NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 15, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | M |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, g, i, n, p |
| # of Pangrams | 3 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 50 words |
| Total Points | 280 points |
| Genius Level | 196 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| C | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 6 |
| G | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| I | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | 4 |
| M | 6 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | 28 |
| N | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| P | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 | Σ | 11 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 2 | - | 1 | 50 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AI×1 AM×1 AN×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×6 |
| G | GA×3 GI×1 |
| I | IM×4 |
| M | MA×18 MI×10 |
| N | NA×1 |
| P | PA×2 PI×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AIM×1 AMP×1 ANI×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAI×1 CAM×5 |
| G | GAM×3 GIM×1 |
| I | IMA×3 IMP×1 |
| M | MAC×1 MAG×4 MAI×3 MAM×2 MAN×7 MAP×1 MIC×1 MIM×2 MIN×7 |
| N | NAM×1 |
| P | PAM×1 PAN×1 PIM×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ca...... † | CA8 | A series of operations undertaken to achieve a set goal. |
| ca......... † | CA11 | gerund of campaign: the act of taking part in a campaign. |
| ca..... † | CA7 | present participle of camp |
| ai.... | AI6 | present participle of aim |
| am.... | AM6 | present participle of amp |
| an... | AN5 | The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus. |
| ca.... | CA6 | Any of the relatively small crocodilians of the genus Caiman, within the family Alligatoridae. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A camisole. |
| ca.. | CA4 | An outdoor place acting as temporary accommodation in tents or other temporary structures. |
| ga... | GA5 | A homeless boy; a male street urchin; also , a cheeky, street-smart boy. |
| ga.... | GA6 | present participle of game |
| ga... | GA5 | The third letter of the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ), preceded by beta (Β, β) and followed by delta, (Δ, δ). |
| gi.. | GI4 | A narrow ornamental fabric or braid of silk, wool, or cotton, often stiffened with metallic wire or coarse cord running through it, used as trimming for dresses, curtains, furniture, etc. Also guimpe. |
| im..... | IM7 | present participle of image |
| im....... | IM9 | Something imagined; a figment of the imagination. |
| im.. | IM4 | One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque. |
| im....... | IM9 | present participle of impinge |
| ma.... | MA6 | present participle of mace |
| ma.. | MA4 | plural of mage |
| ma... | MA5 | The application of rituals or actions, especially those based on occult knowledge, to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces in order to have some benefit from them |
| ma...... | MA8 | A person who plays with or practices allegedly supernatural magic. |
| ma... | MA5 | The molten matter within the earth, the source of the material of lava flows, dikes of eruptive rocks, etc. |
| ma.. | MA4 | To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body. |
| ma..... | MA7 | present participle of maim |
| ma.. | MA4 | Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal. |
| ma.. | MA4 | Mother, female parent. |
| ma... | MA5 | The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder. |
| ma...... | MA8 | present participle of manage |
| ma... | MA5 | A comic originating in Japan. |
| ma... | MA5 | Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity. |
| ma.... | MA6 | An insane person, especially one who suffers from a mania. |
| ma... | MA5 | Of or pertaining to someone who exhibits mania or craziness; wicked. |
| ma... | MA5 | Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus. |
| ma..... | MA7 | present participle of man |
| ma..... | MA7 | The process of making maps. |
| mi.. | MI4 | Any of a group of hydrous aluminosilicate minerals characterized by highly perfect cleavage, so that they readily separate into very thin leaves, more or less elastic. |
| mi... | MI5 | To imitate, especially in order to ridicule. |
| mi.... | MI6 | present participle of mime |
| mi..... | MI7 | present participle of mince |
| mi.. | MI4 | Miniature, tiny, small. |
| mi..... | MI7 | A small movie camera. |
| mi...... | MI8 | A short training session for members of a professional sports team, held before the main preseason training |
| mi... | MI5 | A half note, drawn as a semibreve with a stem. |
| mi.... | MI6 | plural of minimum |
| mi.... | MI6 | The activity of removing solid valuables from the earth. |
| na.... | NA6 | The process of giving names to things. |
| pa... | PA5 | singular of pampas |
| pa.... | PA6 | a lightweight hat of natural-colored straw hand-plaited of narrow strips from the young leaves of the jipijapa |
| pi.. | PI4 | Someone who solicits customers for prostitution and acts as manager for a group of prostitutes; a pander. |
| pi..... | PI7 | Little or petty. |
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.
- campaign† (CA8)
- campaigning† (CA11)
- camping† (CA7)
- aiming (AI6)
- amping (AM6)
- anima (AN5)
- caiman (CA6)
- cami (CA4)
- camp (CA4)
- gamin (GA5)
- gaming (GA6)
- gamma (GA5)
- gimp (GI4)
- imaging (IM7)
- imagining (IM9)
- imam (IM4)
- impinging (IM9)
- macing (MA6)
- magi (MA4)
- magic (MA5)
- magician (MA8)
- magma (MA5)
- maim (MA4)
- maiming (MA7)
- main (MA4)
- mama (MA4)
- mamma (MA5)
- managing (MA8)
- manga (MA5)
- mania (MA5)
- maniac (MA6)
- manic (MA5)
- manna (MA5)
- manning (MA7)
- mapping (MA7)
- mica (MI4)
- mimic (MI5)
- miming (MI6)
- mincing (MI7)
- mini (MI4)
- minicam (MI7)
- minicamp (MI8)
- minim (MI5)
- minima (MI6)
- mining (MI6)
- naming (NA6)
- pampa (PA5)
- panama (PA6)
- pimp (PI4)
- pimping (PI7)
Answer Definitions
- campaign† (noun): A series of operations undertaken to achieve a set goal.
- campaigning† (noun): gerund of campaign: the act of taking part in a campaign.
- camping† (verb): present participle of camp
- aiming (verb): present participle of aim
- amping (verb): present participle of amp
- anima (noun): The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus.
- caiman (noun): Any of the relatively small crocodilians of the genus Caiman, within the family Alligatoridae.
- cami (noun): A camisole.
- camp (noun): An outdoor place acting as temporary accommodation in tents or other temporary structures.
- gamin (noun): A homeless boy; a male street urchin; also , a cheeky, street-smart boy.
- gaming (verb): present participle of game
- gamma (noun): The third letter of the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ), preceded by beta (Β, β) and followed by delta, (Δ, δ).
- gimp (noun): A narrow ornamental fabric or braid of silk, wool, or cotton, often stiffened with metallic wire or coarse cord running through it, used as trimming for dresses, curtains, furniture, etc. Also guimpe.
- imaging (verb): present participle of image
- imagining (noun): Something imagined; a figment of the imagination.
- imam (noun): One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque.
- impinging (verb): present participle of impinge
- macing (verb): present participle of mace
- magi (noun): plural of mage
- magic (noun): The application of rituals or actions, especially those based on occult knowledge, to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces in order to have some benefit from them
- magician (noun): A person who plays with or practices allegedly supernatural magic.
- magma (noun): The molten matter within the earth, the source of the material of lava flows, dikes of eruptive rocks, etc.
- maim (verb): To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body.
- maiming (verb): present participle of maim
- main (adjective): Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal.
- mama (noun): Mother, female parent.
- mamma (noun): The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder.
- managing (verb): present participle of manage
- manga (noun): A comic originating in Japan.
- mania (noun): Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity.
- maniac (noun): An insane person, especially one who suffers from a mania.
- manic (adjective): Of or pertaining to someone who exhibits mania or craziness; wicked.
- manna (noun): Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus.
- manning (verb): present participle of man
- mapping (noun): The process of making maps.
- mica (noun): Any of a group of hydrous aluminosilicate minerals characterized by highly perfect cleavage, so that they readily separate into very thin leaves, more or less elastic.
- mimic (verb): To imitate, especially in order to ridicule.
- miming (verb): present participle of mime
- mincing (verb): present participle of mince
- mini (adjective): Miniature, tiny, small.
- minicam (noun): A small movie camera.
- minicamp (noun): A short training session for members of a professional sports team, held before the main preseason training
- minim (noun): A half note, drawn as a semibreve with a stem.
- minima (noun): plural of minimum
- mining (noun): The activity of removing solid valuables from the earth.
- naming (noun): The process of giving names to things.
- pampa (noun): singular of pampas
- panama (noun): a lightweight hat of natural-colored straw hand-plaited of narrow strips from the young leaves of the jipijapa
- pimp (noun): Someone who solicits customers for prostitution and acts as manager for a group of prostitutes; a pander.
- pimping (adjective): Little or petty.