smaller and sharper-tasting than a lemon.

    adjective — Lime-green.

    adjective — Containing lime or lime juice.

    adjective — Having the aroma or flavor of lime.

    noun — A brilliant, sometimes yellowish, green colour associated with the fruits of a lime tree.

    noun — Any of the trees that bear limes, especially Key lime, Citrus aurantiifolia.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • limo

    noun — An automobile body with seats and permanent top like a coupe, and with the top projecting over the driver and a projecting front.

    noun — An automobile with such a body.

    noun — A luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur.

    noun — An automobile for transportation to or from an airport, including sedans, vans, and buses.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • mike

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • mile

    noun — The international mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 1.609344 kilometers established by treaty among Anglophone nations in 1959, divided into 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards.

    noun — One mile per hour, as a measure of speed.

    noun — (travel) An airline mile in a frequent flier program.

    noun — Any of several customary units of length derived from the 1593 English statute mile of 8 furlongs, equivalent to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards of various precise values.

    noun — Any similarly large distance.

    noun — A race of 1 mile's length; a race of around 1 mile's length (usually 1500 or 1600 meters)

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • milk

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • mill

    noun — A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc.

    verb — (followed by around, about, etc.) To move about in an aimless fashion.

    noun — A manufacturing plant for paper, steel, textiles, etc.

    noun — An establishment that handles a certain type of situation or procedure routinely, or produces large quantities of an item without much regard to quality, such as a divorce mill, a puppy mill, etc.

    noun — An institution awarding educational certificates not officially recognised

    noun — The building housing such a grinding apparatus.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • mime

    noun — A form of acting without words; pantomime.

    noun — A pantomime actor.

    verb — To act without words.

    verb — To represent an action or object through gesture, without the use of sound.

    verb — To mimic.

    noun — A person who mimics others in a comical manner.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • mimeo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • mobile

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • moil

    noun — Hard work.

    verb — To toil, to work hard.

    noun — The glass circling the tip of a blowpipe or punty, such as the residual glass after detaching a blown vessel, or the lower part of a gather.

    noun — Confusion, turmoil.

    noun — A spot; a defilement.

    verb — To churn continually; to swirl.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • olio

    noun — A medley or mixture; a hotchpotch.

    noun — A collection of various musical, theatrical or other artistic works; a miscellany.

    noun — A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.

    noun — (by extension) Vaudeville or similar miscellaneous musical or theatrical entertainment skits presented between the main acts of burlesque or minstrel shows.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • ollie

    noun — An aerial maneuver in which one catches air by leaping off the ground with the skateboard and into the air.

    verb — To perform an ollie.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • be×1
  • bi×6
  • bo×3
  • im×2
  • ki×3
  • li×7
  • mi×6
  • mo×2
  • ol×2

Words by first letter and length

4567810Σ
b 531··1 10
i ··1·1· 2
k 2·1··· 3
l 42·1·· 7
m 611··· 8
o 11···· 2
Σ 1874111 32

The numbers

Genius today takes 76 points of 109 available. The average answer runs 4.9 letters.

Total points vs. all 380 recorded puzzles
8th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
20th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17231 recorded answers

418 today34.6% all-time57 today22.8% all-time64 today19.9% all-time71 today12.1% all-time81 today6.3% all-time92.6% all-time101 today1.2% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
b Wednesday, May 13, 2026 Tuesday, April 21, 2026
e Monday, May 11, 2026 Saturday, March 21, 2026
i ● Wednesday, May 13, 2026 Thursday, March 26, 2026
k Friday, May 1, 2026 Friday, April 3, 2026
l Wednesday, May 13, 2026 Wednesday, May 13, 2026
m Tuesday, May 12, 2026 Sunday, April 19, 2026
o Tuesday, May 12, 2026 Saturday, April 25, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 41
  2. naan 30
  3. nana 30
  4. onion 28
  5. toot 28
  6. loll 27
  7. mama 25
  8. mamma 25
  9. cocoon 23
  10. nene 23
  11. acacia 22
  12. acai 22
  13. bill 22
  14. loon 22
  15. aria 21
  16. onto 21
  17. toon 21
  18. cancan 21
  19. canna 21
  20. neon 21
  21. none 21
  22. olio 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.