NYT Spelling Bee Answers for March 16, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, e, g, i, l, x |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 38 words |
| Total Points | 225 points |
| Genius Level | 158 points |
| Bingo? | No |
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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| E | - | - | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| G | 2 | 2 | - | 4 | 1 | - | - | 9 |
| I | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 5 |
| L | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| N | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | 2 | - | 1 | 9 |
| X | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 38 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CE×1 CL×3 |
|---|---|
| E | EG×1 EN×1 EX×3 |
| G | GE×4 GI×4 GL×1 |
| I | IC×1 IN×4 |
| L | LE×2 LI×4 |
| N | NE×3 NI×6 |
| X |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CEI×1 CLI×3 |
|---|---|
| E | EGG×1 ENG×1 EXC×2 EXI×1 |
| G | GEL×1 GEN×3 GIG×2 GIL×1 GIN×1 GLE×1 |
| I | ICI×1 INC×2 INN×2 |
| L | LEG×1 LEN×1 LIE×1 LIN×3 |
| N | NEG×2 NEN×1 NIC×1 NIE×1 NIG×2 NIN×1 NIX×1 |
| X |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ex....... † | EX9 | present participle of excel |
| ce..... | CE7 | The overhead closure of a room. |
| cl... | CL5 | Fruit (especially peach) whose flesh adheres strongly to the pit. |
| cl...... | CL8 | present participle and gerund of cling |
| cl.... | CL6 | A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients. |
| eg.... | EG6 | present participle of egg |
| en.... | EN6 | A large construction used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult etc. |
| ex........ | EX10 | The quality of being excellent; brilliance |
| ex..... | EX7 | present participle of exile |
| ge..... | GE7 | present participle of gel |
| ge.. | GE4 | A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; a gene may take several values and in principle predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color. |
| ge... | GE5 | A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally invisible to the human eye, but who may also appear in animal or human form. |
| ge... | GE5 | plural of genius; guardian spirits |
| gi..... | GI7 | gerund of gig (in various senses). The act of engaging in a musical performance, acting in a theatre production, etc. The practice of working at a job, especially one that is freelance or temporary, or done on an on-demand basis. The act of catching or fishing with a gig or fizgig. |
| gi...... | GI8 | present participle of giggle |
| gi..... | GI7 | present participle of gill |
| gi..... | GI7 | present participle of gin |
| gl.. | GL4 | A secluded and narrow valley, especially one with a river running through it; a dale; a depression between hills. |
| ic... | IC5 | A sweet, often creamy and thick glaze made primarily of sugar, often enriched with ingredients like butter, egg whites, or flavorings, typically used for baked goods. |
| in..... | IN7 | To bend or move (something) out of a given plane or direction, often the horizontal or vertical. |
| in....... | IN9 | present participle of incline |
| in... | IN5 | A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen). |
| in.... | IN6 | A period of play in which members of a visiting baseball team attempt to hit a baseball pitched by the opposing home team until three players are called out, followed by a similar attempt by members of the home baseball team against the visiting team's pitching. There are nine or more innings in a regulation baseball game. |
| le..... | LE7 | A covering, usually of leather, worn from knee to ankle. |
| le...... | LE8 | Leniency: mercy or forgiveness in the assignment of punishment. |
| li.. | LI4 | A tendon. |
| li.. | LI4 | A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight. |
| li... | LI5 | Thread or cloth made from flax fiber. |
| li.... | LI6 | A covering for the inside surface of something. |
| ne...... | NE8 | Alternative form of négligée |
| ne........ | NE10 | The state of being negligent. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957. |
| 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"). |
| ni.... | NI6 | A minor complaint or problem. |
| ni...... | NI8 | present participle of niggle |
| ni.. | NI4 | NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9. |
| ni.... | NI6 | present participle of nix |
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.
- excelling† (EX9)
- ceiling (CE7)
- cling (CL5)
- clinging (CL8)
- clinic (CL6)
- egging (EG6)
- engine (EN6)
- excellence (EX10)
- exiling (EX7)
- gelling (GE7)
- gene (GE4)
- genie (GE5)
- genii (GE5)
- gigging (GI7)
- giggling (GI8)
- gilling (GI7)
- ginning (GI7)
- glen (GL4)
- icing (IC5)
- incline (IN7)
- inclining (IN9)
- innie (IN5)
- inning (IN6)
- legging (LE7)
- lenience (LE8)
- lien (LI4)
- line (LI4)
- linen (LI5)
- lining (LI6)
- negligee (NE8)
- negligence (NE10)
- nene (NE4)
- nice (NI4)
- niece (NI5)
- niggle (NI6)
- niggling (NI8)
- nine (NI4)
- nixing (NI6)
Answer Definitions
- excelling† (verb): present participle of excel
- ceiling (noun): The overhead closure of a room.
- cling (noun): Fruit (especially peach) whose flesh adheres strongly to the pit.
- clinging (verb): present participle and gerund of cling
- clinic (noun): A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients.
- egging (verb): present participle of egg
- engine (noun): A large construction used in warfare, such as a battering ram, catapult etc.
- excellence (noun): The quality of being excellent; brilliance
- exiling (verb): present participle of exile
- gelling (verb): present participle of gel
- gene (noun): A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; a gene may take several values and in principle predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.
- genie (noun): A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally invisible to the human eye, but who may also appear in animal or human form.
- genii (noun): plural of genius; guardian spirits
- gigging (noun): gerund of gig (in various senses). The act of engaging in a musical performance, acting in a theatre production, etc. The practice of working at a job, especially one that is freelance or temporary, or done on an on-demand basis. The act of catching or fishing with a gig or fizgig.
- giggling (verb): present participle of giggle
- gilling (verb): present participle of gill
- ginning (verb): present participle of gin
- glen (noun): A secluded and narrow valley, especially one with a river running through it; a dale; a depression between hills.
- icing (noun): A sweet, often creamy and thick glaze made primarily of sugar, often enriched with ingredients like butter, egg whites, or flavorings, typically used for baked goods.
- incline (verb): To bend or move (something) out of a given plane or direction, often the horizontal or vertical.
- inclining (verb): present participle of incline
- innie (noun): A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen).
- inning (noun): A period of play in which members of a visiting baseball team attempt to hit a baseball pitched by the opposing home team until three players are called out, followed by a similar attempt by members of the home baseball team against the visiting team's pitching. There are nine or more innings in a regulation baseball game.
- legging (noun): A covering, usually of leather, worn from knee to ankle.
- lenience (noun): Leniency: mercy or forgiveness in the assignment of punishment.
- lien (noun): A tendon.
- line (noun): A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
- linen (noun): Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
- lining (noun): A covering for the inside surface of something.
- negligee (noun): Alternative form of négligée
- negligence (noun): The state of being negligent.
- nene (noun): The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.
- 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").
- niggle (noun): A minor complaint or problem.
- niggling (verb): present participle of niggle
- nine (numeral): NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 9.
- nixing (verb): present participle of nix