NYT Spelling Bee Answers for March 12, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | d, e, i, l, n, p |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 39 words |
| Total Points | 231 points |
| Genius Level | 162 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 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| D | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 10 |
| E | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| I | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 7 |
| L | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| N | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| P | - | 2 | 3 | - | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | 8 | Σ | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | - | 1 | 39 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CE×5 CL×3 |
|---|---|
| D | DE×8 DI×2 |
| E | EP×2 |
| I | IC×2 IN×5 |
| L | LE×1 LI×1 |
| N | NI×2 |
| P | PE×5 PI×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CED×2 CEL×3 CLI×3 |
|---|---|
| D | DEC×4 DEI×3 DEP×1 DIC×2 |
| E | EPI×2 |
| I | ICE×1 ICI×1 INC×4 IND×1 |
| L | LEN×1 LIC×1 |
| N | NIC×1 NIE×1 |
| P | PEL×1 PEN×4 PIC×1 PIE×2 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| pe...... † | PE8 | No definition found; request failed |
| ce.. | CE4 | To give up; yield to another. |
| ce... | CE5 | simple past tense and past participle of cede |
| ce.. | CE4 | A single-room dwelling for a hermit. |
| ce.... | CE6 | Containing cells; cellular. |
| ce... | CE5 | plural of cello |
| cl.... | CL6 | A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients. |
| cl.. | CL4 | To grip tightly. |
| cl..... | CL7 | No definition found; request failed |
| de.... | DE6 | to resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle |
| de..... | DE7 | simple past tense and past participle of decide |
| de..... | DE7 | Downward movement, fall.(Can we add an example for this sense? ) |
| de...... | DE8 | simple past and past participle of decline |
| de... | DE5 | To remove the ice from something. |
| de.... | DE6 | simple past tense and past participle of deice |
| de..... | DE7 | The killing of a god or goddess; godslaughter. |
| de........ | DE10 | The state of being dependent, of relying upon another. |
| di.. | DI4 | Gaming with one or more dice. |
| di... | DI5 | simple past tense and past participle of dice |
| ep.. | EP4 | An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a deity, demigod (heroic epic), other legend or traditional hero. |
| ep..... | EP7 | Of or relating to a class of Greek and Latin nouns that may refer to males or females but have a fixed grammatical gender (feminine, masculine, neuter, etc.). |
| ic.. | IC4 | With ice added. |
| ic.... | IC6 | A drooping, tapering shape of ice. |
| in....... | IN9 | The act of something happening; occurrence. |
| in........ | IN10 | A beginning, or first stage. |
| in..... | IN7 | To bend or move (something) out of a given plane or direction, often the horizontal or vertical. |
| in...... | IN8 | At an angle to the horizontal; slanted or sloped. |
| in.......... | IN12 | The quality or state of being independent; lack of dependence; the state of not being reliant on, or controlled by, others. |
| le...... | LE8 | Leniency: mercy or forgiveness in the assignment of punishment. |
| li.. | LI4 | plural of louse |
| ni.. | NI4 | Pleasant, satisfactory. |
| ni... | NI5 | A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece"). |
| pe...... | PE8 | A thin skin or film. |
| pe... | PE5 | plural of penny (the subunit of the pound sterling or Irish pound). |
| pe.... | PE6 | A paintbrush. |
| pe........ | PE10 | Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases. |
| pi.... | PI6 | An informal social gathering, usually in a natural outdoor setting, to which the participants bring their own food and drink. |
| pi... | PI5 | A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts. |
| pi.... | PI6 | simple past tense and past participle of piece |
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.
- penciled† (PE8)
- cede (CE4)
- ceded (CE5)
- cell (CE4)
- celled (CE6)
- celli (CE5)
- clinic (CL6)
- clip (CL4)
- clipped (CL7)
- decide (DE6)
- decided (DE7)
- decline (DE7)
- declined (DE8)
- deice (DE5)
- deiced (DE6)
- deicide (DE7)
- dependence (DE10)
- dice (DI4)
- diced (DI5)
- epic (EP4)
- epicene (EP7)
- iced (IC4)
- icicle (IC6)
- incidence (IN9)
- incipience (IN10)
- incline (IN7)
- inclined (IN8)
- independence (IN12)
- lenience (LE8)
- lice (LI4)
- nice (NI4)
- niece (NI5)
- pellicle (PE8)
- pence (PE5)
- pencil (PE6)
- penicillin (PE10)
- picnic (PI6)
- piece (PI5)
- pieced (PI6)
Answer Definitions
- penciled† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- cede (verb): To give up; yield to another.
- ceded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cede
- cell (noun): A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
- celled (adjective): Containing cells; cellular.
- celli (noun): plural of cello
- clinic (noun): A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients.
- clip (verb): To grip tightly.
- clipped (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- decide (verb): to resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle
- decided (verb): simple past tense and past participle of decide
- decline (noun): Downward movement, fall.(Can we add an example for this sense? )
- declined (verb): simple past and past participle of decline
- deice (verb): To remove the ice from something.
- deiced (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deice
- deicide (noun): The killing of a god or goddess; godslaughter.
- dependence (noun): The state of being dependent, of relying upon another.
- dice (noun): Gaming with one or more dice.
- diced (verb): simple past tense and past participle of dice
- epic (noun): An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a deity, demigod (heroic epic), other legend or traditional hero.
- epicene (adjective): Of or relating to a class of Greek and Latin nouns that may refer to males or females but have a fixed grammatical gender (feminine, masculine, neuter, etc.).
- iced (adjective): With ice added.
- icicle (noun): A drooping, tapering shape of ice.
- incidence (noun): The act of something happening; occurrence.
- incipience (noun): A beginning, or first stage.
- incline (verb): To bend or move (something) out of a given plane or direction, often the horizontal or vertical.
- inclined (adjective): At an angle to the horizontal; slanted or sloped.
- independence (noun): The quality or state of being independent; lack of dependence; the state of not being reliant on, or controlled by, others.
- lenience (noun): Leniency: mercy or forgiveness in the assignment of punishment.
- lice (noun): plural of louse
- nice (adjective): Pleasant, satisfactory.
- niece (noun): A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece").
- pellicle (noun): A thin skin or film.
- pence (noun): plural of penny (the subunit of the pound sterling or Irish pound).
- pencil (noun): A paintbrush.
- penicillin (noun): Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases.
- picnic (noun): An informal social gathering, usually in a natural outdoor setting, to which the participants bring their own food and drink.
- piece (noun): A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
- pieced (verb): simple past tense and past participle of piece