NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 16, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter C with outer letters B, D, E, L, O, U. The puzzle contains 52 words worth 257 points, including 2 pangrams. The longest word is 9 letters. To reach Genius you need 180 points; Queen Bee requires all 257 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 larger-than-average day.
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, d, e, l, o, u |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 52 words |
| Total Points | 257 points |
| Genius Level | 180 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 5 |
| C | 12 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 1 | - | 36 |
| D | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| E | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| L | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| O | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 2 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 15 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 52 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| B | BE×2 BL×1 BO×2 |
|---|---|
| C | CE×7 CL×7 CO×15 CU×7 |
| D | DE×6 |
| E | ED×2 |
| L | LO×1 |
| O | OC×2 |
| U |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| B | BEC×2 BLO×1 BOC×1 BOU×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CED×2 CEL×5 CLO×3 CLU×4 COB×2 COD×4 COE×1 COL×3 COO×3 COU×2 CUB×2 CUD×2 CUE×1 CUL×2 |
| D | DEC×3 DED×2 DEU×1 |
| E | EDU×2 |
| L | LOC×1 |
| O | OCC×2 |
| U |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| be..... † | BE7 | No definition found; request failed |
| be....... † | BE9 | No definition found; request failed |
| bl.. | BL4 | A group of voters or politicians who share common goals. |
| bo... | BO5 | A game, similar to bowls or pétanque, played on a long, narrow, dirt-covered court |
| bo.... | BO6 | No definition found; request failed |
| ce.. | CE4 | To give up; yield to another. |
| ce... | CE5 | simple past tense and past participle of cede |
| ce... | CE5 | A celebrity; a famous person. |
| ce.. | CE4 | A single-room dwelling for a hermit. |
| ce.... | CE6 | Containing cells; cellular. |
| ce... | CE5 | A large unfretted stringed instrument of the violin family with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) C-G-D-A and an endpin to support its weight, usually played with a bow. |
| ce..... | CE7 | A small cell. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A lump of something, especially of earth or clay. |
| cl... | CL5 | A rock; boulder; a hill. |
| cl..... | CL7 | Filled with clouds. |
| cl.. | CL4 | An association of members joining together for some common purpose, especially sports or recreation. The fees associated with belonging to such a club. |
| cl..... | CL7 | simple past and past participle of club |
| cl.. | CL4 | A strand of yarn etc. as used to guide one through a labyrinth; something which points the way, a guide. |
| cl... | CL5 | simple past tense and past participle of clue |
| co.... | CO6 | A cobblestone. |
| co..... | CO7 | simple past tense and past participle of cobble |
| co.... | CO6 | To treat gently or with great care. |
| co..... | CO7 | simple past tense and past participle of coddle |
| co.. | CO4 | A short symbol, often with little relation to the item it represents. |
| co... | CO5 | Encoded; written in code or cipher. |
| co.. | CO4 | Alternative form of co-ed |
| co.. | CO4 | Having a low temperature. |
| co..... | CO7 | to act in concert with; to conspire |
| co...... | CO8 | simple past tense and past participle of collude |
| co... | CO5 | simple past tense and past participle of coo |
| co.. | CO4 | Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold. |
| co.... | CO6 | simple past tense and past participle of cool |
| co... | CO5 | simple past tense of can |
| co.... | CO6 | A stream. |
| cu.. | CU4 | A regular polyhedron having six identical square faces. |
| cu... | CU5 | simple past and past participle of cube |
| cu.... | CU6 | A snuggle; an affectionate embrace, often given to family members and close friends. |
| cu..... | CU7 | simple past tense and past participle of cuddle |
| cu.. | CU4 | simple past tense and past participle of cue |
| cu.. | CU4 | To pick or take someone or something (from a larger group). |
| cu.... | CU6 | simple past tense and past participle of cull |
| de.. | DE4 | Decompression. |
| de.... | DE6 | To convert from an encrypted form to plain text. |
| de..... | DE7 | simple past tense and past participle of decode |
| de.... | DE6 | To reach (a conclusion) by applying rules of logic or other forms of reasoning to given premises or known facts. |
| de..... | DE7 | simple past tense and past participle of deduce |
| de... | DE5 | A card with two pips, one of four in a standard deck of playing cards. |
| ed... | ED5 | To direct the course of (a flow, journey etc.); to lead in a particular direction. |
| ed.... | ED6 | simple past tense and past participle of educe |
| lo.. | LO4 | A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower. |
| oc..... | OC7 | To obstruct, cover, or otherwise block (an opening, a portion of an image, etc.). |
| oc...... | OC8 | simple past tense and past participle of occlude |
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.
- becloud† (BE7)
- beclouded† (BE9)
- bloc (BL4)
- bocce (BO5)
- boucle (BO6)
- cede (CE4)
- ceded (CE5)
- celeb (CE5)
- cell (CE4)
- celled (CE6)
- cello (CE5)
- cellule (CE7)
- clod (CL4)
- cloud (CL5)
- clouded (CL7)
- club (CL4)
- clubbed (CL7)
- clue (CL4)
- clued (CL5)
- cobble (CO6)
- cobbled (CO7)
- coddle (CO6)
- coddled (CO7)
- code (CO4)
- coded (CO5)
- coed (CO4)
- cold (CO4)
- collude (CO7)
- colluded (CO8)
- cooed (CO5)
- cool (CO4)
- cooled (CO6)
- could (CO5)
- coulee (CO6)
- cube (CU4)
- cubed (CU5)
- cuddle (CU6)
- cuddled (CU7)
- cued (CU4)
- cull (CU4)
- culled (CU6)
- deco (DE4)
- decode (DE6)
- decoded (DE7)
- deduce (DE6)
- deduced (DE7)
- deuce (DE5)
- educe (ED5)
- educed (ED6)
- loco (LO4)
- occlude (OC7)
- occluded (OC8)
Answer Definitions
- becloud† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- beclouded† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- bloc (noun): A group of voters or politicians who share common goals.
- bocce (noun): A game, similar to bowls or pétanque, played on a long, narrow, dirt-covered court
- boucle (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- cede (verb): To give up; yield to another.
- ceded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cede
- celeb (noun): A celebrity; a famous person.
- cell (noun): A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
- celled (adjective): Containing cells; cellular.
- cello (noun): A large unfretted stringed instrument of the violin family with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) C-G-D-A and an endpin to support its weight, usually played with a bow.
- cellule (noun): A small cell.
- clod (noun): A lump of something, especially of earth or clay.
- cloud (noun): A rock; boulder; a hill.
- clouded (adjective): Filled with clouds.
- club (noun): An association of members joining together for some common purpose, especially sports or recreation. The fees associated with belonging to such a club.
- clubbed (verb): simple past and past participle of club
- clue (noun): A strand of yarn etc. as used to guide one through a labyrinth; something which points the way, a guide.
- clued (verb): simple past tense and past participle of clue
- cobble (noun): A cobblestone.
- cobbled (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cobble
- coddle (verb): To treat gently or with great care.
- coddled (verb): simple past tense and past participle of coddle
- code (noun): A short symbol, often with little relation to the item it represents.
- coded (adjective): Encoded; written in code or cipher.
- coed (adjective): Alternative form of co-ed
- cold (adjective): Having a low temperature.
- collude (verb): to act in concert with; to conspire
- colluded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of collude
- cooed (verb): simple past tense and past participle of coo
- cool (adjective): Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold.
- cooled (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cool
- could (verb): simple past tense of can
- coulee (noun): A stream.
- cube (noun): A regular polyhedron having six identical square faces.
- cubed (verb): simple past and past participle of cube
- cuddle (noun): A snuggle; an affectionate embrace, often given to family members and close friends.
- cuddled (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cuddle
- cued (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cue
- cull (verb): To pick or take someone or something (from a larger group).
- culled (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cull
- deco (noun): Decompression.
- decode (verb): To convert from an encrypted form to plain text.
- decoded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of decode
- deduce (verb): To reach (a conclusion) by applying rules of logic or other forms of reasoning to given premises or known facts.
- deduced (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deduce
- deuce (noun): A card with two pips, one of four in a standard deck of playing cards.
- educe (verb): To direct the course of (a flow, journey etc.); to lead in a particular direction.
- educed (verb): simple past tense and past participle of educe
- loco (adverb): A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower.
- occlude (verb): To obstruct, cover, or otherwise block (an opening, a portion of an image, etc.).
- occluded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of occlude