NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 13, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter N with outer letters O, Y, A, C, H, L. The puzzle contains 39 words worth 182 points, including 1 pangram. The longest word is 9 letters. To reach Genius you need 127 points; Queen Bee requires all 182 points. Today is not a bingo — at least one letter starts no words. Compared with the eight-year average of about 183 points per puzzle, this is a smaller-than-average day.
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | o, y, a, c, h, l |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 39 words |
| Total Points | 182 points |
| Genius Level | 127 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 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | 7 |
| C | 2 | 6 | 8 | - | - | 1 | 17 |
| H | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| L | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| N | 3 | 3 | - | - | 1 | - | 7 |
| O | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 10 | 15 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 39 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AN×7 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×8 CH×1 CL×2 CO×5 CY×1 |
| H | HA×1 HO×1 |
| L | LL×1 LO×3 |
| N | NA×4 NO×2 NY×1 |
| O | ON×2 |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ANA×2 ANC×1 ANN×2 ANO×1 ANY×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAN×8 CHA×1 CLA×1 CLO×1 COC×1 COL×3 CON×1 CYA×1 |
| H | HAL×1 HON×1 |
| L | LLA×1 LOA×1 LOO×2 |
| N | NAA×1 NAC×1 NAN×2 NON×1 NOO×1 NYL×1 |
| O | ONL×2 |
| Y |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ha..... † | HA7 | A kingfisher said in classical mythology to nest on the sea, thereby calming the waters. The dead body of such a bird, said in Tudor times to act as a weather vane when hung from a beam. |
| an.. | AN4 | of, related to, intended for or involving the anus. |
| an.... | AN6 | Involving the anus. |
| an... | AN5 | A broad, flat, dried poblano pepper, often ground into a powder. |
| an... | AN5 | The record of a single event or item. |
| an... | AN5 | To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds. |
| an.. | AN4 | Straight away; at once. |
| an.... | AN6 | anyhow |
| ca... | CA5 | An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation. |
| 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... | CA5 | Careful, prudent, cautious. |
| ca.... | CA6 | Any of a number of cultivars of rapeseed (Brassica napus) and closely related field mustard (Brassica rapa), which have a lower erucic acid and glucosinolate content than traditional rapeseed. |
| ca... | CA5 | A generally accepted principle; a rule. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A valley, especially a long, narrow, steep valley, cut in rock by a river. |
| ch.... | CH6 | uncertain, risky, hazardous |
| cl.. | CL4 | A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known. |
| cl.... | CL6 | Relating to, or created by asexual reproduction (cloning) |
| co.... | CO6 | The silky protective case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, the pupa. |
| co....... | CO9 | A traditional Irish dish made from mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale, with scallions, butter, salt and pepper added. |
| co... | CO5 | The punctuation mark ":". |
| co.... | CO6 | An area under the political control of another country and typically occupied by settlers (colonists) from it, or by their descendants. |
| co... | CO5 | A marine gastropod of the family Strombidae which lives in its own spiral shell. |
| cy.. | CY4 | A vibrant pale greenish-blue colour between blue and green in the visible spectrum; the complementary colour of red; the colour obtained by subtracting red from white light. |
| ho.... | HO6 | boss, leader |
| ll... | LL5 | A plain or steppe in parts of Latin America. |
| lo.. | LO4 | An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use. |
| lo.. | LO4 | An idler, a lout. |
| lo... | LO5 | Insane. |
| na.. | NA4 | A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine. |
| na... | NA5 | A single tortilla chip from a dish of nachos. |
| na.. | NA4 | A banana. |
| na... | NA5 | A child's nurse. |
| no...... | NO8 | Not local; not specific to a location |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| ny... | NY5 | Originally, the DuPont company trade name for polyamide, a copolymer whose molecules consist of alternating diamine and dicarboxylic acid monomers bonded together; now generically used for this type of polymer. |
| on... | ON5 | To lay or place something on a surface. |
| on.. | ON4 | Alone in a category. |
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.
- halcyon† (HA7)
- anal (AN4)
- anally (AN6)
- ancho (AN5)
- annal (AN5)
- annoy (AN5)
- anon (AN4)
- anyhoo (AN6)
- canal (CA5)
- cancan (CA6)
- canna (CA5)
- cannon (CA6)
- canny (CA5)
- canola (CA6)
- canon (CA5)
- canyon (CA6)
- chancy (CH6)
- clan (CL4)
- clonal (CL6)
- cocoon (CO6)
- colcannon (CO9)
- colon (CO5)
- colony (CO6)
- conch (CO5)
- cyan (CY4)
- honcho (HO6)
- llano (LL5)
- loan (LO4)
- loon (LO4)
- loony (LO5)
- naan (NA4)
- nacho (NA5)
- nana (NA4)
- nanny (NA5)
- nonlocal (NO8)
- noon (NO4)
- nylon (NY5)
- onlay (ON5)
- only (ON4)
Answer Definitions
- halcyon† (noun): A kingfisher said in classical mythology to nest on the sea, thereby calming the waters. The dead body of such a bird, said in Tudor times to act as a weather vane when hung from a beam.
- anal (adjective): of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
- anally (adverb): Involving the anus.
- ancho (noun): A broad, flat, dried poblano pepper, often ground into a powder.
- annal (noun): The record of a single event or item.
- annoy (verb): To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds.
- anon (adverb): Straight away; at once.
- anyhoo (adverb): anyhow
- canal (noun): An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.
- 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.
- canny (adjective): Careful, prudent, cautious.
- canola (noun): Any of a number of cultivars of rapeseed (Brassica napus) and closely related field mustard (Brassica rapa), which have a lower erucic acid and glucosinolate content than traditional rapeseed.
- canon (noun): A generally accepted principle; a rule.
- canyon (noun): A valley, especially a long, narrow, steep valley, cut in rock by a river.
- chancy (adjective): uncertain, risky, hazardous
- clan (noun): A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known.
- clonal (adjective): Relating to, or created by asexual reproduction (cloning)
- cocoon (noun): The silky protective case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, the pupa.
- colcannon (noun): A traditional Irish dish made from mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale, with scallions, butter, salt and pepper added.
- colon (noun): The punctuation mark ":".
- colony (noun): An area under the political control of another country and typically occupied by settlers (colonists) from it, or by their descendants.
- conch (noun): A marine gastropod of the family Strombidae which lives in its own spiral shell.
- cyan (noun): A vibrant pale greenish-blue colour between blue and green in the visible spectrum; the complementary colour of red; the colour obtained by subtracting red from white light.
- honcho (noun): boss, leader
- llano (noun): A plain or steppe in parts of Latin America.
- loan (noun): An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use.
- loon (noun): An idler, a lout.
- loony (adjective): Insane.
- naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
- nacho (noun): A single tortilla chip from a dish of nachos.
- nana (noun): A banana.
- nanny (noun): A child's nurse.
- nonlocal (adjective): Not local; not specific to a location
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- nylon (noun): Originally, the DuPont company trade name for polyamide, a copolymer whose molecules consist of alternating diamine and dicarboxylic acid monomers bonded together; now generically used for this type of polymer.
- onlay (verb): To lay or place something on a surface.
- only (adjective): Alone in a category.