NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 12, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, m, n, o, t |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 38 words |
| Total Points | 201 points |
| Genius Level | 141 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 | 11 | 12 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| B | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| C | 7 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 27 |
| M | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| N | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 |
| O | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 2 | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | Σ | 10 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 38 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | |
|---|---|
| B | BA×2 BO×1 |
| C | CA×12 CO×15 |
| M | |
| N | NO×2 |
| O | OC×1 |
| T | TA×2 TO×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | |
|---|---|
| B | BAC×1 BAN×1 BOB×1 |
| C | CAB×1 CAC×1 CAM×1 CAN×8 CAT×1 COA×1 COC×3 COM×7 CON×2 COO×1 COT×1 |
| M | |
| N | NON×2 |
| O | OCT×1 |
| T | TAC×2 TOB×1 TOC×1 TOM×1 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| co....... † | CO9 | A person engaged in combat, often armed. |
| no.......... † | NO12 | Alternative form of non-combatant |
| ba... | BA5 | Cured meat from the sides, belly, or back of a pig. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A bench; a high seat, or seat of distinction or judgment. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A North American wild cat, Lynx rufus, having tufted ears and a short tail. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A cabin or hut for relaxing. |
| ca... | CA5 | A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A pattern on clothing consisting of irregularly shaped patches that are either greenish/brownish, brownish/whitish, or bluish/whitish, as used by ground combat forces. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France. |
| ca... | CA5 | Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery tube and a breech mechanism, firing mechanism or base cap, which is a component of a gun, howitzer or mortar. It may include muzzle appendages. |
| ca.... | CA6 | Can not (be unable to). |
| ca... | CA5 | A generally accepted principle; a rule. |
| ca.. | CA4 | An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup. |
| ca..... | CA7 | A vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century Italian music. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A division of a political unit. One of the states comprising the Swiss Confederation. A subdivision of an arrondissement of France. A division of Luxembourg, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc. A subdivision of a county, of Quebec, Canada; equivalent to a township. |
| ca...... | CA8 | An underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome. |
| co.. | CO4 | An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms. |
| co.. | CO4 | Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. |
| co... | CO5 | The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. |
| co.... | CO6 | The silky protective case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, the pupa. |
| co.. | CO4 | A state of unconsciousness from which one may not wake up, usually induced by some form of trauma. |
| co.. | CO4 | A toothed implement: A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place. A machine used in separating choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers. The toothed plate at the top and bottom of an escalator that prevents objects getting trapped between the moving stairs and fixed landings. A toothed tool used for chasing screws on work in a lathe; a chaser. The notched scale of a wire micrometer. The collector of an electrical machine, usually resembling a comb. A toothed plate used for creating wells in agar gels for electrophoresis. A toothed wooden pick used to push the weft thread tightly against the previous pass of thread to create a tight weave. One of a pair of peculiar organs on the base of the abdomen in scorpions, with which they comb substrate. |
| co.... | CO6 | A battle, a fight (often one in which weapons are used). |
| co... | CO5 | A small musical group. |
| co... | CO5 | English Wikipedia has an article on:commaWikipedia The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set of parts of a sentence or between elements of a list. |
| co.... | CO6 | Mutual; shared by more than one. |
| co..... | CO7 | To prepare something by mixing various ingredients, especially to prepare food for cooking. |
| co..... | CO7 | The act of touching physically; being in close association. |
| co.. | CO4 | Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead. |
| co.... | CO6 | Gossypium, a genus of plant used as a source of cotton fiber. |
| no.... | NO6 | A non-commissioned officer, such as a sergeant (army) or petty officer (navy). |
| oc.... | OC6 | The eighth part of a circle; an arc of 45 degrees. |
| ta.. | TA4 | A Mexican snack food made of a small tortilla (soft or hard shelled) filled with ingredients such as meat, rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables and salsa. |
| ta.. | TA4 | The sense of touch; feeling. |
| to..... | TO7 | Any plant of the genus Nicotiana. |
| to..... | TO7 | A piece of music (usually for a keyboard instrument) designed to emphasise the dexterity of the performer. |
| to.... | TO6 | A tom, an intact male cat. |
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.
- combatant† (CO9)
- noncombatant† (NO12)
- bacon (BA5)
- banc (BA4)
- bobcat (BO6)
- cabana (CA6)
- cacao (CA5)
- camo (CA4)
- cancan (CA6)
- canna (CA5)
- cannon (CA6)
- cannot (CA6)
- canon (CA5)
- cant (CA4)
- cantata (CA7)
- canton (CA6)
- catacomb (CA8)
- coat (CO4)
- coca (CO4)
- cocoa (CO5)
- cocoon (CO6)
- coma (CO4)
- comb (CO4)
- combat (CO6)
- combo (CO5)
- comma (CO5)
- common (CO6)
- concoct (CO7)
- contact (CO7)
- coot (CO4)
- cotton (CO6)
- noncom (NO6)
- octant (OC6)
- taco (TA4)
- tact (TA4)
- tobacco (TO7)
- toccata (TO7)
- tomcat (TO6)
Answer Definitions
- combatant† (noun): A person engaged in combat, often armed.
- noncombatant† (noun): Alternative form of non-combatant
- bacon (noun): Cured meat from the sides, belly, or back of a pig.
- banc (noun): A bench; a high seat, or seat of distinction or judgment.
- bobcat (noun): A North American wild cat, Lynx rufus, having tufted ears and a short tail.
- cabana (noun): A cabin or hut for relaxing.
- cacao (noun): A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate.
- camo (noun): A pattern on clothing consisting of irregularly shaped patches that are either greenish/brownish, brownish/whitish, or bluish/whitish, as used by ground combat forces.
- cancan (noun): A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.
- canna (noun): Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.
- cannon (noun): A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery tube and a breech mechanism, firing mechanism or base cap, which is a component of a gun, howitzer or mortar. It may include muzzle appendages.
- cannot (verb): Can not (be unable to).
- canon (noun): A generally accepted principle; a rule.
- cant (noun): An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup.
- cantata (noun): A vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century Italian music.
- canton (noun): A division of a political unit. One of the states comprising the Swiss Confederation. A subdivision of an arrondissement of France. A division of Luxembourg, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc. A subdivision of a county, of Quebec, Canada; equivalent to a township.
- catacomb (noun): An underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome.
- coat (noun): An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms.
- coca (noun): Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.
- cocoa (noun): The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made.
- cocoon (noun): The silky protective case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, the pupa.
- coma (noun): A state of unconsciousness from which one may not wake up, usually induced by some form of trauma.
- comb (noun): A toothed implement: A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place. A machine used in separating choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers. The toothed plate at the top and bottom of an escalator that prevents objects getting trapped between the moving stairs and fixed landings. A toothed tool used for chasing screws on work in a lathe; a chaser. The notched scale of a wire micrometer. The collector of an electrical machine, usually resembling a comb. A toothed plate used for creating wells in agar gels for electrophoresis. A toothed wooden pick used to push the weft thread tightly against the previous pass of thread to create a tight weave. One of a pair of peculiar organs on the base of the abdomen in scorpions, with which they comb substrate.
- combat (noun): A battle, a fight (often one in which weapons are used).
- combo (noun): A small musical group.
- comma (noun): English Wikipedia has an article on:commaWikipedia The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set of parts of a sentence or between elements of a list.
- common (adjective): Mutual; shared by more than one.
- concoct (verb): To prepare something by mixing various ingredients, especially to prepare food for cooking.
- contact (noun): The act of touching physically; being in close association.
- coot (noun): Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead.
- cotton (noun): Gossypium, a genus of plant used as a source of cotton fiber.
- noncom (noun): A non-commissioned officer, such as a sergeant (army) or petty officer (navy).
- octant (noun): The eighth part of a circle; an arc of 45 degrees.
- taco (noun): A Mexican snack food made of a small tortilla (soft or hard shelled) filled with ingredients such as meat, rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables and salsa.
- tact (noun): The sense of touch; feeling.
- tobacco (noun): Any plant of the genus Nicotiana.
- toccata (noun): A piece of music (usually for a keyboard instrument) designed to emphasise the dexterity of the performer.
- tomcat (noun): A tom, an intact male cat.