The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

CINOTUL

Friday, November 6, 2026

Edited by Sam Ezersky

Words
47
Points
178
Genius
124
Pangrams
2

Official answers

Show the 47 answersHide answers

Pangrams highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • clinic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 18 recorded puzzles.

  • clot

    noun — A thrombus, solidified mass of blood.

    verb — To form a clot or mass.

    noun — A solidified mass of any liquid.

    noun — A silly person.

    verb — To cause to clot or form into a mass.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • clout

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • coil

    noun — Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.

    verb — To wind or reel e.g. a wire or rope into regular rings, often around a centerpiece.

    noun — A noise, tumult, bustle, or turmoil.

    noun — Any intrauterine device (Abbreviation: IUD)—the first IUDs were coil-shaped.

    noun — A coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow.

    noun — Entanglement; perplexity.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • colic

    noun — Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).

    adjective — Relating to the colon; colonic.

    noun — A medicinal plant used to relieve such symptoms.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • colon

    noun — The punctuation mark ":".

    noun — Part of the large intestine; the final segment of the digestive system, after (distal to) the ileum and before (proximal to) the anus.

    noun — A husbandman.

    noun — The triangular colon (especially in context of not being able to type the actual triangular colon).

    noun — A rhetorical figure consisting of a clause which is grammatically, but not logically, complete.

    noun — A clause or group of clauses written as a line, or taken as a standard of measure in ancient manuscripts or texts.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • colonic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • colt

    noun — A young male horse.

    verb — To horse; to get with young.

    noun — A young crane (bird).

    noun — A youthful or inexperienced person; a novice.

    noun — A short piece of rope once used by petty officers as an instrument of punishment.

    noun — A young camel or donkey.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • cool

    noun — A moderate or refreshing state of cold; moderate temperature of the air between hot and cold; coolness.

    adjective — Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold.

    verb — To lose heat, to get colder.

    noun — A calm temperament.

    noun — The property of being cool, popular or in fashion.

    adjective — Allowing or suggesting heat relief.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • cotillion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • council

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cull

    noun — A selection.

    verb — To pick or take someone or something (from a larger group).

    noun — A fool, gullible person; a dupe.

    noun — An organised killing of selected animals.

    noun — (farming) An individual animal selected to be killed, or item of produce to be discarded.

    noun — (seafood industry) A lobster having only one claw.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • cult

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • cultic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 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 14 recorded puzzles.

  • licit

    adjective — Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.

    adjective — Explicitly established or constituted by law.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • lilt

    noun — A cheerful or melodious accent when speaking.

    noun — Animated, brisk motion; spirited rhythm; sprightliness.

    noun — A lively song or dance; a cheerful tune.

    verb — To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.

    verb — To utter with spirit, animation, or gaiety; to sing with spirit and liveliness.

    verb — To sing cheerfully, especially in Gaelic.

    Appeared in 28 recorded puzzles.

  • linocut

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • lint

    noun — Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc.

    verb — To perform a static check on (source code) to detect stylistic or programmatic errors.

    noun — A fine material made by scraping cotton or linen cloth; used for dressing wounds.

    noun — The fibrous coat of thick hairs covering the seeds of the cotton plant.

    noun — Raw cotton ready for baling.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • lion

    noun — A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.

    adjective — Of the light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion.

    noun — (by extension) Any of various extant and extinct big cats, especially the mountain lion.

    noun — A Chinese foo dog.

    noun — An individual who shows strength and courage, attributes associated with the lion.

    noun — A famous person regarded with interest and curiosity.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • loci

    noun — A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime.

    noun — The set of all points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation or condition.

    noun — A fixed position on a chromosome that may be occupied by one or more genes.

    noun — (chiefly in the plural) A passage in writing, especially in a collection of ancient sacred writings arranged according to a theme.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • loco

    adverb — A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower.

    noun — A certain species of Astragalus or Oxytropis, capable of causing locoism.

    verb — To poison with the loco plant; to affect with locoism.

    adjective — Crazy.

    noun — A locomotive.

    verb — (by extension) To render insane.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • locution

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • loin

    noun — The part of the body (of humans and quadrupeds) at each side of the backbone, between the ribs and hips

    noun — Any of several cuts of meat taken from this part of an animal

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • loll

    verb — To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.

    verb — To hang extended from the mouth, like the tongue of an animal heated from exertion.

    verb — To let (the tongue) hang from the mouth in this way.

    Appeared in 32 recorded puzzles.

  • loon

    noun — An idler, a lout.

    noun — Any of various birds, of the order Gaviiformes, of North America and Europe that dive for fish and have a short tail, webbed feet and a yodeling cry.

    noun — A boy, a lad.

    noun — A harlot; mistress.

    noun — A simpleton.

    noun — A crazy or deranged person.

    Appeared in 25 recorded puzzles.

  • loot

    noun — A kind of scoop or ladle, chiefly used to remove the scum from brine-pans in saltworks.

    noun — The act of plundering.

    verb — To steal, especially as part of war, riot or other group violence.

    noun — Plunder, booty, especially from a ransacked city.

    noun — Any prize or profit received for free, especially Christmas presents

    noun — Items dropped by defeated enemies.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • lotion

    noun — A low- to medium-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to unbroken skin.

    verb — To cover or treat with a lotion.

    noun — A washing, especially of the skin for the purpose of beautification.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • lotto

    noun — A game of chance similar to bingo

    noun — A lottery

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • lout

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • lull

    noun — A period of rest or soothing.

    verb — To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm

    noun — A period of reduced activity; a respite

    noun — A period without waves or wind.

    noun — An extended pause between sets of waves.

    verb — To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.

    Appeared in 22 recorded puzzles.

  • lulu

    noun — A remarkable person, object or idea.

    noun — A very attractive or alluring person.

    noun — A very bad mistake or error.

    noun — A fixed allowance paid to a legislator in lieu of reimbursement for actual expenses.

    Appeared in 22 recorded puzzles.

  • nonillion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • null

    noun — A non-existent or empty value or set of values.

    verb — To nullify; to annul.

    adjective — Having no validity; "null and void"

    noun — Zero quantity of expressions; nothing.

    noun — Something that has no force or meaning.

    noun — The ASCII or Unicode character (␀), represented by a zero value, that indicates no character and is sometimes used as a string terminator.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • occult

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • octillion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • oculi

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    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 27 recorded puzzles.

  • till

    preposition — Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).

    conjunction — Until, until the time that.

    noun — A cash register.

    noun — A removable box within a cash register containing the money.

    noun — The contents of a cash register, for example at the beginning or end of the day or of a cashier's shift.

    verb — To work or cultivate or plough (soil); to prepare for growing vegetation and crops.

    Appeared in 28 recorded puzzles.

  • tilt

    verb — To slope or incline (something); to slant.

    verb — To be at an angle.

    noun — A slope or inclination.

    noun — The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc.

    verb — To play worse than usual (often as a result of previous bad luck or losses).

    noun — The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this.

    Appeared in 28 recorded puzzles.

  • toil

    noun — Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.

    verb — To labour; work.

    noun — Trouble, strife.

    noun — (usually in plural) A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey.

    verb — To struggle.

    verb — To work (something); often with out.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • toll

    noun — Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.

    verb — To impose a fee for the use of.

    noun — The act or sound of tolling

    verb — To ring (a bell) slowly and repeatedly.

    verb — To draw; pull; tug; drag.

    verb — To take away; to vacate; to annul.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • tool

    noun — A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.

    verb — To work on or shape with tools, e.g., hand-tooled leather.

    noun — Equipment used in a profession, e.g., tools of the trade.

    noun — Something to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.

    noun — A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.

    noun — A person or group which is used or controlled, usually unwittingly, by another person or group.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • uncoil

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • uncool

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • unlit

    adjective — Not lit

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • until

    preposition — Up to the time of (something happening).

    conjunction — Up to the time that (a condition becomes true).

    preposition — Up to (a certain place)

    preposition — Before (a time).

    conjunction — Before (a condition becoming true).

    preposition — To; physically towards.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

linocut is a perfect pangram — all seven letters, each used exactly once.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • cl×3
  • co×8
  • cu×3
  • il×1
  • li×5
  • lo×10
  • lu×2
  • no×1
  • nu×1
  • oc×3
  • ol×1
  • ti×2
  • to×3
  • un×4

Words by first letter and length

456789Σ
c 6322·1 14
i ···1·· 1
l 122111· 17
n 1····1 2
o 111··1 4
t 5····· 5
u ·22··· 4
Σ 2586413 47

The numbers

Genius today takes 124 points of 178 available. The average answer runs 5.1 letters.

Total points vs. all 496 recorded puzzles
37th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
51st percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 22549 recorded answers

425 today34.3% all-time58 today22.9% all-time66 today20.2% all-time74 today12.2% all-time81 today6.2% all-time93 today2.6% 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
c Tuesday, November 3, 2026 Tuesday, November 3, 2026
i Thursday, November 5, 2026 Wednesday, October 28, 2026
l ● Tuesday, November 3, 2026 Monday, October 26, 2026
n Thursday, November 5, 2026 Thursday, October 15, 2026
o Thursday, November 5, 2026 Wednesday, November 4, 2026
t Thursday, November 5, 2026 Friday, October 2, 2026
u Saturday, October 31, 2026 Thursday, September 10, 2026

Other days with these pangrams

Same seven letters

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 47
  2. naan 42
  3. nana 42
  4. onion 34
  5. toot 34
  6. loll 32
  7. acacia 31
  8. acai 31
  9. mama 31
  10. mamma 31
  11. mini 29
  12. minim 29
  13. nene 29
  14. lilt 28
  15. till 28
  16. tilt 28
  17. imam 28
  18. maim 28
  19. cancan 28
  20. canna 28
  21. olio 27
  22. cocoon 26
  23. onto 26
  24. toon 26
  25. natant 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.