Wednesday, May 06, 2026

Answers to yesterday's Bee

Jump to answers for


The official answers for today's puzzle are:

Click on the arrow to show the definition.
Click outside the pop-up to close it.



Number of Pangrams: 1

Maximum Puzzle Score: 252

Number of Answers: 57

Points Needed for Genius: 176

Genius requires between 29 and 47 words. You need at least a 6-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 74% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 68% 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 252 was in the 82nd 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 57 possible answers rank it in the 87th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on May 03, 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 April 18, 2026.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.2.
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 239
  • loll 218
  • toot 214
  • nana 198
  • naan 198
  • nene 157
  • tilt 156
  • till 156
  • lilt 156
  • mamma 151
  • mama 151
  • tint 149
  • onion 145
  • toon 144
  • onto 144
  • acai 141
  • acacia 141
  • anal 134
  • anon 133
  • olio 129
  • tact 125
  • papa 125
  • baba 125
  • lulu 124
  • lull 124
  • dodo 124
  • poop 120
  • booboo 120
  • boob 120
  • moon 118
  • mono 118
  • mitt 118
  • cocci 117
  • tartar 116
  • tart 116
  • ratatat 116
  • loon 116
  • calla 116
  • call 116
  • attar 115
  • tattoo 114
  • tutu 113
  • ally 113
  • allay 113
  • momma 111
  • aria 111
  • ammo 111
  • tatty 110
  • meme 109
  • roar 108


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 117,391 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,979 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*:

  • aalii
  • airt
  • alar
  • alluvia
  • alula
  • alular
  • alvar
  • artal
  • arval
  • atlatl
  • attrit
  • aurar
  • ilia
  • ilial
  • illuvia
  • illuvial
  • laari
  • lall
  • lari
  • lati
  • latilla
  • latria
  • latu
  • laura
  • lavalava
  • litai
  • raia
  • ratal
  • riata
  • tala
  • talar
  • talaria
  • tatar
  • tuatara
  • ulva
  • urari
  • urial
  • vail
  • vair
  • valuta
  • valval
  • valvar
  • valvula
  • valvular
  • vara
  • varia
  • vatu
  • vita
  • vitta
  • viva
  • vivaria
  • vivat

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

alit

No Definition Found.

alluvial

noun
  1. A deposition of sediment over a long period of time by a river; an alluvial layer.
  2. Alluvial soil; specifically, in Australia, gold-bearing alluvial soil.
adjective
  1. Pertaining to the soil deposited by a stream.

altar

noun
  1. A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites.
  2. A raised area around an altar in a church; the sanctuary.
  3. Anything that is worshipped or sacrificed to.

aria

noun
  1. A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata.

aril

noun
  1. A tissue surrounding the seed in certain fruits such as pomegranates.

arrival

noun
  1. The act of arriving or something that has arrived.
  2. The attainment of an objective, especially as a result of effort.
  3. A person who has arrived.

atilt

adjective
  1. At an angle from the vertical or horizontal.
adverb
  1. At an angle from the vertical or horizontal; at the point of falling over.
  2. Tilting or as if tilting (charging with a lance, like a knight on horseback in a joust).
preposition
  1. Diagonally over or across.

atria

noun
  1. A central room or space in ancient Roman homes, open to the sky in the middle; a similar space in other buildings.
  2. A square hall lit by daylight from above, into which rooms open at one or more levels.
  3. A cavity, entrance, or passage.
  4. Any enclosed sexine and nexine layers, widening toward the interior of the grain.

atrial

No Definition Found.

attar

noun
  1. An essential oil extracted from flowers.
  2. A perfume made from this oil.

aura

noun
  1. Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something.
  2. An invisible force surrounding a living creature.
  3. Perceptual disturbance experienced by some migraine sufferers before a migraine headache.
  4. Telltale sensation experienced by some people with epilepsy before a seizure.

aural

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to the ear.
  2. Of or pertaining to sound.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to an aura.

avail

noun
  1. Effect in achieving a goal or aim; purpose, use (now usually in negative constructions).
  2. Proceeds; profits from business transactions.
  3. An advertising slot or package.
  4. A press avail.
  5. Non-binding notice of availability for work.
  6. A readily available stock of oil.
  7. Benefit; value, profit; advantage toward success.
  8. Effort; striving.
verb
  1. To turn to the advantage of.
  2. To be of service to.
  3. To promote; to assist.
  4. To be of use or advantage; to answer or serve the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object.
  5. To provide; to make available.

avatar

noun
  1. The incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
  2. The physical embodiment of an idea or concept; a personification.
  3. A digital representation of a person or being; often, it can take on any of various forms, as a participant chooses. e.g. 3D, animated, photo, sketch of a person or a person's alter ego, sometimes used in a virtual world or virtual chat room.

lair

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
  2. A shed or shelter for domestic animals.
  3. A place inhabited by a criminal or criminals, a superhero or a supervillain; a refuge, retreat, haven or hideaway.
  4. A bed or resting place.
  5. A grave; a cemetery plot.
verb
  1. To rest; to dwell.
  2. To lay down.
  3. To bury.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A bog; a mire.
verb
  1. To mire.
  2. To become mired.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A person who dresses in a showy but tasteless manner and behaves in a vulgar and conceited way; a show-off.

lariat

noun
  1. A lasso.
  2. A tether.
  3. An attack where the wrestler runs towards an opponent, wraps his arm around their upper chest and neck and then forces them to the ground.
verb
  1. To lasso.

larva

noun
  1. An early stage of growth for some insects and amphibians, in which after hatching from their egg, insects are wingless and resemble a caterpillar or grub, and amphibians lack limbs and resemble fish.
  2. An animal in the aforementioned stage.
  3. A form of a recently born or hatched animal that is quite different from its adult stage.

larval

adjective
  1. Of or relating to a larva or larvae.
  2. Being a larva.
  3. Characteristic of larvae.
  4. Having the form or shape of a larva.
  5. (disease) Undeveloped, latent.

lava

noun
  1. The molten rock ejected by a volcano from its crater or fissured sides.
  2. Magma.
  3. A shade of red, named after the volcanic lava.

liar

noun
  1. One who tells lies.
  2. A swabber responsible for cleaning the outside parts of the ship rather than the cabins, a role traditionally assigned to a person caught telling a lie the previous week.

lira

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The former currency of Israel, superseded by the sheqel.
noun
  1. The basic unit of currency in Turkey.
  2. The currency of Lebanon (also pound), Syria (also pound), Jordan (also dinar)
  3. The former currency of Italy, Malta, San Marino, Cyprus and the Vatican City, superseded by the euro

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A Ukrainian folk musical instrument similar to the hurdy-gurdy.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Any of a set of fine ridges on the shells of some molluscs

luau

noun
  1. An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment.

rail

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing.
  2. The metal bar that makes the track for a railroad.
  3. A railroad; a railway, as a means of transportation.
  4. A horizontal piece of wood that serves to separate sections of a door or window.
  5. One of the lengthwise edges of a surfboard.
  6. A vertical section on one side of a web page.
  7. A large line (portion or serving of a powdery illegal drug).
verb
  1. To travel by railway.
  2. To enclose with rails or a railing.
  3. To range in a line.
  4. To criticize severely.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Any of several birds in the family Rallidae.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To complain violently (against, about).

Etymology 4

noun
  1. An item of clothing; a cloak or other garment; a dress.
  2. Specifically, a woman's headscarf or neckerchief.

Etymology 5

verb
  1. (of a liquid) To gush, flow.

raita

noun
  1. A condiment used as a dip or sauce in the cuisine of southern Asia, made from seasoned yogurt.

ratatat

noun
  1. A swiftly repeated knocking sound.

rattail

noun
  1. Any of the large dark-colored deep-sea fish of the Macrouridae family of ray-finned fish.
  2. A hairstyle characterized by a long lock of tail-like hair dangling from the back of the head.

rial

noun
  1. The official currencies of Iran, Oman, and Yemen.
  2. An old gold coin of England.

ritual

noun
  1. Rite; a repeated set of actions
adjective
  1. Related to a rite or repeated set of actions.

rival

noun
  1. A competitor (person, team, company, etc.) with the same goal as another, or striving to attain the same thing. Defeating a rival may be a primary or necessary goal of a competitor.
  2. Someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another.
  3. One having a common right or privilege with another; a partner.
verb
  1. To oppose or compete with.
  2. To be equal to, or match, or to surpass another.
  3. To strive to equal or excel; to emulate.
adjective
  1. Having the same pretensions or claims; standing in competition for superiority.

rural

noun
  1. A person from the countryside; a rustic.
adjective
  1. Relating to the countryside or to agriculture.

tail

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to its posterior and near the anus.
  2. An object or part of an object resembling a tail in shape, such as the thongs on a cat-o'-nine-tails.
  3. The back, last, lower, or inferior part of anything.
  4. The feathers attached to the pygostyle of a bird.
  5. The tail-end of an object, e.g. the rear of an aircraft's fuselage, containing the tailfin.
  6. The rear structure of an aircraft, the empennage.
  7. The visible stream of dust and gases blown from a comet by the solar wind.
  8. The latter part of a time period or event, or (collectively) persons or objects represented in this part.
  9. The part of a distribution most distant from the mode; as, a long tail.
  10. One who surreptitiously follows another.
  11. The lower order of batsmen in the batting order, usually specialist bowlers.
  12. The lower loop of the letters in the Roman alphabet, as in g, q or y.
  13. (chiefly in the plural) The side of a coin not bearing the head; normally the side on which the monetary value of the coin is indicated; the reverse.
  14. All the last terms of a sequence, from some term on.
  15. The buttocks or backside.
  16. The penis of a person or animal.
  17. Sexual intercourse.
  18. (kayaking) The stern; the back of the kayak.
  19. A train or company of attendants; a retinue.
  20. The distal tendon of a muscle.
  21. A filamentous projection on the tornal section of each hind wing of certain butterflies.
  22. A downy or feathery appendage of certain achens, formed of the permanent elongated style.
  23. A portion of an incision, at its beginning or end, which does not go through the whole thickness of the skin, and is more painful than a complete incision; called also tailing.
  24. One of the strips at the end of a bandage formed by splitting the bandage one or more times.
  25. A rope spliced to the strap of a block, by which it may be lashed to anything.
  26. The part of a note which runs perpendicularly upward or downward from the head; the stem.
  27. A tailing.
  28. The bottom or lower portion of a member or part such as a slate or tile.
  29. A tailcoat.
verb
  1. To follow and observe surreptitiously.
  2. To hold by the end; said of a timber when it rests upon a wall or other support; with in or into
  3. To swing with the stern in a certain direction; said of a vessel at anchor.
  4. To follow or hang to, like a tail; to be attached closely to, as that which can not be evaded.
  5. To pull or draw by the tail.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Limitation of inheritance to certain heirs.
adjective
  1. Limited; abridged; reduced; curtailed.

tali

noun
  1. The bone of the ankle.

tall

noun
  1. (possibly nonstandard) Someone or something that is tall.
adjective
  1. (of a person) Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall.
  2. (of a building, etc.) Having its top a long way up; having a great vertical (and often greater than horizontal) extent; high.
  3. (of a story) Hard to believe, such as a tall story or a tall tale.
  4. (of a cup of coffee) A cup of coffee smaller than grande, usually 8 ounces.
  5. Obsequious; obedient.
  6. Seemly; suitable; fitting, becoming, comely; attractive, handsome.
  7. Bold; brave; courageous; valiant.
  8. Fine; proper; admirable; great; excellent.

tallit

No Definition Found.

tart

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Sharp to the taste; acid; sour.
  2. (of wine) high or too high in acidity.
  3. Sharp; keen; severe.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A type of small open pie, or piece of pastry, containing jelly or conserve; a sort of fruit pie.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A prostitute.
  2. By extension, any woman with loose sexual morals.
verb
  1. To practice prostitution
  2. To practice promiscuous sex
  3. To dress garishly, ostentatiously, whorishly, or sluttily

tartar

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A red compound deposited during wine making; mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate - a source of cream of tartar.
  2. A hard yellow deposit on the teeth.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A fearsome or angrily violent person.

taut

verb
  1. To make taut; to tauten, to tighten.
adjective
  1. Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.
  2. (of a body, muscles, etc.) Not flabby; firm, toned; (of a person) having a lean, strong body.
  3. (of music, writing, etc.) Containing only relevant parts; brief and controlled.
  4. Experiencing anxiety or stress.
  5. (of a sailor, a ship, etc.) Neat and well-disciplined; (by extension) efficient and in order.
  6. Strong; uncompromising.

tiara

noun
  1. The papal crown.
  2. An ornamental coronet.

titular

noun
  1. One who holds a title.
  2. The person from whom a church takes its special name; distinguished from a patron, who must be canonized or an angel.
adjective
  1. Of, relating to, being, derived from, or having a title.
  2. Existing in name only; nominal.
  3. Named or referred to in the title.

trail

noun
  1. The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the sky.
  2. A route for travel over land, especially a narrow, unpaved pathway for use by hikers, horseback riders, etc.
  3. A trailer broadcast on television for a forthcoming film or programme.
  4. A walk in which all the edges are distinct.
verb
  1. To follow behind (someone or something); to tail (someone or something).
  2. To drag (something) behind on the ground.
  3. To leave (a trail of).
  4. To show a trailer of (a film, TV show etc.); to release or publish a preview of (a report etc.) in advance of the full publication.
  5. To hang or drag loosely behind; to move with a slow sweeping motion.
  6. To run or climb like certain plants.
  7. To drag oneself lazily or reluctantly along.
  8. To be losing, to be behind in a competition.
  9. To carry (a firearm) with the breech near the ground and the upper part inclined forward, the piece being held by the right hand near the middle.
  10. To flatten (grass, etc.) by walking through it; to tread down.
  11. To take advantage of the ignorance of; to impose upon.

trait

noun
  1. An identifying characteristic, habit or trend.
  2. An uninstantiable collection of methods that provides functionality to a class by using the class’s own interface.

travail

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Arduous or painful exertion; excessive labor, suffering, hardship.
  2. Specifically, the labor of childbirth.
  3. An act of working; labor (US), labour (British).
  4. The eclipse of a celestial object.
noun
  1. The act of traveling; passage from place to place.
  2. (in the plural) A series of journeys.
  3. (in the plural) An account of one's travels.
  4. The activity or traffic along a route or through a given point.
  5. The working motion of a piece of machinery; the length of a mechanical stroke.
  6. Labour; parturition; travail.
noun
  1. A traditional North American Indian sled-like vehicle, pulled by person, dog, or horse.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To toil.
  2. To go through the labor of childbirth.

trial

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An opportunity to test something out; a test.
  2. Appearance at judicial court in order to be examined.
  3. A difficult or annoying experience.
  4. A tryout to pick members of a team.
  5. A piece of ware used to test the heat of a kiln.
  6. An internal examination set by Eton College.
verb
  1. To carry out a series of tests on (a new product, procedure etc.) before marketing or implementing it.
  2. To try out (a new player) in a sports team.
adjective
  1. Pertaining to a trial or test.
  2. Attempted on a provisional or experimental basis.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Characterized by having three (usually equivalent) components.
  2. Triple.
  3. (grammar) Pertaining to a language form referring to three of something, like people; contrast singular, dual and plural. (See Ambai language for an example.)

trivia

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Insignificant trifles of little importance, especially items of unimportant information
  2. A quiz game that involves obscure facts.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (in medieval universities) The lower division of the liberal arts; grammar, logic and rhetoric.
  2. The three anterior ambulacra of echinoderms, collectively.

trivial

noun
  1. Any of the three liberal arts forming the trivium.
adjective
  1. Ignorable; of little significance or value.
  2. Commonplace, ordinary.
  3. Concerned with or involving trivia.
  4. Relating to or designating the name of a species; specific as opposed to generic.
  5. Of, relating to, or being the simplest possible case.
  6. Self-evident.
  7. Pertaining to the trivium.
  8. Indistinguishable in case of truth or falsity.

ultra

noun
  1. An ultraroyalist in France.
  2. An extremist, especially an ultranationalist.
  3. An especially devoted football fan, typically associated with the intimidating use of extremist slogans, pyrotechnics and sometimes hooligan violence.
  4. An ultramarathon.
  5. An ultra-prominent peak.
  6. (usually capitalised) Code name used by British codebreakers during World War 2 for decrypted information gained from the enemy.
adjective
  1. Extreme; far beyond the norm; fanatical; uncompromising.

uvula

noun
  1. The fleshy appendage that hangs from the back of the palate, that closes the nasopharynx during swallowing.
  2. The slight elevation in the mucous membrane immediately behind the internal urethral orifice of the urinary bladder, caused by the middle lobe of the prostate.
  3. An object so suspended inside a bell that it may hit the bell and cause it to ring; a clapper.

uvular

noun
  1. A sound articulated with the uvula.
adjective
  1. Of or relating to the uvula.
  2. Of a sound, articulated with the uvula.

vault

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An arched masonry structure supporting and forming a ceiling, whether freestanding or forming part of a larger building.
  2. Any arched ceiling or roof.
  3. Anything resembling such a downward-facing concave structure, particularly the sky and caves.
  4. The space covered by an arched roof, particularly underground rooms and church crypts.
  5. Any cellar or underground storeroom.
  6. Any burial chamber, particularly those underground.
  7. The secure room or rooms in or below a bank used to store currency and other valuables; similar rooms in other settings.
  8. A piece of apparatus used for performing jumps.
  9. A gymnastic movement performed on this apparatus.
  10. An encrypted digital archive.
  11. An underground or covered conduit for water or waste; a drain; a sewer.
  12. An underground or covered reservoir for water or waste; a cistern; a cesspit.
  13. A room employing a cesspit or sewer: an outhouse; a lavatory.
verb
  1. To build as, or cover with a vault.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An act of vaulting, formerly by deer; a leap or jump.
  2. An event or performance involving a vaulting horse.
verb
  1. To jump or leap over.
noun
  1. A turning; a time (chiefly used in phrases signifying that the part is to be repeated).
  2. A volte
  3. A turning point or point of change in a poem, most commonly a sonnet.

vial

noun
  1. A glass vessel or bottle, especially a small tube-shaped bottle used to store medicine, perfume or other chemical.
verb
  1. To put or keep in, or as in, a vial.

villa

noun
  1. (plural "villas") A house, often larger and more expensive than average, in the countryside or on the coast, often used as a retreat.
  2. (plural "villas") A family house, often semi-detached, in a middle class street.
  3. (plural "villae") A country house, with farm buildings around a courtyard.

viral

noun
  1. A video, image or text spread by "word of mouth" on the internet or by e-mail for humorous, political or marketing purposes.
adjective
  1. Of or relating to a biological virus.
  2. Caused by a virus.
  3. Of the nature of an informatic virus; able to spread copies of itself to other computers.
  4. Spread by word of mouth, with minimal intervention in order to create buzz and interest.
  5. (of an image, video, piece of information, etc.) circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another.

virtual

noun
  1. A virtual member function of a class.
adjective
  1. In effect or essence, if not in fact or reality; imitated, simulated.
  2. Having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the agency of the material or measurable part; potential.
  3. Nearly, almost. (A relatively recent development in meaning)
  4. Simulated in a computer or online.
  5. Operating by computer or in cyberspace; not physically present.
  6. (of a class member) Capable of being overridden with a different implementation in a subclass.
  7. Pertaining to particles in temporary existence due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

vital

adjective
  1. Relating to, or characteristic of life.
  2. Necessary to the continuation of life; being the seat of life; being that on which life depends.
  3. Invigorating or life-giving.
  4. Necessary to continued existence.
  5. Relating to the recording of life events.
  6. Very important.
  7. Containing life; living.
  8. Capable of living; in a state to live; viable.

vulva

noun
  1. The external female sexual organs, collectively.

vulval

No Definition Found.

vulvar

No Definition Found.