NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 20, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter T with outer letters G, I, N, O, Q, U. The puzzle contains 47 words worth 262 points, including 1 pangram. The longest word is 10 letters. To reach Genius you need 183 points; Queen Bee requires all 262 points. Today is a bingo — every letter starts at least one word. Compared with the eight-year average of about 183 points per puzzle, this is a larger-than-average day.
Game Summary
| Center Letter | T |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | g, i, n, o, q, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 47 words |
| Total Points | 262 points |
| Genius Level | 183 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| I | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 3 | 2 | - | 8 |
| N | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| O | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 6 |
| Q | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| T | 6 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 1 | - | - | 21 |
| U | 2 | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 | Σ | 12 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 47 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| G | GO×1 GU×1 |
|---|---|
| I | IG×2 IN×6 |
| N | NO×2 |
| O | ON×1 OU×5 |
| Q | QU×4 |
| T | TI×4 TO×11 TU×6 |
| U | UN×4 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| G | GOU×1 GUT×1 |
|---|---|
| I | IGN×2 ING×1 INT×5 |
| N | NOT×2 |
| O | ONT×1 OUT×5 |
| Q | QUI×3 QUO×1 |
| T | TIN×4 TOG×1 TON×4 TOO×3 TOT×1 TOU×2 TUG×1 TUI×1 TUN×1 TUT×3 |
| U | UNI×2 UNT×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) |
|---|---|---|
| qu..... † | QU7 | present participle of quote |
| go.. | GO4 | An extremely painful inflammation of joints, especially of the big toe, caused by a metabolic defect resulting in the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of urates around the joints. |
| gu..... | GU7 | present participle of gut |
| ig...... | IG8 | present participle of ignite |
| ig...... | IG8 | The act of igniting. |
| in... | IN5 | A solid block of more or less pure metal, often but not necessarily bricklike in shape and trapezoidal in cross-section, the result of pouring out and cooling molten metal, often immediately after smelting from raw ore or alloying from constituents. |
| in.. | IN4 | To or towards the inside of. |
| in...... | IN8 | present participle of intone |
| in.... | IN6 | To know intuitively or by immediate perception. |
| in....... | IN9 | present participle of intuit |
| in....... | IN9 | Immediate cognition without the use of conscious rational processes. |
| no.... | NO6 | present participle of note |
| no.... | NO6 | Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept. |
| on.. | ON4 | Upon; on top of. |
| ou... | OU5 | To go out, to set forth. |
| ou...... | OU8 | Extraverted: talkative, friendly, and social, especially with respect to meeting new people easily and comfortably. |
| ou.... | OU6 | To defeat in terms of firepower. |
| ou........ | OU10 | present participle of outgun |
| ou.... | OU6 | A pleasure trip or excursion. |
| qu... | QU5 | An interval of one fifth. |
| qu.. | QU4 | Released from obligation, penalty, etc; free, clear, or rid. |
| qu...... | QU8 | present participle of quit |
| ti..... | TI7 | present participle of tinge |
| ti..... | TI7 | present participle and gerund of tin |
| ti.. | TI4 | A slight coloring. |
| ti..... | TI7 | present participle of tint |
| to..... | TO7 | present participle of tog |
| to.. | TO4 | An instrument or tool used for manipulating things in a fire without touching them with the hands. |
| to..... | TO7 | present participle of tong |
| to...... | TO8 | present participle of tongue |
| to.... | TO6 | present participle of tone |
| to.. | TO4 | A cartoon, especially an animated television show. |
| to.. | TO4 | The noise of a horn or whistle. |
| to..... | TO7 | present participle of toot |
| to.... | TO6 | present participle of tote |
| to.. | TO4 | Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way. |
| to..... | TO7 | present participle of tout |
| tu..... | TU7 | present participle of tug |
| tu..... | TU7 | A sum of money paid for instruction (such as in a high school, boarding school, university, or college). |
| tu.... | TU6 | Action of the verb to tune. The calibration of a musical instrument to a standard pitch. The adjustment of a system or circuit to secure optimum performance. |
| tu... | TU5 | All together. Indicates that the remainder of a group should join in playing after a solo or other passage with a reduced number of voices. |
| tu..... | TU7 | present participle of tut |
| tu.. | TU4 | A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting. |
| un.. | UN4 | Oneness, singularity, seen as a component of a whole number; a magnitude of one. |
| un..... | UN7 | present participle of unite |
| un.. | UN4 | Up to the time or degree that; until. |
| un...... | UN8 | present participle of untune |
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.
- quoting† (QU7)
- gout (GO4)
- gutting (GU7)
- igniting (IG8)
- ignition (IG8)
- ingot (IN5)
- into (IN4)
- intoning (IN8)
- intuit (IN6)
- intuiting (IN9)
- intuition (IN9)
- noting (NO6)
- notion (NO6)
- onto (ON4)
- outgo (OU5)
- outgoing (OU8)
- outgun (OU6)
- outgunning (OU10)
- outing (OU6)
- quint (QU5)
- quit (QU4)
- quitting (QU8)
- tinging (TI7)
- tinning (TI7)
- tint (TI4)
- tinting (TI7)
- togging (TO7)
- tong (TO4)
- tonging (TO7)
- tonguing (TO8)
- toning (TO6)
- toon (TO4)
- toot (TO4)
- tooting (TO7)
- toting (TO6)
- tout (TO4)
- touting (TO7)
- tugging (TU7)
- tuition (TU7)
- tuning (TU6)
- tutti (TU5)
- tutting (TU7)
- tutu (TU4)
- unit (UN4)
- uniting (UN7)
- unto (UN4)
- untuning (UN8)
Answer Definitions
- quoting† (verb): present participle of quote
- gout (noun): An extremely painful inflammation of joints, especially of the big toe, caused by a metabolic defect resulting in the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of urates around the joints.
- gutting (verb): present participle of gut
- igniting (verb): present participle of ignite
- ignition (noun): The act of igniting.
- ingot (noun): A solid block of more or less pure metal, often but not necessarily bricklike in shape and trapezoidal in cross-section, the result of pouring out and cooling molten metal, often immediately after smelting from raw ore or alloying from constituents.
- into (preposition): To or towards the inside of.
- intoning (verb): present participle of intone
- intuit (verb): To know intuitively or by immediate perception.
- intuiting (verb): present participle of intuit
- intuition (noun): Immediate cognition without the use of conscious rational processes.
- noting (verb): present participle of note
- notion (noun): Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.
- onto (preposition): Upon; on top of.
- outgo (verb): To go out, to set forth.
- outgoing (adjective): Extraverted: talkative, friendly, and social, especially with respect to meeting new people easily and comfortably.
- outgun (verb): To defeat in terms of firepower.
- outgunning (verb): present participle of outgun
- outing (noun): A pleasure trip or excursion.
- quint (noun): An interval of one fifth.
- quit (adjective): Released from obligation, penalty, etc; free, clear, or rid.
- quitting (verb): present participle of quit
- tinging (verb): present participle of tinge
- tinning (verb): present participle and gerund of tin
- tint (noun): A slight coloring.
- tinting (verb): present participle of tint
- togging (verb): present participle of tog
- tong (noun): An instrument or tool used for manipulating things in a fire without touching them with the hands.
- tonging (verb): present participle of tong
- tonguing (verb): present participle of tongue
- toning (verb): present participle of tone
- toon (noun): A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
- toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.
- tooting (verb): present participle of toot
- toting (verb): present participle of tote
- tout (noun): Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
- touting (verb): present participle of tout
- tugging (verb): present participle of tug
- tuition (noun): A sum of money paid for instruction (such as in a high school, boarding school, university, or college).
- tuning (noun): Action of the verb to tune. The calibration of a musical instrument to a standard pitch. The adjustment of a system or circuit to secure optimum performance.
- tutti (adverb): All together. Indicates that the remainder of a group should join in playing after a solo or other passage with a reduced number of voices.
- tutting (verb): present participle of tut
- tutu (noun): A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.
- unit (noun): Oneness, singularity, seen as a component of a whole number; a magnitude of one.
- uniting (verb): present participle of unite
- unto (conjunction): Up to the time or degree that; until.
- untuning (verb): present participle of untune