NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 23, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter M with outer letters B, E, I, N, T, U. The puzzle contains 38 words worth 153 points, including 1 pangram. The longest word is 9 letters. To reach Genius you need 107 points; Queen Bee requires all 153 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 smaller-than-average day.
Game Summary
| Center Letter | M |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, e, i, n, t, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 38 words |
| Total Points | 153 points |
| Genius Level | 107 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 3 |
| E | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| I | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | - | 5 |
| M | 13 | 1 | 5 | 1 | - | 1 | 21 |
| N | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| T | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| U | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | Σ | 18 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 38 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| B | BE×1 BI×2 |
|---|---|
| E | EM×2 |
| I | IM×4 IT×1 |
| M | ME×5 MI×13 MU×3 |
| N | NI×1 NU×1 |
| T | TE×2 TI×1 |
| U | UN×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| B | BEN×1 BIE×1 BIT×1 |
|---|---|
| E | EMI×2 |
| I | IMB×2 IMM×2 ITE×1 |
| M | MEE×1 MEM×1 MEN×2 MET×1 MIE×1 MIM×1 MIN×8 MIT×3 MUT×2 MUU×1 |
| N | NIM×1 NUM×1 |
| T | TEE×1 TEN×1 TIM×1 |
| U | UNM×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) |
|---|---|---|
| bi..... † | BI7 | No definition found; request failed |
| be.... | BE6 | No definition found; request failed |
| bi...... | BI8 | No definition found; request failed |
| em..... | EM7 | Noteworthy, remarkable, great. |
| em.. | EM4 | to send out or give off |
| im.... | IM6 | To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages). |
| im... | IM5 | No definition found; request failed |
| im...... | IM8 | about to happen, occur, or take place very soon, especially of something which won't last long. |
| im.... | IM6 | Exempt; not subject to. |
| it.. | IT4 | A distinct physical object. |
| me.. | ME4 | To make contact (with) while in proximity. To come face to face with by accident; to encounter. |
| me.. | ME4 | Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes. |
| me.... | ME6 | A person who is being mentored |
| me.. | ME4 | The details of the food to be served at a banquet; a bill of fare. |
| me.. | ME4 | To measure. |
| mi.. | MI4 | Demeanor; facial expression or attitude, especially one which is intended by its bearer. |
| mi.. | MI4 | A form of acting without words; pantomime. |
| mi.. | MI4 | That which belongs to me. Used predicatively. |
| mi.. | MI4 | Miniature, tiny, small. |
| mi... | MI5 | A half note, drawn as a semibreve with a stem. |
| mi..... | MI7 | The lowest limit. |
| mi.. | MI4 | A building or institution where money (originally, only coins) is produced under government licence. |
| mi.... | MI6 | No definition found; request failed |
| mi.... | MI6 | No definition found; request failed |
| mi....... | MI9 | No definition found; request failed |
| mi.. | MI4 | Any of many minute arachnids which, along with the ticks, comprise subclass Acarina (aka Acari). |
| mi.. | MI4 | A mitten |
| mi.... | MI6 | A type of glove or garment that covers a hand with a separate sheath for the thumb, but not for other fingers, which are either enclosed in a single section or left uncovered. |
| mu.. | MU4 | Not having the power of speech; dumb. |
| mu.. | MU4 | A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin. |
| mu.... | MU6 | A long loose-fitting dress made of lightweight fabric printed with bright, stylized Hawaiian themes (such as flowers and palm branches). |
| ni... | NI5 | plural of nimbus |
| nu.. | NU4 | Physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation. |
| te.. | TE4 | To be stocked to overflowing. |
| te...... | TE8 | A building that is rented to multiple tenants, especially a low-rent, run-down one. |
| ti.. | TI4 | The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events. |
| un... | UN5 | Not met; unfulfilled; not achieved |
| un.... | UN6 | To restore the sound output (on a speaker or other audio device), having previously muted it. |
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.
- bitumen† (BI7)
- benumb (BE6)
- biennium (BI8)
- eminent (EM7)
- emit (EM4)
- imbibe (IM6)
- imbue (IM5)
- imminent (IM8)
- immune (IM6)
- item (IT4)
- meet (ME4)
- meme (ME4)
- mentee (ME6)
- menu (ME4)
- mete (ME4)
- mien (MI4)
- mime (MI4)
- mine (MI4)
- mini (MI4)
- minim (MI5)
- minimum (MI7)
- mint (MI4)
- minuet (MI6)
- minute (MI6)
- minutemen (MI9)
- mite (MI4)
- mitt (MI4)
- mitten (MI6)
- mute (MU4)
- mutt (MU4)
- muumuu (MU6)
- nimbi (NI5)
- numb (NU4)
- teem (TE4)
- tenement (TE8)
- time (TI4)
- unmet (UN5)
- unmute (UN6)
Answer Definitions
- bitumen† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- benumb (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- biennium (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- eminent (adjective): Noteworthy, remarkable, great.
- emit (verb): to send out or give off
- imbibe (verb): To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages).
- imbue (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- imminent (adjective): about to happen, occur, or take place very soon, especially of something which won't last long.
- immune (adjective): Exempt; not subject to.
- item (noun): A distinct physical object.
- meet (verb): To make contact (with) while in proximity. To come face to face with by accident; to encounter.
- meme (noun): Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes.
- mentee (noun): A person who is being mentored
- menu (noun): The details of the food to be served at a banquet; a bill of fare.
- mete (verb): To measure.
- mien (noun): Demeanor; facial expression or attitude, especially one which is intended by its bearer.
- mime (noun): A form of acting without words; pantomime.
- mine (pronoun): That which belongs to me. Used predicatively.
- mini (adjective): Miniature, tiny, small.
- minim (noun): A half note, drawn as a semibreve with a stem.
- minimum (noun): The lowest limit.
- mint (noun): A building or institution where money (originally, only coins) is produced under government licence.
- minuet (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- minute (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- minutemen (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- mite (noun): Any of many minute arachnids which, along with the ticks, comprise subclass Acarina (aka Acari).
- mitt (noun): A mitten
- mitten (noun): A type of glove or garment that covers a hand with a separate sheath for the thumb, but not for other fingers, which are either enclosed in a single section or left uncovered.
- mute (adjective): Not having the power of speech; dumb.
- mutt (noun): A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin.
- muumuu (noun): A long loose-fitting dress made of lightweight fabric printed with bright, stylized Hawaiian themes (such as flowers and palm branches).
- nimbi (noun): plural of nimbus
- numb (adjective): Physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation.
- teem (verb): To be stocked to overflowing.
- tenement (noun): A building that is rented to multiple tenants, especially a low-rent, run-down one.
- time (noun): The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.
- unmet (adjective): Not met; unfulfilled; not achieved
- unmute (verb): To restore the sound output (on a speaker or other audio device), having previously muted it.