Thursday, May 14, 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: 1

Maximum Puzzle Score: 109

Number of Answers: 32

Points Needed for Genius: 76

Genius requires between 11 and 29 words. You need at least a 6-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 83% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 64% 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 109 was in the 17th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on April 21, 2026.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 32 possible answers rank it in the 29th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on May 13, 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 6-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on May 06, 2026.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 4.9.
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 239
  • loll 219
  • toot 214
  • nana 198
  • naan 198
  • nene 158
  • tilt 156
  • till 156
  • lilt 156
  • mamma 151
  • mama 151
  • tint 149
  • onion 145
  • toon 144
  • onto 144
  • acai 142
  • acacia 142
  • anal 134
  • anon 133
  • olio 131
  • tact 126
  • papa 125
  • baba 125
  • lulu 124
  • lull 124
  • dodo 124
  • poop 120
  • booboo 120
  • boob 120
  • mitt 119
  • moon 118
  • mono 118
  • cocci 118
  • loon 117
  • calla 117
  • call 117
  • tartar 116
  • tart 116
  • ratatat 116
  • attar 115
  • tattoo 114
  • tutu 113
  • ally 113
  • allay 113
  • momma 111
  • aria 111
  • ammo 111
  • tatty 110
  • meme 109
  • cancan 109


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 117,755 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,983 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*:

  • beelike
  • belike
  • bibb
  • bibe
  • biblike
  • bikie
  • bilbo
  • billie
  • bimbo
  • blooie
  • boobie
  • eellike
  • elemi
  • emboli
  • kebbie
  • kelim
  • kibbe
  • kibbi
  • kibe
  • kibei
  • kike
  • kilim
  • killie
  • kilomole
  • klik
  • kookie
  • libellee
  • lilo
  • limbi
  • looie
  • lookie
  • meikle
  • mille
  • millieme
  • millime
  • millimole
  • milo
  • mollie
  • momi
  • obeli
  • oboli

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

belie

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To lie around; encompass.
  2. (of an army) To surround; beleaguer.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To tell lies about.
  2. To give a false representation of.
  3. To contradict, to show (something) to be false.
  4. To conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).
  5. To show, evince, demonstrate: to show (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.
  6. To mimic; to counterfeit.
  7. To fill with lies.

bible

noun
  1. An exemplar of the Bible.
  2. A comprehensive manual that describes something. (e.g., handyman’s bible).
  3. (at certain US universities) A compilation of problems and solutions from previous years of a given course, used by some students to cheat on tests or assignments.
  4. Omasum, the third compartment of the stomach of ruminants
noun
  1. A piece of soft sandstone used for scouring the wooden decks of ships, usually with sand and seawater.
  2. A stone with a naturally-formed hole, used by Yorkshiremen for good luck.

bike

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A vehicle that has two wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s feet upon pedals.
  2. A traveling block used on a cable in skidding logs.
  3. The best possible hand in lowball.
  4. A motorbike.
  5. (usually in compounds specifying a context) a slut; a promiscuous woman
verb
  1. To ride a bike.
  2. To travel by bike.
  3. To transport by bicycle
noun
  1. A motorcycle.
  2. A small and light motorcycle.
noun
  1. A local woman who is sexually promiscuous.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A hive of bees, or a nest of wasps, hornets, or ants.
  2. (by extension, collective) A crowd of people.

bile

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A bitter brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow secretion produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion.
  2. Bitterness of temper; ill humour; irascibility.
  3. Two of the four humours, black bile or yellow bile, in ancient and medieval physiology.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A boil (kind of swelling).
verb
  1. (of liquids) To heat to the point where it begins to turn into a gas.
  2. To cook in boiling water.
  3. (of liquids) To begin to turn into a gas, seethe.
  4. To bring to a boil, to heat so as to cause the contents to boil.
  5. (used only in progressive tenses, of weather) To be uncomfortably hot.
  6. (used only in progressive tenses) To feel uncomfortably hot.
  7. To form, or separate, by boiling or evaporation.
  8. To steep or soak in warm water.
  9. To be agitated like boiling water; to bubble; to effervesce.
  10. To be moved or excited with passion; to be hot or fervid.

bilk

noun
  1. The spoiling of someone's score in the crib.
  2. A deception, a hoax.
  3. A cheat or swindler.
verb
  1. To spoil the score of (someone) in cribbage.
  2. To do someone out of their due; to deceive or defraud, to cheat (someone).
  3. To evade, elude.

bill

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Any of various bladed or pointed hand weapons, originally designating an Anglo-Saxon sword, and later a weapon of infantry, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, commonly consisting of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, with a short pike at the back and another at the top, attached to the end of a long staff.
  2. A cutting instrument, with hook-shaped point, and fitted with a handle, used in pruning, etc.; a billhook.
  3. Somebody armed with a bill; a billman.
  4. A pickaxe, or mattock.
  5. The extremity of the arm of an anchor; the point of or beyond the fluke (also called the peak).
verb
  1. To dig, chop, etc., with a bill.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal.
  2. A beak-like projection, especially a promontory.
  3. Of a cap or hat: the brim or peak, serving as a shade to keep sun off the face and out of the eyes.
verb
  1. To peck
  2. To stroke bill against bill, with reference to doves; to caress in fondness

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A written list or inventory. (Now obsolete except in specific senses or set phrases; bill of lading, bill of goods, etc.)
  2. A document, originally sealed; a formal statement or official memorandum. (Now obsolete except with certain qualifying words; bill of health, bill of sale etc.)
  3. A draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.
  4. A declaration made in writing, stating some wrong the complainant has suffered from the defendant, or a fault committed by some person against a law.
  5. A piece of paper money; a banknote.
  6. A written note of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; an invoice.
  7. A paper, written or printed, and posted up or given away, to advertise something, as a lecture, a play, or the sale of goods
  8. A writing binding the signer or signers to pay a certain sum at a future day or on demand, with or without interest, as may be stated in the document; a bill of exchange. In the United States, it is usually called a note, a note of hand, or a promissory note.
  9. A set of items presented together.
verb
  1. To advertise by a bill or public notice.
  2. To charge; to send a bill to.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. The bell, or boom, of the bittern.

biome

noun
  1. Any major regional biological community such as that of forest or desert
  2. All the genomes of such a community

boil

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A localized accumulation of pus in the skin, resulting from infection.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The point at which fluid begins to change to a vapour.
  2. A dish of boiled food, especially based on seafood.
  3. The collective noun for a group of hawks.
verb
  1. (of liquids) To heat to the point where it begins to turn into a gas.
  2. To cook in boiling water.
  3. (of liquids) To begin to turn into a gas, seethe.
  4. To bring to a boil, to heat so as to cause the contents to boil.
  5. (used only in progressive tenses, of weather) To be uncomfortably hot.
  6. (used only in progressive tenses) To feel uncomfortably hot.
  7. To form, or separate, by boiling or evaporation.
  8. To steep or soak in warm water.
  9. To be agitated like boiling water; to bubble; to effervesce.
  10. To be moved or excited with passion; to be hot or fervid.

bookie

noun
  1. A bookmaker, being a person who, or business which, takes bets from the general public on sporting events and similar.

bookmobile

noun
  1. A mobile library; especially, a large van designed to transport a portion of some library's collection.

imbibe

verb
  1. To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages).
  2. To take in; absorb.

immobile

adjective
  1. Not mobile, not movable
  2. Fixed, unable to be moved

kibble

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Something that has been kibbled, especially grain for use as animal feed.
verb
  1. To grind coarsely.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An iron bucket used in mines for hoisting anything to the surface.

kill

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The act of killing.
  2. Specifically, the death blow.
  3. The result of killing; that which has been killed.
  4. The grounding of the ball on the opponent's court, winning the rally.
verb
  1. To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
  2. To render inoperative.
  3. To stop, cease or render void; to terminate.
  4. To amaze, exceed, stun or otherwise incapacitate.
  5. To cause great pain, discomfort or distress to.
  6. To produce feelings of dissatisfaction or revulsion in.
  7. To use up or to waste.
  8. To exert an overwhelming effect on.
  9. To overpower, overwhelm or defeat.
  10. To force a company out of business.
  11. To produce intense pain.
  12. To punish severely.
  13. To strike (a ball, etc.) with such force and placement as to make a shot that is impossible to defend against, usually winning a point.
  14. To cause (a ball, etc.) to be out of play, resulting in a stoppage of gameplay.
  15. To succeed with an audience, especially in comedy.
  16. To cause to assume the value zero.
  17. (IRC) To disconnect (a user) involuntarily from the network.
  18. To deadmelt.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (north-east US) A creek; a body of water; a channel or arm of the sea.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A kiln.

kilo

noun
  1. In the International System of Units, the base unit of mass; conceived of as the mass of one litre of water, but now defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the Planck constant h to be 6.626 070 15 × 10-34 when expressed in units of kg⋅m2⋅s−1. Symbol: kg
  2. The unit of weight such that a one-kilogram mass is also a one-kilogram weight.

libel

noun
  1. A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.
  2. The act or crime of displaying such a statement publicly.
  3. Any defamatory writing; a lampoon; a satire.
  4. A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of their cause of action, and of the relief they seek.
  5. A brief writing of any kind, especially a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc.
verb
  1. To defame someone, especially in a manner that meets the legal definition of libel.
  2. To proceed against (a ship, goods, etc.) by filing a libel.

libelee

No Definition Found.

like

Etymology 1

noun
  1. (usually in the plural) Something that a person likes (prefers).
  2. An individual vote showing support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet.
verb
  1. To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
  2. To please.
  3. To derive pleasure of, by or with someone or something.
  4. To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.
  5. To have an appearance or expression; to look; to seem to be (in a specified condition).
  6. To come near; to avoid with difficulty; to escape narrowly.
  7. To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for.
  8. To liken; to compare.
  9. To show support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet by marking it with a vote.
  10. (with 'would' and in certain other phrases) To want, desire. See also would like.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (sometimes as the likes of') Someone similar to a given person, or something similar to a given object; a comparative; a type; a sort.
  2. The stroke that equalizes the number of strokes played by the opposing player or side.
adjective
  1. Similar.
  2. Likely; probable.
adverb
  1. Likely.
  2. In a like or similar manner.
preposition
  1. Similar to, reminiscent of.
  2. Typical of
  3. Approximating
  4. In the manner of, similarly to.
  5. Such as
  6. As if there would be.
conjunction
  1. As, the way.
  2. As if; as though.
interjection
  1. Used to place emphasis upon a statement.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To be likely.

limb

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing).
  2. A branch of a tree.
  3. The part of the bow, from the handle to the tip.
  4. An elementary piece of the mechanism of a lock.
  5. A thing or person regarded as a part or member of, or attachment to, something else.
  6. The part of a corolla beyond the throat.
verb
  1. To remove the limbs from (an animal or tree).
  2. To supply with limbs.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The apparent visual edge of a celestial body.
  2. (on a measuring instrument) The graduated edge of a circle or arc.
  3. The border or upper spreading part of a monopetalous corolla, or of a petal or sepal; blade.

limbo

Etymology 1

noun
  1. (Roman Catholic theology, since circa 400 A.D.) The place where innocent souls exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, notably those of the saints who died before the advent of Christ (limbus patruum) and those of unbaptized but innocent children (limbus infantum).
  2. (by extension, since the 16th century) Any in-between place, state or condition of neglect or oblivion which results in an unresolved status, delay or deadlock.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A dance played by taking turns crossing under a horizontal bar or stick. The stick is lowered with each round, and the game is won by the player who passes under the bar in the lowest position.
verb
  1. To dance in this way.

lime

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Any inorganic material containing calcium, usually calcium oxide (quicklime) or calcium hydroxide (slaked lime).
  2. Any gluey or adhesive substance; something which traps or captures someone; sometimes a synonym for birdlime.
verb
  1. To treat with calcium hydroxide or calcium oxide (lime).
  2. To smear with birdlime.
  3. To apply limewash.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A deciduous tree of the genus Tilia, especially Tilia × europaea; the linden tree, or its wood.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Any of several green citrus fruit, somewhat smaller and sharper-tasting than a lemon.
  2. Any of the trees that bear limes, especially Key lime, Citrus aurantiifolia.
  3. A brilliant, sometimes yellowish, green colour associated with the fruits of a lime tree.
  4. A fan fiction story which contains sexual references, but stops short of full, explicit descriptions of sexual activity (coined by analogy with lemon).
adjective
  1. Containing lime or lime juice.
  2. Having the aroma or flavor of lime.
  3. Lime-green.

Etymology 4

verb
  1. To hang out/socialize in an informal, relaxed environment, especially with friends, for example at a party or on the beach.

Etymology 5

noun
  1. A leash.

limo

noun
  1. An automobile body with seats and permanent top like a coupe, and with the top projecting over the driver and a projecting front.
  2. An automobile with such a body.
  3. A luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur.
  4. An automobile for transportation to or from an airport, including sedans, vans, and buses.

mike

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A microphone.
verb
  1. To microphone; to place one or more microphones (mikes) on.
  2. To measure using a micrometer.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A minute.

mile

noun
  1. The international mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 1.609344 kilometers established by treaty among Anglophone nations in 1959, divided into 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards.
  2. Any of several customary units of length derived from the 1593 English statute mile of 8 furlongs, equivalent to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards of various precise values.
  3. Any of many customary units of length derived from the Roman mile (mille passus) of 8 stades or 5,000 Roman feet.
  4. The Scandinavian mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 10 kilometers defined in 1889.
  5. Any of many customary units of length from other measurement systems of roughly similar values, as the Chinese (里) or Arabic mile (al-mīl).
  6. (travel) An airline mile in a frequent flier program.
  7. Any similarly large distance.
  8. A race of 1 mile's length; a race of around 1 mile's length (usually 1500 or 1600 meters)
  9. One mile per hour, as a measure of speed.

milk

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals to nourish their young. From certain animals, especially cows, it is also called dairy milk and is a common food for humans as a beverage or used to produce various dairy products such as butter, cheese, and yogurt.
  2. A white (or whitish) liquid obtained from a vegetable source such as almonds, coconuts, oats, rice, and/or soy beans. Also called non-dairy milk.
  3. An individual serving of milk.
  4. An individual portion of milk, such as found in a creamer, for tea and coffee.
  5. The ripe, undischarged spat of an oyster.
  6. Semen.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To express milk from (a mammal, especially a cow).
  2. To draw (milk) from the breasts or udder.
  3. To express any liquid (from any creature).
  4. To make excessive use of (a particular point in speech or writing, a source of funds, etc.); to exploit; to take advantage of (something).
  5. (of an electrical storage battery) To give off small gas bubbles during the final part of the charging operation.
  6. To single-mindedly masturbate a male to ejaculation, especially for the amusement and/or satisfaction of the masturbator/trix rather than the person masturbated.

mill

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc.
  2. The building housing such a grinding apparatus.
  3. A machine used for expelling the juice, sap, etc., from vegetable tissues by pressure, or by pressure in combination with a grinding, or cutting process.
  4. A machine for grinding and polishing.
  5. The raised or ridged edge or surface made in milling anything, such as a coin or screw.
  6. A manufacturing plant for paper, steel, textiles, etc.
  7. A building housing such a plant.
  8. An establishment that handles a certain type of situation or procedure routinely, or produces large quantities of an item without much regard to quality, such as a divorce mill, a puppy mill, etc.
  9. An institution awarding educational certificates not officially recognised
  10. An engine.
  11. A boxing match, fistfight.
  12. (die sinking) A hardened steel roller with a design in relief, used for imprinting a reversed copy of the design in a softer metal, such as copper.
  13. An excavation in rock, transverse to the workings, from which material for filling is obtained.
  14. A passage underground through which ore is shot.
  15. A milling cutter.
  16. A treadmill.
  17. A typewriter used to transcribe messages received.
verb
  1. To grind or otherwise process in a mill or other machine.
  2. To shape, polish, dress or finish using a machine.
  3. To engrave one or more grooves or a pattern around the edge of (a cylindrical object such as a coin).
  4. (followed by around, about, etc.) To move about in an aimless fashion.
  5. To cause to mill, or circle around.
  6. (of air-breathing creatures) To swim underwater.
  7. (of a whale) To swim suddenly in a new direction.
  8. To beat; to pound.
  9. To pass through a fulling mill; to full, as cloth.
  10. To roll (steel, etc.) into bars.
  11. To make (drinking chocolate) frothy, as by churning.
  12. To undergo hulling.
  13. To take part in a fistfight; to box.
  14. To fill (a winze or interior incline) with broken ore, to be drawn out at the bottom.
  15. (thieves' cant) To commit burglary.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An obsolete coin worth one thousandth of a US dollar, or one tenth of a cent.
  2. One thousandth part, particularly in millage rates of property tax.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. An angular mil, a unit of angular measurement equal to 1⁄6400 of a complete circle. At 1000 metres one mil subtends about one metre (0.98 m). Also 1⁄6000 and 1⁄6300 are used in other countries.
  2. A unit of measurement equal to 1⁄1000 of an inch, usually used for thin objects, such as sheets of plastic.
  3. A former subdivision (1/1000) of the Maltese lira
  4. (plural "mil") Abbreviation of million.
noun
  1. A unit of measure of capacity, being one thousandth of a litre. Symbol: ml

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A line of three matching pieces in nine men's morris and related games.

Etymology 5

noun
  1. (trading card games) Discarding a card from one's deck.
  2. (trading card games) A strategy centered on depleting the opponent's deck.
verb
  1. (trading card games) To move (a card) from a deck to the discard pile.
  2. (Hearthstone) To destroy (a card) due to having a full hand.

mime

noun
  1. A form of acting without words; pantomime.
  2. A pantomime actor.
  3. A classical theatrical entertainment in the form of farce.
  4. A performer of such a farce.
  5. A person who mimics others in a comical manner.
  6. Any of various papilionid butterflies of the genus Chilasa or Papilio, that mimic other species in appearance.
verb
  1. To mimic.
  2. To act without words.
  3. To represent an action or object through gesture, without the use of sound.

mimeo

noun
  1. A mimeograph.
  2. An unpublished academic paper.
verb
  1. To mimeograph.

mobile

noun
  1. A kinetic sculpture or decorative arrangement made of items hanging so that they can move independently from each other.
  2. The internet accessed via mobile devices.
  3. Something that can move.
adjective
  1. Capable of being moved, especially on wheels.
  2. Pertaining to or by agency of mobile phones.
  3. Characterized by an extreme degree of fluidity; moving or flowing with great freedom.
  4. Easily moved in feeling, purpose, or direction; excitable; changeable; fickle.
  5. Changing in appearance and expression under the influence of the mind.
  6. Capable of being moved, aroused, or excited; capable of spontaneous movement.
noun
  1. A portable telephone that connects with the telephone network over radio wave transmission.

moil

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Hard work.
  2. Confusion, turmoil.
  3. A spot; a defilement.
verb
  1. To toil, to work hard.
  2. To churn continually; to swirl.
  3. To defile or dirty.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The glass circling the tip of a blowpipe or punty, such as the residual glass after detaching a blown vessel, or the lower part of a gather.
  2. (blow molding) The excess material which adheres to the top, base, or rim of a glass object when it is cut or knocked off from a blowpipe or punty, or from the mold-filling process. Typically removed after annealing as part of the finishing process (e.g. scored and snapped off).
  3. The metallic oxide from a blowpipe which has adhered to a glass object.

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.

ollie

noun
  1. An aerial maneuver in which one catches air by leaping off the ground with the skateboard and into the air.
verb
  1. To perform an ollie.