NYT Spelling Bee Answers for July 16, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | D |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, i, r, t, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 37 words |
| Total Points | 166 points |
| Genius Level | 116 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 10 |
| C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| D | 6 | 7 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| T | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Y | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | Σ | 12 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 37 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×6 AD×1 AR×3 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×3 CI×1 |
| D | DA×4 DI×8 DR×3 DY×1 |
| I | |
| R | RA×3 |
| T | TA×1 TI×1 TR×1 |
| Y | YA×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACI×4 ACR×2 ADD×1 ARC×1 ARI×2 |
|---|---|
| C | CAD×1 CAR×2 CIC×1 |
| D | DAD×1 DAI×1 DAR×1 DAT×1 DIA×2 DIC×1 DID×2 DIR×2 DIT×1 DRA×2 DRY×1 DYA×1 |
| I | |
| R | RAD×2 RAI×1 |
| T | TAR×1 TID×1 TRI×1 |
| Y | YAR×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ac...... † | AC8 | Bitterness or acerbity. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar. |
| ac.... | AC6 | Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red. |
| ac..... | AC7 | The quality or state of being acid. |
| ac... | AC5 | Like an acid, somewhat acid. |
| ac... | AC5 | Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not to the taste. |
| ad.... | AD6 | A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug |
| ar..... | AR7 | Alternative letter-case form of Arcadia |
| ar.. | AR4 | Very dry. |
| ar..... | AR7 | A long-term lack of rainfall or moisture. |
| ca... | CA5 | One hired to assist another in playing the game of golf. |
| ca.. | CA4 | cardinality |
| ca..... | CA7 | Pertaining to the heart. |
| ci.... | CI6 | Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. The periodical cicada. |
| da... | DA5 | Father. |
| da... | DA5 | A place, often on a farm, where milk is processed and turned into products such as butter and cheese. |
| da.. | DA4 | A pointed missile weapon, intended to be thrown by the hand; for example, a short lance or javelin. |
| da.. | DA4 | plural of datum |
| di....... | DI9 | distinguishing |
| di... | DI5 | A daily log of experiences, especially those of the writer. |
| di... | DI5 | plural of dictum |
| di.... | DI6 | a didactic person |
| di...... | DI8 | Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality. |
| di.. | DI4 | Soil or earth. |
| di... | DI5 | Unclean; covered with or containing unpleasant substances such as dirt or grime. |
| di... | DI5 | A short, simple verse or song. |
| dr.. | DR4 | To damn or curse. |
| dr.. | DR4 | A low horse-drawn cart, often without sides, and used especially for heavy loads. |
| dr... | DR5 | A female tree spirit. |
| dy.. | DY4 | A set of two elements treated as one; a pair. |
| ra... | RA5 | A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces |
| ra... | RA5 | plural of radius |
| ra.. | RA4 | A quick hostile or predatory incursion or invasion in a battle. |
| ta... | TA5 | Late; overdue or delayed. |
| ti.. | TI4 | Arranged neatly and in order. |
| tr... | TR5 | A grouping of three. |
| ya.. | YA4 | A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building. |
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.
- acridity† (AC8)
- acid (AC4)
- acidic (AC6)
- acidity (AC7)
- acidy (AC5)
- acrid (AC5)
- addict (AD6)
- arcadia (AR7)
- arid (AR4)
- aridity (AR7)
- caddy (CA5)
- card (CA4)
- cardiac (CA7)
- cicada (CI6)
- daddy (DA5)
- dairy (DA5)
- dart (DA4)
- data (DA4)
- diacritic (DI9)
- diary (DI5)
- dicta (DI5)
- didact (DI6)
- didactic (DI8)
- dirt (DI4)
- dirty (DI5)
- ditty (DI5)
- drat (DR4)
- dray (DR4)
- dryad (DR5)
- dyad (DY4)
- radar (RA5)
- radii (RA5)
- raid (RA4)
- tardy (TA5)
- tidy (TI4)
- triad (TR5)
- yard (YA4)
Answer Definitions
- acridity† (noun): Bitterness or acerbity.
- acid (adjective): Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar.
- acidic (adjective): Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red.
- acidity (noun): The quality or state of being acid.
- acidy (adjective): Like an acid, somewhat acid.
- acrid (adjective): Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not to the taste.
- addict (noun): A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug
- arcadia (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Arcadia
- arid (adjective): Very dry.
- aridity (noun): A long-term lack of rainfall or moisture.
- caddy (noun): One hired to assist another in playing the game of golf.
- card (symbol): cardinality
- cardiac (adjective): Pertaining to the heart.
- cicada (noun): Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. The periodical cicada.
- daddy (noun): Father.
- dairy (noun): A place, often on a farm, where milk is processed and turned into products such as butter and cheese.
- dart (noun): A pointed missile weapon, intended to be thrown by the hand; for example, a short lance or javelin.
- data (noun): plural of datum
- diacritic (adjective): distinguishing
- diary (noun): A daily log of experiences, especially those of the writer.
- dicta (noun): plural of dictum
- didact (noun): a didactic person
- didactic (adjective): Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality.
- dirt (noun): Soil or earth.
- dirty (adjective): Unclean; covered with or containing unpleasant substances such as dirt or grime.
- ditty (noun): A short, simple verse or song.
- drat (verb): To damn or curse.
- dray (noun): A low horse-drawn cart, often without sides, and used especially for heavy loads.
- dryad (noun): A female tree spirit.
- dyad (noun): A set of two elements treated as one; a pair.
- radar (noun): A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces
- radii (noun): plural of radius
- raid (noun): A quick hostile or predatory incursion or invasion in a battle.
- tardy (adjective): Late; overdue or delayed.
- tidy (adjective): Arranged neatly and in order.
- triad (noun): A grouping of three.
- yard (noun): A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building.