Tuesday, July 21, 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: 119

Number of Answers: 25

Points Needed for Genius: 83

Genius requires between 11 and 22 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 81% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, 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 119 was in the 22nd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on July 08, 2026.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 25 possible answers rank it in the 11th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on July 09, 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 7-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on July 20, 2026.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.6.
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 246
  • loll 227
  • toot 219
  • nana 204
  • naan 204
  • tilt 160
  • till 160
  • lilt 160
  • nene 158
  • mamma 158
  • mama 158
  • tint 154
  • onion 152
  • acai 149
  • acacia 149
  • toon 147
  • onto 147
  • olio 139
  • anon 138
  • anal 136
  • tact 129
  • papa 129
  • baba 127
  • lulu 126
  • lull 126
  • dodo 126
  • mitt 124
  • loon 123
  • calla 122
  • call 122
  • poop 121
  • booboo 121
  • boob 121
  • moon 119
  • mono 119
  • cocci 119
  • tattoo 117
  • tartar 117
  • tart 117
  • ratatat 117
  • attar 116
  • tutu 115
  • ally 114
  • allay 114
  • momma 113
  • cancan 113
  • aria 113
  • ammo 113
  • tatty 111
  • roar 111


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 120,727 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 11,066 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*:

  • affinal
  • alfa
  • alif
  • baff
  • baffy
  • biffin
  • biffy
  • blaff
  • faff
  • fain
  • falbala
  • fallal
  • fila
  • finnan
  • finny
  • flabbily
  • iffily
  • infall
  • naff
  • niff
  • niffy
  • yaff

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

affably

No Definition Found.

alfalfa

noun
  1. A plant, principally of Medicago sativa, grown as a pasture crop.
  2. A type or breed of this plant.

bailiff

noun
  1. (law enforcement) An officer of the court, particularly:
  2. A public administrator, particularly:
  3. A private administrator, particularly
  4. Any debt collector, regardless of his or her official status.

biff

noun
  1. A sudden, sharp blow or punch.
  2. A wipeout.
verb
  1. To punch or hit.
  2. To discard; to throw out; to throw away.
  3. To wipe out; to faceplant; to fall.

fail

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Poor quality; substandard workmanship.
  2. A failure (condition of being unsuccessful)
  3. A failure (something incapable of success)
  4. A failure, especially of a financial transaction (a termination of an action).
  5. A failing grade in an academic examination.
verb
  1. To be unsuccessful.
  2. Not to achieve a particular stated goal. (Usage note: The direct object of this word is usually an infinitive.)
  3. To neglect.
  4. Of a machine, etc.: to cease to operate correctly.
  5. To be wanting to, to be insufficient for, to disappoint, to desert.
  6. To receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits.
  7. To give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour.
  8. To miss attaining; to lose.
  9. To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence.
  10. To be affected with want; to come short; to lack; to be deficient or unprovided; used with of.
  11. To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink.
  12. To deteriorate in respect to vigour, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker.
  13. To perish; to die; used of a person.
  14. To err in judgment; to be mistaken.
  15. To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent.
adjective
  1. That is a failure.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A piece of turf cut from grassland.

fall

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
  2. A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc.
  3. The time of the year when the leaves typically fall from the trees; autumn; the season of the year between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.
  4. A loss of greatness or status.
  5. That which falls or cascades.
  6. A crucial event or circumstance.
  7. A hairpiece for women consisting of long strands of hair on a woven backing, intended primarily to cover hair loss.
  8. Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed.
  9. The part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting (usu. plural).
  10. An old Scots unit of measure equal to six ells.
  11. A short, flexible piece of leather forming part of a bullwhip, placed between the thong and the cracker.
  12. The lid, on a piano, that covers the keyboard
verb
  1. (heading) To be moved downwards.
  2. To move downwards.
  3. To happen, to change negatively.
  4. To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance.
  5. To diminish; to lessen or lower.
  6. To bring forth.
  7. To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; said of the young of certain animals.
  8. To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin.
  9. To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before.
  10. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; said of the face.
  11. To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon).
  12. To begin with haste, ardour, or vehemence; to rush or hurry.
  13. To be dropped or uttered carelessly.
  14. (of a fabric) To hang down (under the influence of gravity).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The chasing of a hunted whale.

fallibly

No Definition Found.

fanny

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The female genitalia.
  2. The buttocks; arguably the most nearly polite of several euphemisms.
  3. Sexual intercourse with a woman.
  4. Women viewed as sexual objects.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (naval slang) Mess kettle or cooking pot.

filial

adjective
  1. Pertaining to or befitting a son or daughter.
  2. Respectful of the duties and attitudes of a son or daughter toward their parents.
  3. Of a generation or generations descending from a specific previous one.

filially

No Definition Found.

fill

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To occupy fully, to take up all of.
  2. To add contents to (a container, cavity or the like) so that it is full.
  3. To enter (something), making it full.
  4. To become full.
  5. To become pervaded with something.
  6. To satisfy or obey (an order, request or requirement).
  7. To install someone, or be installed, in (a position or office), eliminating a vacancy.
  8. To treat (a tooth) by adding a dental filling to it.
  9. To fill or supply fully with food; to feed; to satisfy.
  10. To trim (a yard) so that the wind blows on the after side of the sails.
  11. (of a male) To have sexual intercourse with (a female).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (after a possessive) A sufficient or more than sufficient amount.
  2. An amount that fills a container.
  3. The filling of a container or area.
  4. Inexpensive material used to occupy empty spaces, especially in construction.
  5. Soil and/or human-created debris discovered within a cavity or cut in the layers and exposed by excavation; fill soil.
  6. An embankment, as in railroad construction, to fill a hollow or ravine; also, the place which is to be filled.
  7. A short passage, riff, or rhythmic sound that helps to keep the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. One of the thills or shafts of a carriage.

filly

noun
  1. A young female horse.
  2. A young attractive female.

final

noun
  1. A final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class.
  2. The last round, game or match in a contest, after which the winner is determined.
  3. A contest that narrows a field of contestants (finalists) to ranked positions, usually in numbered places (1st place/prize, 2nd place/prize, etc.) or a winner and numbered runners-up (1st runner-up, etc.).
  4. The final part of a syllable, the combination of medial and rime in phonetics and phonology.
  5. The tonic or keynote of a Gregorian mode, and hence the final note of any conventional melody played in that mode.
adjective
  1. Last; ultimate.
  2. Conclusive; decisive.
  3. Respecting an end or object to be gained; respecting the purpose or ultimate end in view.
  4. (grammar) Expressing purpose; as in the term final clause.
  5. Word-final, occurring at the end of a word.

finally

adverb
  1. At the end or conclusion; ultimately.
  2. (sequence) To finish (with); lastly (in the present).
  3. (manner) Definitively, comprehensively.

finial

noun
  1. The knot or bunch of foliage, or foliated ornament, that forms the upper extremity of a pinnacle in Gothic architecture.
  2. Any decorative fitting at the peak of a gable, or on the top of a flagpole, fence post or staircase newel post.

flab

noun
  1. Soft, loose flesh on a person's body; fat.

flabby

adjective
  1. Yielding to the touch, and easily moved or shaken; hanging loose by its own weight; lacking firmness; flaccid.
  2. (of wine) Having a slight lack of acidity; having mild sweetness.
  3. (of writing, etc.) overwrought.
  4. Which forms a surjection from the domain to every open subset of the codomain.

flail

noun
  1. A tool used for threshing, consisting of a long handle with a shorter stick attached with a short piece of chain, thong or similar material.
  2. A weapon which has the (usually spherical) striking part attached to the handle with a flexible joint such as a chain.
verb
  1. To beat using a flail or similar implement.
  2. To wave or swing vigorously
  3. To thresh.
  4. To move like a flail.

flan

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Baked tart with sweet or savoury filling in an open-topped pastry case. (Compare quiche.)
  2. (Belize) A dessert of congealed custard, often topped with caramel, especially popular in Spanish-speaking countries.
  3. A coin die. (Compare planchet.)

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A fan of the U.S. TV series Firefly.

flay

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A fright; a scare.
  2. Fear; a source of fear; a formidable matter; a fearsome or repellent-looking individual.
verb
  1. To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening).
  2. To frighten; scare; terrify.
  3. To be fear-stricken.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To strip skin off
  2. To lash

flyby

noun
  1. A flight past a celestial object in order to make observations.
  2. A low-level ceremonial flight, typically in connection with an airshow or a military parade.
  3. A brief visit.

iffy

adjective
  1. Of dubious authenticity, legitimacy or legality.
  2. Uncertain or chancy.

infallibly

No Definition Found.

infill

Etymology 1

noun
  1. That which fills in a space, hole or gap.
  2. The redecoration of a fingernail or toenail after it has grown, to prevent an unsightly gap.
verb
  1. To fill in a space, hole or gap.
  2. To rededicate land in an urban environment to new construction.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Infiltration, the act of going into a place.

naif

noun
  1. One who is naive.
adjective
  1. Naive.