The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ACHTUZP

Monday, May 18, 2026

Words
16
Points
60
Genius
42
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 16 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • captcha

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • catchup

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • chap

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • chuppah

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • chutzpah

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cuppa

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cutup

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • pact

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • papa

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • patch

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • path

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • phat

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • pupa

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • putt

    noun — The act of tapping a golf ball lightly on a putting green.

    verb — To lightly strike a golf ball with a putter.

    noun — A regular sound characterized by the sound of "putt putt putt putt...", such as made by some slowly stroking internal combustion engines.

    verb — To make a putting sound.

    verb — To move along slowly.

    noun — A motorcycle.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • putz

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • tapa

    noun — Any appetizer or snack served in the evening as part of tapas.

    noun — Seasoned slices of dried or cured meat in Filipino cuisine.

    noun — A kind of cloth prepared by the Polynesians from the inner bark of the paper mulberry.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ca×2
  • ch×3
  • cu×2
  • pa×4
  • ph×1
  • pu×3
  • ta×1

Words by first letter and length

4578Σ
c 1231 7
p 71·· 8
t 1··· 1
Σ 9331 16

The numbers

Genius today takes 42 points of 60 available. The average answer runs 5.0 letters.

Total points vs. all 378 recorded puzzles
0th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
0th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17142 recorded answers

49 today34.5% all-time53 today22.8% all-time620.0% all-time73 today12.1% all-time81 today6.3% all-time92.5% 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 Sunday, May 17, 2026 Saturday, May 16, 2026
c Sunday, May 17, 2026 Tuesday, May 12, 2026
h Saturday, May 16, 2026 Monday, April 6, 2026
p ● Saturday, May 16, 2026 Friday, February 27, 2026
t Sunday, May 17, 2026 Monday, May 11, 2026
u Thursday, May 7, 2026 Thursday, April 30, 2026
z Wednesday, May 13, 2026 Monday, April 27, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 41
  2. naan 30
  3. nana 30
  4. onion 28
  5. toot 27
  6. loll 27
  7. mama 24
  8. mamma 24
  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. anon 20
  24. lull 19
  25. lulu 19

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.