The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

EIOQUXN

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Edited by Sam Ezersky

Words
18
Points
78
Genius
54
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 18 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • ennui

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • equine

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • equinox

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • innie

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • nene

    noun — The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.

    Appeared in 28 recorded puzzles.

  • neon

    noun — The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The lightest of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas.

    adjective — (of a color) That resembles a neon light; extremely bright; fluorescent

    noun — A form or sample of the element.

    noun — Neon signs or lights, collectively.

    noun — A neon tetra fish.

    Appeared in 24 recorded puzzles.

  • nine

    noun — The digit or figure 9.

    numeral — A numerical value equal to 9; the number following eight and preceding ten.

    noun — A playing card with nine pips.

    noun — A nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol.

    noun — (usually in the plural) A statistical unit of proportion (of reliability, purity, etc.).

    noun — A baseball club, team, or lineup (composed of nine players).

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • none

    noun — A person without religious affiliation.

    adverb — To no extent, in no way.

    pronoun — Not any of a given number or group.

    noun — Those without any religious affiliation: atheists and others outside any organized religion.

    noun — A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day.

    noun — The middle of the afternoon, normally between 2 and 4 pm.

    Appeared in 24 recorded puzzles.

  • nonunion

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 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 47 recorded puzzles.

  • noun

    noun — (grammar, narrow sense) A word that can be used to refer to a person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.

    verb — To convert a word to a noun.

    noun — (grammar, now rare, broad sense) Either a word that can be used to refer to a person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality or idea, or a word that modifies or describes a previous word or its referent; a substantive or adjective, sometimes also including other parts of speech such as numeral or pronoun.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • onion

    noun — A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.

    noun — The bulb of such a plant.

    noun — The genus as a whole.

    noun — A ball.

    noun — A person from Bermuda or of Bermudian descent.

    Appeared in 33 recorded puzzles.

  • oxen

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • queen

    noun — A female monarch. Example: Queen Victoria.

    verb — To make a queen.

    noun — The wife or widow of a king.

    noun — The most powerful piece, able to move any number of spaces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

    noun — A playing card with the letter "Q" and the image of a queen on it, the twelfth card in a given suit.

    noun — A red disk that is the most valuable piece in the Asian game of carom.

  • quinine

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • union

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • unique

    noun — A thing without a like; something unequalled or unparallelled.

    adjective — Being the only one of its kind; unequaled, unparalleled or unmatched.

    adjective — Of a feature, such that only one holder has it.

    adjective — Particular, characteristic.

    adjective — Of a rare quality, unusual.

  • xenon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

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

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • en×1
  • eq×2
  • in×1
  • ne×2
  • ni×1
  • no×4
  • on×1
  • ox×1
  • qu×2
  • un×2
  • xe×1

Words by first letter and length

45678Σ
e ·111· 3
i ·1··· 1
n 6···1 7
o 11··· 2
q ·1·1· 2
u ·11·· 2
x ·1··· 1
Σ 76221 18

The numbers

Genius today takes 54 points of 78 available. The average answer runs 5.1 letters.

Total points vs. all 450 recorded puzzles
1st percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
0th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 20304 recorded answers

47 today34.5% all-time56 today22.8% all-time62 today20.2% all-time72 today12.0% all-time81 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
e Monday, September 21, 2026 Sunday, August 30, 2026
i Sunday, September 20, 2026 Saturday, September 12, 2026
n ● Monday, September 21, 2026 Monday, September 21, 2026
o Saturday, September 19, 2026 Monday, August 17, 2026
q Friday, September 18, 2026 first recorded time
u Friday, September 18, 2026 Thursday, September 10, 2026
x Sunday, September 13, 2026 first recorded time

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 47
  2. naan 38
  3. nana 38
  4. onion 33
  5. toot 32
  6. loll 30
  7. mama 29
  8. mamma 29
  9. nene 28
  10. acacia 27
  11. acai 27
  12. imam 26
  13. maim 26
  14. mini 26
  15. minim 26
  16. onto 25
  17. toon 25
  18. cocoon 24
  19. lilt 24
  20. till 24
  21. tilt 24
  22. aria 24
  23. mitt 24
  24. natant 24
  25. cancan 24

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.