NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 18, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | P |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, h, t, u, z |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 16 words |
| Total Points | 60 points |
| Genius Level | 42 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C | 1 | 2 | - | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| H | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| P | 7 | 1 | - | - | - | 8 |
| T | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Z | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 9 | 3 | - | 3 | 1 | 16 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | |
|---|---|
| C | CA×2 CH×3 CU×2 |
| H | |
| P | PA×4 PH×1 PU×3 |
| T | TA×1 |
| U | |
| Z |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | |
|---|---|
| C | CAP×1 CAT×1 CHA×1 CHU×2 CUP×1 CUT×1 |
| H | |
| P | PAC×1 PAP×1 PAT×2 PHA×1 PUP×1 PUT×2 |
| T | TAP×1 |
| U | |
| Z |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ch...... † | CH8 | Nearly arrogant courage; utter audacity, effrontery or impudence; supreme self-confidence; exaggerated self-opinion. |
| ca..... | CA7 | Alternative letter-case form of CAPTCHA |
| ca..... | CA7 | Alternative form of catsup |
| ch.. | CH4 | A man, a fellow. |
| ch..... | CH7 | The canopy over a Jewish couple during their marriage ceremony. |
| cu... | CU5 | A cup of tea (or sometimes any hot drink). |
| cu... | CU5 | Someone who cuts up; someone who acts boisterously or clownishly, for example, by playing practical jokes. |
| pa.. | PA4 | An agreement; a compact; a covenant. |
| pa.. | PA4 | Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father. |
| pa... | PA5 | A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a hole. |
| pa.. | PA4 | A trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians. |
| ph.. | PH4 | Excellent; cool; very good. |
| pu.. | PU4 | Used as a specific epithet; resembling an insect in its pupal stage of development. |
| pu.. | PU4 | The act of tapping a golf ball lightly on a putting green. |
| pu.. | PU4 | Fool, idiot. |
| ta.. | TA4 | A kind of cloth prepared by the Polynesians from the inner bark of the paper mulberry. |
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.
- chutzpah† (CH8)
- captcha (CA7)
- catchup (CA7)
- chap (CH4)
- chuppah (CH7)
- cuppa (CU5)
- cutup (CU5)
- pact (PA4)
- papa (PA4)
- patch (PA5)
- path (PA4)
- phat (PH4)
- pupa (PU4)
- putt (PU4)
- putz (PU4)
- tapa (TA4)
Answer Definitions
- chutzpah† (noun): Nearly arrogant courage; utter audacity, effrontery or impudence; supreme self-confidence; exaggerated self-opinion.
- captcha (noun): Alternative letter-case form of CAPTCHA
- catchup (noun): Alternative form of catsup
- chap (noun): A man, a fellow.
- chuppah (noun): The canopy over a Jewish couple during their marriage ceremony.
- cuppa (noun): A cup of tea (or sometimes any hot drink).
- cutup (noun): Someone who cuts up; someone who acts boisterously or clownishly, for example, by playing practical jokes.
- pact (noun): An agreement; a compact; a covenant.
- papa (noun): Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father.
- patch (noun): A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a hole.
- path (noun): A trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians.
- phat (adjective): Excellent; cool; very good.
- pupa (noun): Used as a specific epithet; resembling an insect in its pupal stage of development.
- putt (noun): The act of tapping a golf ball lightly on a putting green.
- putz (noun): Fool, idiot.
- tapa (noun): A kind of cloth prepared by the Polynesians from the inner bark of the paper mulberry.