NYT Spelling Bee Answers for February 22, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | L |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | g, i, k, n, r, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 42 words |
| Total Points | 212 points |
| Genius Level | 148 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
Table of Contents
As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!
- Spelling Bee Grid
- Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
- Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
- Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
- Today's Complete Solution
- Answer Definitions
If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).
Spelling Bee Grid
The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | 12 |
| I | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| K | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| L | 6 | - | 4 | 5 | 1 | - | 16 |
| N | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| R | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | - | 3 |
| U | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 3 | Σ | 14 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 42 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| G | GI×4 GL×3 GR×2 GU×3 |
|---|---|
| I | IN×1 |
| K | KI×3 KN×1 KR×1 |
| L | LI×5 LU×11 |
| N | NI×1 NU×1 |
| R | RI×2 RU×1 |
| U | UN×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| G | GIG×1 GIL×2 GIR×1 GLU×3 GRI×2 GUL×2 GUR×1 |
|---|---|
| I | INK×1 |
| K | KIL×3 KNU×1 KRI×1 |
| L | LIK×1 LIN×4 LUG×2 LUL×3 LUN×3 LUR×3 |
| N | NIG×1 NUL×1 |
| R | RIL×2 RUL×1 |
| U | UNL×3 |
Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)
The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.
Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.
Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| lu..... † | LU7 | No definition found; request failed |
| gi...... | GI8 | present participle of giggle |
| gi.. | GI4 | a breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals |
| gi..... | GI7 | present participle of gill |
| gi.. | GI4 | A female child, adolescent, or a young woman. |
| gl.. | GL4 | The sound made when a significant amount of liquid is poured suddenly out of something, such as a jug or bottle. |
| gl...... | GL8 | present participle of glug |
| gl.... | GL6 | present participle of glue |
| gr... | GR5 | A grating; a grid of wire or a sheet of material with a pattern of holes or slots, usually used to protect something while allowing the passage of air and liquids. Typical uses: to allow air through a fan while preventing fingers or objects from passing; to allow people to talk to somebody, while preventing attack. |
| gr...... | GR8 | present participle of grill |
| gu.. | GU4 | A seabird of the genus Larus or of the family Laridae. |
| gu..... | GU7 | present participle of gull |
| gu...... | GU8 | A gurgling sound. |
| in..... | IN7 | Usually preceded by forms of to give: a slight hint, implication, or suggestion given. |
| ki.. | KI4 | To put to death; to extinguish the life of. |
| ki..... | KI7 | present participle of kill |
| ki.. | KI4 | An oven or furnace or a heated chamber, for the purpose of hardening, burning, calcining or drying anything; for example, firing ceramics, curing or preserving tobacco, or drying grain. |
| kn... | KN5 | No definition found; request failed |
| kr... | KR5 | any of several small marine crustacean species of plankton in the order Euphausiacea in the class Malacostraca. |
| li.... | LI6 | present participle of like |
| li...... | LI8 | Alternative spelling of linguine |
| li.... | LI6 | A covering for the inside surface of something. |
| li.. | LI4 | A connection between places, people, events, things, or ideas. |
| li..... | LI7 | Serving to connect other things together. |
| lu..... | LU7 | present participle of lug |
| lu.... | LU6 | present participle of luge |
| lu.. | LU4 | A period of rest or soothing. |
| lu..... | LU7 | present participle of lull |
| lu.. | LU4 | A remarkable person, object or idea. |
| lu.. | LU4 | A biological organ of vertebrates that controls breathing and oxygenates the blood. |
| lu..... | LU7 | present participle of lunge |
| lu.. | LU4 | A fool; an idiot; a lunkhead. |
| lu.... | LU6 | present participle of lure |
| lu.. | LU4 | To remain concealed in order to ambush. |
| ni...... | NI8 | present participle of niggle |
| nu.. | NU4 | A non-existent or empty value or set of values. |
| ri.... | RI6 | present participle of rile |
| ri.. | RI4 | A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet. |
| ru.... | RU6 | That rules; predominant; chief; reigning; controlling. |
| un...... | UN8 | No definition found; request failed |
| un.... | UN6 | To decouple; to remove a link from, or separate the links of. |
| un....... | UN9 | No definition found; request failed |
Today's Complete Solution
The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.
Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.
- lurking† (LU7)
- giggling (GI8)
- gill (GI4)
- gilling (GI7)
- girl (GI4)
- glug (GL4)
- glugging (GL8)
- gluing (GL6)
- grill (GR5)
- grilling (GR8)
- gull (GU4)
- gulling (GU7)
- gurgling (GU8)
- inkling (IN7)
- kill (KI4)
- killing (KI7)
- kiln (KI4)
- knurl (KN5)
- krill (KR5)
- liking (LI6)
- linguini (LI8)
- lining (LI6)
- link (LI4)
- linking (LI7)
- lugging (LU7)
- luging (LU6)
- lull (LU4)
- lulling (LU7)
- lulu (LU4)
- lung (LU4)
- lunging (LU7)
- lunk (LU4)
- luring (LU6)
- lurk (LU4)
- niggling (NI8)
- null (NU4)
- riling (RI6)
- rill (RI4)
- ruling (RU6)
- unliking (UN8)
- unlink (UN6)
- unlinking (UN9)
Answer Definitions
- lurking† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- giggling (verb): present participle of giggle
- gill (noun): a breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals
- gilling (verb): present participle of gill
- girl (noun): A female child, adolescent, or a young woman.
- glug (noun): The sound made when a significant amount of liquid is poured suddenly out of something, such as a jug or bottle.
- glugging (verb): present participle of glug
- gluing (verb): present participle of glue
- grill (noun): A grating; a grid of wire or a sheet of material with a pattern of holes or slots, usually used to protect something while allowing the passage of air and liquids. Typical uses: to allow air through a fan while preventing fingers or objects from passing; to allow people to talk to somebody, while preventing attack.
- grilling (verb): present participle of grill
- gull (noun): A seabird of the genus Larus or of the family Laridae.
- gulling (verb): present participle of gull
- gurgling (noun): A gurgling sound.
- inkling (noun): Usually preceded by forms of to give: a slight hint, implication, or suggestion given.
- kill (verb): To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
- killing (verb): present participle of kill
- kiln (noun): An oven or furnace or a heated chamber, for the purpose of hardening, burning, calcining or drying anything; for example, firing ceramics, curing or preserving tobacco, or drying grain.
- knurl (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- krill (noun): any of several small marine crustacean species of plankton in the order Euphausiacea in the class Malacostraca.
- liking (verb): present participle of like
- linguini (noun): Alternative spelling of linguine
- lining (noun): A covering for the inside surface of something.
- link (noun): A connection between places, people, events, things, or ideas.
- linking (adjective): Serving to connect other things together.
- lugging (verb): present participle of lug
- luging (verb): present participle of luge
- lull (noun): A period of rest or soothing.
- lulling (verb): present participle of lull
- lulu (noun): A remarkable person, object or idea.
- lung (noun): A biological organ of vertebrates that controls breathing and oxygenates the blood.
- lunging (verb): present participle of lunge
- lunk (noun): A fool; an idiot; a lunkhead.
- luring (verb): present participle of lure
- lurk (verb): To remain concealed in order to ambush.
- niggling (verb): present participle of niggle
- null (noun): A non-existent or empty value or set of values.
- riling (verb): present participle of rile
- rill (noun): A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet.
- ruling (adjective): That rules; predominant; chief; reigning; controlling.
- unliking (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- unlink (verb): To decouple; to remove a link from, or separate the links of.
- unlinking (n/a): No definition found; request failed