Friday, May 22, 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: 2

Maximum Puzzle Score: 262

Number of Answers: 55

Points Needed for Genius: 183

Genius requires between 22 and 49 words. You need at least a 10-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 81% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 65% of the remaining points to reach genius.

Other days with this pangram:

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 262 was in the 85th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on May 19, 2026.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 55 possible answers rank it in the 83rd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on May 19, 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 April 08, 2026.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.7.
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 240
  • loll 221
  • toot 215
  • nana 199
  • naan 199
  • nene 158
  • tilt 156
  • till 156
  • lilt 156
  • mamma 152
  • mama 152
  • tint 149
  • onion 146
  • toon 145
  • onto 145
  • acai 142
  • acacia 142
  • anon 135
  • anal 134
  • olio 132
  • papa 127
  • tact 126
  • baba 126
  • lulu 125
  • lull 125
  • dodo 124
  • poop 120
  • booboo 120
  • boob 120
  • mitt 119
  • moon 118
  • mono 118
  • loon 118
  • cocci 118
  • calla 118
  • call 118
  • tattoo 116
  • tartar 116
  • tart 116
  • ratatat 116
  • attar 115
  • tutu 114
  • ally 113
  • allay 113
  • momma 111
  • aria 111
  • ammo 111
  • tatty 110
  • roar 109
  • meme 109


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 118,142 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,990 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
  • altho
  • anatto
  • annona
  • anoa
  • antinational
  • antlion
  • atonia
  • halation
  • hallo
  • halloa
  • halloo
  • hallot
  • halloth
  • halon
  • hillo
  • hilloa
  • holla
  • hollo
  • holloa
  • holloo
  • holo
  • honan
  • illation
  • inanition
  • inhalational
  • inion
  • intonational
  • lallation
  • lanthanon
  • latino
  • lilo
  • linalol
  • linalool
  • lino
  • lintol
  • lota
  • lotah
  • loth
  • loti
  • loto
  • lotta
  • nano
  • naoi
  • natation
  • ninon
  • nitinol
  • niton
  • noil
  • nolo
  • nona
  • nonillionth
  • noninitial
  • nonnational
  • nontonal
  • nota
  • notal
  • ohia
  • olla
  • oolith
  • otolith
  • otto
  • talion
  • tallitoth
  • tallol
  • tanto
  • thio
  • thiol
  • thionin
  • tholoi
  • tithonia
  • toit
  • tola
  • tolan
  • tolt

*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.

aloha

noun
  1. Good wishes, love.
  2. An utterance of aloha (see Interjection, below).
interjection
  1. Expressing good wishes when greeting or parting from someone; hello; goodbye.

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.

annihilation

noun
  1. The act of destroying or otherwise turning into nothing, or nonexistence
  2. The act of destroying the form or combination of parts under which a thing exists, so that the name can no longer be applied to it
  3. The state of being annihilated.
  4. The process of a particle and its corresponding antiparticle combining to produce energy.

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.

halo

noun
  1. A circular band of coloured light, visible around the sun or moon etc., caused by reflection and refraction of light by ice crystals in the atmosphere.
  2. A cloud of gas and other matter surrounding and captured by the gravitational field of a large diffuse astronomical object, such as a galaxy or cluster of galaxies.
  3. Anything resembling this band, such as an effect caused by imperfect developing of photographs.
  4. Nimbus, a luminous disc, often of gold, around or over the heads of saints, etc., in religious paintings.
  5. The metaphorical aura of glory, veneration or sentiment which surrounds an idealized entity.
  6. (iconography) a circular annulus ring, frequently luminous, often golden, floating above the head
  7. A circular brace used to keep the head and neck in position.
  8. A rollbar placed in front of the driver, used to protect the cockpit of a open cockpit racecar.
verb
  1. To encircle with a halo.

holt

noun
  1. A small piece of woodland or a woody hill; a copse.
  2. The lair of an animal, especially of an otter.

hoot

noun
  1. A derisive cry or shout.
  2. The cry of an owl.
  3. A fun event or person. (See hootenanny)
  4. A small particle.
verb
  1. To cry out or shout in contempt.
  2. To make the cry of an owl, a hoo.
  3. To assail with contemptuous cries or shouts; to follow with derisive shouts.
  4. To sound the horn of a vehicle

inhalation

noun
  1. The act of inhaling; inbreathing.
  2. The substance (medicament) which is inhaled.

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.

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.

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.

litho

verb
  1. To lithograph.
adjective
  1. Related to the method of lithography.

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.

loath

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Averse, disinclined; reluctant, unwilling.
  2. Angry, hostile.
  3. Loathsome, unpleasant.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To detest, hate, revile.

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

oath

noun
  1. A solemn pledge or promise, appealing to a deity, a ruler, or another entity (not necessarily present) to attest to the truth of a statement or sincerity of one's desire to fulfill a contract or promise.
  2. A statement or promise which is strengthened (affirmed) by such a pledge.
  3. A light, irreverent or insulting appeal to a deity or other entity.
  4. A curse, a curse word.
verb
  1. To pledge.

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).

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.

tooth

noun
  1. A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for eating.
  2. A sharp projection on the blade of a saw or similar implement.
  3. A projection on the edge of a gear that meshes with similar projections on adjacent gears, or on the circumference of a cog that engages with a chain.
  4. A projection or point in other parts of the body resembling the tooth of a vertebrate animal.
  5. A pointed projection from the margin of a leaf.
  6. The rough surface of some kinds of cel or other films that allows better adhesion of artwork.
  7. Liking, fondness (compare toothsome).
  8. An irreducible component of a comb that intersects the handle in exactly one point, that point being distinct from the unique point of intersection for any other tooth of the comb.
verb
  1. To provide or furnish with teeth.
  2. To indent; to jag.
  3. To lock into each other, like gear wheels.

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.