Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Edited by Sam Ezersky
- Words
- 49
- Points
- 273
- Genius
- 191
- Pangrams
- 3
Official answers
Show the 49 answersHide answers
Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.
-
acacia
noun — A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
noun — (history) A roll or bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.
noun — The thickened or dried juice of several species in Acacieae, in particular Vachellia nilotica (syn. Acacia nilotica), the Egyptian acacia.
noun — A false acacia; robinia tree, Robinia pseudoacacia.
noun — Gum arabic; gum acacia.
noun — Any of several related trees, such as the locust tree.
Appeared in 31 recorded puzzles.
-
acai
noun — The fruit of these trees, harvested for its juice.
noun — Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
Appeared in 31 recorded puzzles.
-
attack
noun — An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent or enemy.
verb — To apply violent force to someone or something.
noun — An attempt to detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.
noun — A time in which one attacks; the offence of a battle.
noun — (by extension) The beginning of active operations on anything.
noun — An attempt to exploit a vulnerability in a computer system.
Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.
-
attic
noun — The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.
Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.
-
backlit
No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.
-
cacti
noun — Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.
noun — Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.
Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.
-
call
noun — A telephone conversation.
verb — (heading) To use one's voice.
noun — A decision or judgement.
noun — The characteristic cry of a bird or other animal.
noun — A cry or shout.
noun — A short visit, usually for social purposes.
Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.
-
calla
noun — The calla lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica.
noun — A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.
Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.
-
catcall
noun — A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.
verb — To make such an exclamation.
noun — In the Eiffel programming language, a run-time error caused by use of the wrong data type.
noun — A shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature, usually made toward a passing woman.
noun — A whistle blown by a theatre-goer to express disapproval.
Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.
-
cattail
noun — Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, that have long flat leaves, and grow in marshy places
Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.
-
cilia
noun — Hairs or similar protrusions along the margin of a plant organ.
noun — A hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a unicellular organism or one cell of a multicelled organism). These structures serve either for locomotion by moving or as sensors.
noun — One of the fine hairs along an insect's wing.
Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.
-
clickbait
No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.
-
iliac
adjective — Of or pertaining to the ilium.
Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.
-
illicit
noun — A banned or unlawful item.
adjective — Not approved by law, but not invalid.
adjective — Breaking social norms.
adjective — Unlawful.
Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.
-
italic
noun — A typeface in which the letters slant to the right.
adjective — (of a typeface or font) Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.
noun — An oblique handwriting style, such as used by Italian calligraphers of the Renaissance.
adjective — (of a typeface or font) Having letters that slant or lean to the right; oblique.
Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.
-
kick
noun — A hit or strike with the leg, foot or knee.
verb — To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.
noun — One who kicks.
noun — A particular type of Texan who is associated with country/western attire, attitudes and/or philosophy.
noun — An introduction; something that leads into the beginning of something.
verb — To die.
Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.
-
lactic
adjective — Of, relating to, or derived from milk
adjective — (of fermentation) That produces lactic acid
Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.
-
laic
noun — A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.
adjective — Lay, relating to laypersons, as opposed to clerical.
Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.
-
licit
adjective — Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
adjective — Explicitly established or constituted by law.
Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.
-
lilac
noun — A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink or purple flowers.
adjective — Having a pale purple colour.
noun — A flower of the lilac shrub.
noun — (color) A pale purple color, the color of some lilac flowers.
Appeared in 15 recorded puzzles.
-
tacit
adjective — Expressed in silence; implied, but not made explicit; silent.
adjective — Not derived from formal principles of reasoning; based on induction rather than deduction.
Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.
-
tack
noun — A small nail with a flat head.
verb — To nail with a tack (small nail with a flat head).
noun — A stain; a tache.
noun — That which is tacky; something cheap and gaudy.
noun — A thumbtack.
noun — A loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth.
Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.
-
tact
noun — The sense of touch; feeling.
verb — To use a tact (a kind of verbal operant; see noun sense).
noun — A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
noun — The stroke in beating time.
noun — Sensitive mental touch; special skill or faculty; keen perception or discernment; ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances; the ability to say the right thing.
noun — A verbal operant which is controlled by a nonverbal stimulus (such as an object, event, or property of an object) and is maintained by nonspecific social reinforcement (praise).
Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.
-
tactic
noun — A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
adjective — Tactical; of or relating to the art of military and naval tactics.
noun — A maneuver used against an enemy.
noun — A sequence of moves that limits the opponent's options and results in an immediate and tangible advantage, typically in the form of material.
adjective — Describing a polymer whose repeat units are identical.
Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.
-
tactical
noun — A combinator of proof tactics.
adjective — Of, or relating to tactics
noun — A private war reenactment event involving mock battles or skirmishes.
adjective — Of, or relating to military operations that are smaller or more local than strategic ones
adjective — Adroit, skilful or ingenious
adjective — Having a military appearance, typically with accessories such as a bipod, adjustable stock, detachable magazine or black coloration
Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.
-
tailback
No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.
-
talc
noun — Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic.
verb — To apply talc to.
noun — A microscope slide made of a plate of mica, generally in use from the start of modern microscopy until the early nineteenth century, after which glass slides became the standard medium.
noun — A soft mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate, that has a soapy feel and a greenish, whitish, or grayish color, and usually occurs in foliated masses.
noun — Talcum powder.
Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.
backlit is a perfect pangram — all seven letters, each used exactly once.
Hints, no spoilers
Words by first two letters
- ab×2
- ac×2
- al×1
- at×2
- ba×5
- bi×1
- bl×2
- ca×8
- ci×2
- cl×3
- il×2
- it×1
- ki×3
- la×4
- li×3
- ta×7
- ti×1
Words by first letter and length
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | 1 | 4 | 2 | · | · | · | 7 |
| b | 1 | 1 | · | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| c | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| i | · | 1 | 1 | 1 | · | · | 3 |
| k | 1 | · | · | · | 2 | · | 3 |
| l | 3 | 2 | 2 | · | · | · | 7 |
| t | 4 | 1 | 1 | · | 2 | · | 8 |
| Σ | 11 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 49 |
The numbers
Genius today takes 191 points of 273 available. The average answer runs 5.8 letters.
Word lengths, today vs. 22383 recorded answers
History
Today's letters, last seen
| Letter | Last in a puzzle | Last as center |
|---|---|---|
| a | Monday, November 2, 2026 | Saturday, October 31, 2026 |
| b | Wednesday, October 28, 2026 | Sunday, October 11, 2026 |
| c ● | Monday, November 2, 2026 | Friday, October 30, 2026 |
| i | Sunday, November 1, 2026 | Wednesday, October 28, 2026 |
| k | Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | Friday, September 11, 2026 |
| l | Friday, October 30, 2026 | Monday, October 26, 2026 |
| t | Monday, November 2, 2026 | Friday, October 2, 2026 |
Most common answers, all recorded puzzles
- noon 47
- naan 42
- nana 42
- onion 34
- toot 34
- acacia 31
- acai 31
- loll 31
- mama 31
- mamma 31
- mini 29
- minim 29
- nene 29
- cancan 28
- canna 28
- lilt 27
- till 27
- tilt 27
- imam 27
- maim 27
- cocoon 26
- onto 26
- toon 26
- natant 26
- manna 26
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.
- abaca
- acta
- albitic
- alcaic
- alkalic
- atactic
- bacca
- blacktail
- cabbala
- caca
- calcic
- calcitic
- calk
- catalatic
- cicala
- clitic
- ictic
- illitic
- katabatic
- killick
- tical
- ticktack
- tictac