The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ALNOTUB

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Edited by Sam Ezersky

Words
51
Points
187
Genius
130
Pangram
1

Official answers

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Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • abbot

    noun — The superior or head of an abbey or monastery.

    noun — The pastor and/or administrator of an order, including minor and major orders starting with the minor order of porter.

    noun — A layman who received the abbey's revenues, after the closing of the monasteries.

    noun — (British slang) A brothel-owner's husband or lover.

    noun — (British slang) A ponce; a man employed by a prostitute to find clients, and who may also act as a bodyguard or equivalent to a bouncer.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • about

    adjective — Moving around; astir.

    adverb — On all sides; around.

    preposition — In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.

    adjective — In existence; being in evidence; apparent.

    adjective — Near; in the vicinity or neighbourhood.

    adverb — Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • abut

    verb — To touch by means of a mutual border, edge or end; to border on; to lie adjacent (to); to be contiguous (said of an area of land)

    verb — To lean against on one end; to end on, of a part of a building or wall.

    verb — To border upon; be next to; abut on; be adjacent to.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • baba

    noun — A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.

    noun — (esp. among people of East European ancestry) A grandmother.

    noun — An old woman, especially a traditional old woman from an eastern European culture.

    noun — (esp. among people of Indian ancestry) A father.

    noun — (Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism) A holy man, a spiritual leader.

    noun — A baby, child.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • baboon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • ball

    noun — A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.

    noun — A round or ellipsoidal object.

    verb — To play basketball.

    noun — A very enjoyable time.

    verb — To form or wind into a ball.

    noun — A formal dance.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • balloon

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • ballot

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • banal

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • banana

    noun — An elongated curved tropical fruit that grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.

    adjective — Curved like a banana, especially of a ball in flight.

    noun — The tropical tree-like plant which bears clusters of bananas. The plant, usually of the genus Musa but sometimes also including plants from Ensete, has large, elongated leaves and is related to the plantain.

    noun — A yellow colour, like that of a banana's skin.

    noun — (mildly) A person of Asian descent, especially a Chinese American, who has assimilated into Western culture or married a Caucasian (from the "yellow" outside and "white" inside). Compare coconut or Oreo.

    noun — A banana equivalent dose.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • baobab

    noun — A tree, Adansonia digitata (and similar species), native to tropical Africa, having a broad swollen trunk and edible gourd-like hanging fruits.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • baton

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • blab

    verb — To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.

    noun — Gossip; prattle.

    noun — One who blabs; a babbler; a telltale; a gossip or gossiper.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • blat

    verb — To make a senseless noise.

    verb — To cry, as a calf or sheep; to bleat.

    verb — To produce an overrich or overblown sound on a brass instrument such as a trumpet, trombone, or tuba.

    verb — To talk inconsiderately.

    noun — Connections; relationships; one's social or business network (in Russian or Soviet society).

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • blatant

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • bloat

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • blob

    noun — A shapeless or amorphous mass; a vague shape or amount, especially of a liquid or semisolid substance; a clump, group or collection that lacks definite shape.

    verb — To drop in the form of a blob or blobs

    noun — Acronym of binary large object. (a data type that allows storage of binary data often of indeterminate length).

    noun — In astronomy, a large cloud of gas. In particular, an extended Lyman-Alpha blob is a huge body of gas that may be the precursor to a galaxy.

    noun — A bubble; a bleb.

    noun — A small freshwater fish (Cottus bairdii); the miller's thumb.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • blot

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • blotto

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • blunt

    noun — A fencer's practice foil with a soft tip.

    adjective — Having a thick edge or point; not sharp.

    verb — To dull the edge or point of, by making it thicker; to make blunt.

    noun — A short needle with a strong point.

    noun — (smoking) A marijuana cigar.

    noun — Money

  • boat

    noun — A craft used for transportation of goods, fishing, racing, recreational cruising, or military use on or in the water, propelled by oars or outboard motor or inboard motor or by wind.

    verb — To travel by boat.

    noun — A full house.

    noun — A vehicle, utensil, or dish somewhat resembling a boat in shape.

    noun — One of two possible conformations of cyclohexane rings (the other being chair), shaped roughly like a boat.

    noun — The refugee boats arriving in Australian waters, and by extension, refugees generally.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • boba

    noun — Short for boba tea.

    noun — A small edible ball made primarily from tapioca starch; used in bubble tea.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • bola

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • boll

    noun — The rounded seed-bearing capsule of a cotton or flax plant.

    verb — To form a boll or seed vessel; to go to seed.

    noun — An old dry measure equal to six bushels.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • bolo

    noun — A long, heavy, single-edged machete.

    verb — To attack or despatch with a bolo knife.

    noun — A soldier not capable of the minimum standards of marksmanship.

    verb — To fail to meet the minimum standards of marksmanship.

    noun — A string or leather necktie secured with an ornamental slide.

    verb — To dress (somebody) in a bolo.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • bolt

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • bonbon

    noun — A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy.

    noun — A small, spherical savory snack or canapé.

    noun — A Christmas cracker.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • bonobo

    noun — The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • boob

    noun — Idiot, fool.

    verb — To behave stupidly; to act like a boob.

    adjective — Idiotic, foolish.

    noun — A breast, especially that of an adult or adolescent human female.

    noun — A prison; jail.

    verb — To make a mistake

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • booboo

    noun — A mistake or error.

    noun — (by or to young children) A minor injury, such as a cut or a bruise.

    noun — (by or to young children) Feces.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • boon

    noun — A prayer; petition.

    adjective — Good; prosperous.

    noun — The woody portion of flax, separated from the fiber as refuse matter by retting, braking, and scutching.

    noun — That which is asked or granted as a benefit or favor; a gift or benefaction.

    noun — A good thing; a blessing or benefit; a thing to be thankful for.

    noun — An unpaid service due by a tenant to his lord.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • boot

    noun — A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg.

    verb — To kick.

    noun — Remedy, amends.

    verb — To avail, benefit, profit.

    noun — The act or process of bootstrapping; the starting or re-starting of a computing device.

    verb — To bootstrap; to start a system, e.g. a computer, by invoking its boot process or bootstrap.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • bout

    noun — A period of something, usually painful or unpleasant.

    verb — To contest a bout.

    preposition — In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.

    noun — A boxing match.

    noun — An assault (a fencing encounter) at which the score is kept.

    noun — A roller derby match.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • bubba

    noun — Brother; used as term of familiar address.

    noun — A working-class white male from the southern US, stereotyped as loutish.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • bulb

    noun — Any solid object rounded at one end and tapering on the other, possibly attached to a larger object at the tapered end.

    verb — To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.

    noun — A light bulb.

    noun — The bulb-shaped root portion of a plant such as a tulip, from which the rest of the plant may be regrown.

    noun — A bulbous protuberance at the forefoot of certain vessels to reduce turbulence.

    noun — The medulla oblongata.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • bull

    noun — An adult male of domesticated cattle or oxen.

    adjective — Large and strong, like a bull.

    noun — The centre of a target, inside the inner and magpie.

    noun — The faeces of a bull.

    verb — To force oneself (in a particular direction).

    noun — A papal bull, an official document or edict from the Pope.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • bunt

    noun — The middle part, cavity, or belly of a sail; the part of a furled sail which is at the center of the yard.

    verb — To push with the horns; to butt.

    noun — A push or shove; a butt.

    noun — A ball that has been intentionally hit softly so as to be difficult to field, sometimes with a hands-spread batting stance or with a close-hand, choked-up hand position. No swinging action is involved.

    noun — The act of bunting.

    noun — The second half of an outside loop, from level flight to inverted flight.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • butanol

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • butt

    noun — The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end

    verb — To join at the butt, end, or outward extremity; to terminate; to be bounded; to abut.

    noun — A push, thrust, or sudden blow, given by the head; a head butt.

    verb — To strike bluntly, particularly with the head.

    noun — (English units) An English measure of capacity for liquids, containing 126 wine gallons which is one-half tun; equivalent to the pipe.

    noun — Any of various flatfish such as sole, plaice or turbot

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • button

    noun — One who adjusts, especially for the insurance industry's employment title "loss adjuster" (or "claims adjuster" in the United States).

    noun — A knob or disc that is passed through a loop or (buttonhole), serving as a fastener.

    noun — In a violin-family instrument, the carved wooden plug which sits in the bottom block of the instrument.

    verb — To fasten with a button.

    noun — A mechanical device meant to be pressed with a finger in order to open or close an electric circuit or to activate a mechanism.

    noun — An on-screen control that can be selected as an activator of an attached function.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • lobo

    noun — A wolf.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • nabob

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • nanobot

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • noob

    noun — (often pejorative) A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • tabla

    noun — A pair of tuned hand drums, used in various musical genres of the Indian subcontinent, that are similar to bongos.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • taboo

    noun — An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion.

    verb — To mark as taboo.

    adjective — Excluded or forbidden from use, approach or mention.

    noun — (in Polynesia) Something which may not be used, approached or mentioned because it is sacred.

    verb — To ban.

    verb — To avoid.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • tuba

    noun — A large brass musical instrument, usually in the bass range, played through a vibration of the lips upon the mouthpiece and fingering of the keys.

    noun — A Malayan plant whose roots are a significant source of rotenone, Derris malaccensis.

    noun — A reddish palm wine made from coconut or nipa sap.

    noun — A tube or tubular organ.

    noun — A type of Roman military trumpet, distinct from the modern tuba.

    noun — A large reed stop in organs.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • tubal

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • unban

    verb — To lift a ban against.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • unbolt

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • unbutton

    verb — To open (something) by undoing its buttons.

    verb — To come open by having its buttons unfastened.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

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

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ab×3
  • ba×9
  • bl×8
  • bo×13
  • bu×7
  • lo×1
  • na×2
  • no×1
  • ta×2
  • tu×2
  • un×3

Words by first letter and length

45678Σ
a 12··· 3
b 20593· 37
l 1···· 1
n 11·1· 3
t 13··· 4
u ·11·1 3
Σ 24121041 51

The numbers

Genius today takes 130 points of 187 available. The average answer runs 4.9 letters.

Total points vs. all 469 recorded puzzles
41st percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
63rd percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 21231 recorded answers

424 today34.3% all-time512 today22.8% all-time610 today20.2% all-time74 today12.1% 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
a Saturday, October 10, 2026 Wednesday, October 7, 2026
b ● Wednesday, October 7, 2026 Saturday, September 19, 2026
l Friday, October 9, 2026 Monday, August 31, 2026
n Friday, October 9, 2026 Thursday, October 8, 2026
o Saturday, October 10, 2026 Saturday, September 26, 2026
t Saturday, October 10, 2026 Friday, October 2, 2026
u Monday, September 28, 2026 Thursday, September 10, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 47
  2. naan 39
  3. nana 39
  4. onion 33
  5. toot 33
  6. acacia 30
  7. acai 30
  8. loll 30
  9. mama 29
  10. mamma 29
  11. nene 29
  12. mini 27
  13. minim 27
  14. imam 26
  15. maim 26
  16. onto 26
  17. toon 26
  18. cancan 26
  19. canna 26
  20. cocoon 25
  21. lilt 25
  22. till 25
  23. tilt 25
  24. mitt 25
  25. natant 25

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.