Saturday, May 30, 2026

Answers to yesterday's Bee

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The official answers for today's puzzle are:

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Number of Pangrams: 4

Maximum Puzzle Score: 350

Number of Answers: 63

Points Needed for Genius: 245

Genius requires between 26 and 56 words. You need at least a 10-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 88% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 62% of the remaining points to reach genius.

The button below will reveal a chart with the number of words by each letter. Red bars indicate that there is a pangram(s) starting with that letter.


How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

Today's score of 350 was in the 98th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on May 03, 2026.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 63 possible answers rank it in the 94th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on May 16, 2026.
The highest number of answers was 81 on June 08, 2019.
The lowest number of answers was 16 on March 27, 2023.

It takes a 10-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on May 22, 2026.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 6.2.
For all Bees, the average word length has been 5.3.



Haven't I seen these letters before?

Hover over a letter to see its first and most recent appearance in the Bee!



Haven't I seen these words before?

The most common words in the Bee are:

  • noon 242
  • loll 223
  • toot 216
  • nana 201
  • naan 201
  • nene 158
  • tilt 156
  • till 156
  • lilt 156
  • mamma 153
  • mama 153
  • tint 150
  • onion 148
  • toon 146
  • onto 146
  • acai 143
  • acacia 143
  • anon 136
  • olio 134
  • anal 134
  • papa 127
  • tact 126
  • baba 126
  • lulu 125
  • lull 125
  • dodo 124
  • poop 120
  • mitt 120
  • loon 120
  • booboo 120
  • boob 120
  • moon 118
  • mono 118
  • cocci 118
  • calla 118
  • call 118
  • tattoo 117
  • tartar 117
  • tart 117
  • ratatat 117
  • attar 116
  • tutu 114
  • ally 113
  • allay 113
  • momma 111
  • aria 111
  • ammo 111
  • tatty 110
  • cancan 110
  • roar 109


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 118,496 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 11,038 unique words.
Below are the distributions of the lengths of these words.



Valid dictionary words not in today's official answers

You may be wondering why these words aren't here*:

  • alation
  • allantoin
  • aloin
  • anatto
  • annona
  • anoa
  • antinational
  • antlion
  • atonia
  • avion
  • illation
  • inanition
  • inion
  • intonational
  • lallation
  • latino
  • lavation
  • lilo
  • linalol
  • linalool
  • lino
  • lintol
  • lota
  • loti
  • loto
  • lotta
  • lovat
  • nano
  • naoi
  • natation
  • ninon
  • nitinol
  • niton
  • noil
  • nolo
  • nona
  • noninitial
  • nonnational
  • nonnaval
  • nontonal
  • nonvital
  • nota
  • notal
  • olla
  • ottava
  • otto
  • ovational
  • ovoli
  • ovolo
  • talion
  • tallol
  • tanto
  • titivation
  • toit
  • tola
  • tolan
  • tolt
  • vallation
  • valonia
  • vino
  • vitiation
  • volitant
  • volta
  • volti
  • volva

*Because the New York Times considers them obscure or offensive.

aioli

noun
  1. A type of sauce, similar to mayonnaise, made from garlic, egg, lemon juice and olive oil.

allot

verb
  1. To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot.
  2. To assign or designate as a task or for a purpose.

alto

noun
  1. A musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody.
  2. A person or musical instrument that performs the alto part.
  3. An alto saxophone

anion

noun
  1. A negatively charged ion.

annatto

noun
  1. A tropical American evergreen shrub, Bixa orellana; the lipstick tree; the fruit of the tree.
  2. The seed of this tree used as a colouring or in Latin American cooking.
  3. An orange-red dye obtained from this seed.

annotation

noun
  1. A critical or explanatory commentary or analysis
  2. A comment added to a text
  3. The process of writing such comment or commentary
  4. Metadata added to a document or program
  5. Information relating to the genetic structure of sequences of bases

anoint

verb
  1. To smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous substance; also, to spread over, as oil.
  2. To apply oil to or to pour oil upon, etc., as a sacred rite, especially for consecration.
  3. To choose or nominate somebody for a leading or otherwise important position, especially formally or officially, or as an intended successor.
  4. To mark somebody as an official ruler, especially a king or queen, as a part of a religious ceremony.

anon

Etymology 1

adverb
  1. Straight away; at once.
  2. Soon; in a little while.
  3. At another time; then; again.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An anonymous person, especially an author.
  2. A work with an unknown author.
  3. A work without a title.
adjective
  1. Anonymous

atoll

noun
  1. A type of island consisting of a ribbon reef that nearly or entirely surrounds a lagoon and supports, in most cases, one to many islets on the reef platform. Atolls have a unique geology, so not all islands with a reef and a lagoon are atolls

atonal

adjective
  1. Lacking a tonal center or key.
  2. Not tonal, lacking tones.

aviation

noun
  1. The art or science of making and flying aircraft.
  2. Flying, operating, or operation of aircraft.
  3. Industry that produces aircraft.
  4. Aircraft
  5. A cocktail made with gin, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette and lemon juice

initiation

noun
  1. The act of initiating, or the process of being initiated or introduced
  2. The form or ceremony by which a person is introduced into any society; mode of entrance into an organized body; especially, the rite of admission into a secret society or order.
  3. The first step of transcription or of transduction.

innovation

noun
  1. The act of innovating; the introduction of something new, in customs, rites, etc.
  2. A change effected by innovating; a change in customs
  3. Something new, and contrary to established customs, manners, or rites.
  4. A newly formed shoot, or the annually produced addition to the stems of many mosses.

innovational

No Definition Found.

into

preposition
  1. To or towards the inside of.
  2. To or towards the region of.
  3. Against, especially with force or violence.
  4. Indicates transition into another form or substance.
  5. After the start of.
  6. Interested in or attracted to.
  7. Expressing the operation of multiplication.
  8. Expressing the operation of division, with the denominator given first. Usually with "goes".
  9. Investigating the subject (of).

intonation

noun
  1. The rise and fall of the voice in speaking.
  2. The act of sounding the tones of the musical scale.
  3. Singing or playing in good tune or otherwise.
  4. Reciting in a musical prolonged tone; intonating or singing of the opening phrase of a plain-chant, psalm, or canticle by a single voice, as of a priest.
  5. A thundering; thunder.

invitation

noun
  1. The act of inviting; solicitation; the requesting of a person's company.
  2. A document or verbal message conveying an invitation.
  3. Allurement; enticement.
  4. A line that is intentionally left open to encourage the opponent to attack.
  5. The brief exhortation introducing the confession in the Anglican communion-office.

invitational

noun
  1. An event, especially a tournament, that is restricted to invited participants
adjective
  1. Serving as an invitation; inviting.
  2. Restricted to participants who have been invited.

iota

noun
  1. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet.
  2. A jot; a very small, insignificant quantity.

lanolin

noun
  1. A greasy yellow substance chemically akin to wax that is secreted from wooly animals, with a variety of uses from rust prevention, lubrication and waterproofing to cosmetics and skin ointments.

lion

noun
  1. A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.
  2. (by extension) Any of various extant and extinct big cats, especially the mountain lion.
  3. A Chinese foo dog.
  4. An individual who shows strength and courage, attributes associated with the lion.
  5. A famous person regarded with interest and curiosity.
  6. A light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion.
  7. An old Scottish coin, with a lion on the obverse, worth 74 shillings.
adjective
  1. Of the light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion.

llano

noun
  1. A plain or steppe in parts of Latin America.

loan

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use.
  2. A sum of money or other property that a natural or legal person borrows from another with the condition that it be returned or repaid over time or at a later date (sometimes with interest).
  3. The contract and array of legal or ethical obligations surrounding a loan.
  4. The permission to borrow any item.
verb
  1. To lend (something) to (someone).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A lonnen.

loin

noun
  1. The part of the body (of humans and quadrupeds) at each side of the backbone, between the ribs and hips
  2. Any of several cuts of meat taken from this part of an animal

loll

verb
  1. To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
  2. To hang extended from the mouth, like the tongue of an animal heated from exertion.
  3. To let (the tongue) hang from the mouth in this way.

loon

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An idler, a lout.
  2. A boy, a lad.
  3. A harlot; mistress.
  4. A simpleton.
  5. A crazy or deranged person.
  6. An English soldier of an expeditionary army in Ireland.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. 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.

loot

Etymology 1

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

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The act of plundering.
  2. Plunder, booty, especially from a ransacked city.
  3. Any prize or profit received for free, especially Christmas presents
  4. Items dropped by defeated enemies.
verb
  1. To steal, especially as part of war, riot or other group violence.
  2. To steal from.
  3. To examine the corpse of a fallen enemy for loot.

lotion

noun
  1. A low- to medium-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to unbroken skin.
  2. A washing, especially of the skin for the purpose of beautification.
verb
  1. To cover or treat with a lotion.

lotto

noun
  1. A game of chance similar to bingo
  2. A lottery

nation

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
  2. A sovereign state.
  3. An association of students based on its members' birthplace or ethnicity.
  4. A great number; a great deal.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Damnation.
adverb
  1. Extremely, very.

national

noun
  1. A subject of a nation.
  2. (usually in the plural) A tournament in which participants from all over the nation compete.
adjective
  1. Of or having to do with a nation.
  2. (by extension) Of or having to do with a country (sovereign state).

nonillion

No Definition Found.

noon

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The ninth hour of the day counted from sunrise; around three o'clock in the afternoon.
  2. Time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
  3. The corresponding time in the middle of the night; midnight.
  4. The highest point; culmination.
verb
  1. To relax or sleep around midday

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The letter ن in the Arabic script.

notation

noun
  1. The act, process, method, or an instance of representing by a system or set of marks, signs, figures, or characters.
  2. A system of characters, symbols, or abbreviated expressions used in an art or science or in mathematics or logic to express technical facts or quantities.
  3. A specific note or piece of information written in such a notation.

notational

adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to notation.

notion

noun
  1. Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.
  2. A sentiment; an opinion.
  3. Sense; mind.
  4. An invention; an ingenious device; a knickknack.
  5. Any small article used in sewing and haberdashery, either for attachment to garments or as a tool, such as a button, zipper, or thimble.
  6. Inclination; intention; disposition.

notional

noun
  1. A fake company used as a front in espionage.
adjective
  1. Of, containing, or being a notion; mental or imaginary.
  2. Speculative, theoretical, not the result of research.
  3. Having descriptive value as opposed to a syntactic category.
  4. Used to indicate an estimate or a reference amount

nova

noun
  1. Any sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star.

novation

noun
  1. Replacement of a contract with one or more new contracts, in particular in financial markets the replacement of a contract between a particular buyer and seller with contracts between the clearing house and each party.
  2. A new contract between the original contracting parties whereby the first obligation is extinguished and a new obligation is substituted.

olio

noun
  1. A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
  2. A medley or mixture; a hotchpotch.
  3. A collection of various musical, theatrical or other artistic works; a miscellany.
  4. (by extension) Vaudeville or similar miscellaneous musical or theatrical entertainment skits presented between the main acts of burlesque or minstrel shows.

onion

noun
  1. A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
  2. The bulb of such a plant.
  3. The genus as a whole.
  4. A ball.
  5. A person from Bermuda or of Bermudian descent.

onto

adjective
  1. (of a function) Assuming each of the values in its codomain; having its range equal to its codomain.
preposition
  1. Upon; on top of.
  2. Aware of.
  3. Being an onto function with a codomain of (see below).

oval

noun
  1. An elongated round shape resembling an egg or ellipse.
  2. A thing having such a shape, such as an arena.
  3. In a projective plane, a set of points such that no three are collinear and there is a unique tangent line at each point.
adjective
  1. Having the shape of an oval.
  2. Of or pertaining to an ovum.

ovation

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A victory ceremony of less importance than a triumph.
  2. (by extension) A (ceremony for the) recognition of some achievement.
  3. (by extension) Prolonged enthusiastic applause.
verb
  1. To give (someone) an ovation (prolonged enthusiastic applause).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The act of laying eggs.

talon

noun
  1. A sharp, hooked claw of a bird of prey or other predatory animal.
  2. One of certain small prominences on the hind part of the face of an elephant's tooth.
  3. A kind of moulding, concave at the bottom and convex at the top; an ogee. (When the concave part is at the top, it is called an inverted talon.)
  4. The shoulder of the bolt of a lock on which the key acts to shoot the bolt.
  5. In various card games, the remaining stock of undealt cards.

tattoo

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An image made in the skin with ink and a needle.
  2. A method of decorating the skin by inserting colored substances under the surface with a sharp instrument (usually a solenoid-driven needle).
verb
  1. To apply a tattoo to (someone or something).
  2. To hit the ball hard, as if to figuratively leave a tattoo on the ball.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A signal played five minutes before taps (lights out).
  2. A signal by drum or bugle ordering soldiers to return to their quarters.
  3. A military display or pageant.
verb
  1. To tap rhythmically on, to drum.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A breed of pony from India; a pony of that breed.

titillation

noun
  1. A pleasurable or sexually exciting sensation.
  2. The process or outcome of titillating.

toil

noun
  1. Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
  2. Trouble, strife.
  3. (usually in plural) A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey.
verb
  1. To labour; work.
  2. To struggle.
  3. To work (something); often with out.
  4. To weary through excessive labour.

toll

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.
  2. A fee paid for some liberty or privilege, particularly for the privilege of passing over a bridge or on a highway, or for that of vending goods in a fair, market, etc.
  3. A fee for using any kind of material processing service.
  4. A tollbooth.
  5. A liberty to buy and sell within the bounds of a manor.
  6. A portion of grain taken by a miller as a compensation for grinding.
verb
  1. To impose a fee for the use of.
  2. To levy a toll on (someone or something).
  3. To take as a toll.
  4. To pay a toll or tallage.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The act or sound of tolling
verb
  1. To ring (a bell) slowly and repeatedly.
  2. To summon by ringing a bell.
  3. To announce by tolling.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To draw; pull; tug; drag.
  2. To tear in pieces.
  3. To draw; entice; invite; allure.
  4. To lure with bait; tole (especially, fish and animals).

Etymology 4

verb
  1. To take away; to vacate; to annul.
  2. To suspend.

tonal

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Of or relating to tones or tonality.
  2. Of or relating to the general character, mood, or trend of something.
  3. Employing tones that have a predictable relationship to some tonic.
  4. Employing differences in pitch (tones) to distinguish differences in the meaning of otherwise similar words (words which would otherwise be homophonic).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An animal companion which accompanies a person from birth to death.

tool

noun
  1. A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.
  2. Equipment used in a profession, e.g., tools of the trade.
  3. Something to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.
  4. A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.
  5. A person or group which is used or controlled, usually unwittingly, by another person or group.
  6. Penis.
  7. (by extension) An obnoxious or uptight person.
verb
  1. To work on or shape with tools, e.g., hand-tooled leather.
  2. To equip with tools.
  3. To work very hard.
  4. To put down another person (possibly in a subtle, hidden way), and in that way to use him or her to meet a goal.
  5. To intentionally attack the ball so that it deflects off a blocker out of bounds.
  6. To drive (a coach or other vehicle).
  7. To carry or convey in a coach or other vehicle.
  8. To travel in a vehicle; to ride or drive.

toon

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
  2. A player's avatar or visible character in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A southeast Asian and Australian tree (Toona ciliata or Toona australis) of the mahogany family with fragrant dark red wood and flowers that yield a dye.
  2. The wood of this tree.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A town.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A melody.
  2. A song, or short musical composition.
  3. The act of tuning or maintenance.
  4. The state or condition of being correctly tuned.
  5. Temper; frame of mind.
  6. A sound; a note; a tone.
  7. Order; harmony; concord.

toot

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The noise of a horn or whistle.
  2. (by extension) A fart; flatus.
  3. Cocaine.
  4. A portion of cocaine that a person snorts.
  5. A spree of drunkness.
  6. (pronounced /tʊt/) Rubbish; tat.
  7. A message on the social networking software Mastodon.
verb
  1. To stand out, or be prominent.
  2. To peep; to look narrowly.
  3. To see; to spy.
  4. To flatulate.
  5. To make the sound of a horn or whistle.
  6. To cause a horn or whistle to make its sound.
  7. To go on a drinking binge.
  8. To snort (a recreational drug).
  9. To post a message on a Mastodon instance (a self-hosted version of the networking software).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A toilet.

total

noun
  1. An amount obtained by the addition of smaller amounts.
  2. Sum.
verb
  1. To add up; to calculate the sum of.
  2. To equal a total of; to amount to.
  3. To demolish; to wreck completely. (from total loss)
  4. To amount to; to add up to.
adjective
  1. Entire; relating to the whole of something.
  2. (used as an intensifier) Complete; absolute.

viol

noun
  1. A stringed instrument related to the violin family, but held in the lap between the legs like a cello, usually with C-holes, a flat back, a fretted neck and six strings, played with an underhanded bow hold.
verb
  1. To play the viol.

viola

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A stringed instrument of the violin family, somewhat larger than a violin, played under the chin, and having a deeper tone.
  2. An organ stop having a similar tone.
  3. A 10-string steel-string acoustic guitar, used in Brazilian folk music.
  4. A berimbau viola, the smallest member of the berimbau used in capoeira music.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (botany) Any of several flowering plants, of the genus Viola, including the violets and pansies.

Etymology 3

interjection
  1. Lo, there it is; see here; ta-da; presto; behold!

violation

noun
  1. The act or an instance of violating or the condition of being violated.

violin

noun
  1. A musical four-string instrument, generally played with a bow or by plucking the string, with the pitch set by pressing the strings at the appropriate place with the fingers; also any instrument of the violin family.
  2. A violinist.
verb
  1. To play on, or as if on, a violin.

voila

interjection
  1. Lo, there it is; see here; ta-da; presto; behold!

volant

adjective
  1. Having extended wings as if flying.
  2. Represented as unsupported in the air.
  3. Flying, or able to fly.
  4. Moving quickly or lightly, as though flying; nimble.

volition

noun
  1. A conscious choice or decision.
  2. The mental power or ability of choosing; the will.
  3. A concept that distinguishes whether or not the subject or agent intended something.

volitional

adjective
  1. Of or relating to the volition or will.
  2. Done by conscious, personal choice; not based on external principles; not accidental.

volt

Etymology 1

noun
  1. In the International System of Units, the derived unit of electrical potential and electromotive force (voltage); the potential difference across a conductor when a current of one ampere uses one watt of power. Symbol: V

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A circular tread; a gait by which a horse going sideways round a centre makes two concentric tracks.
  2. A sudden movement to avoid a thrust.