NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 26, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter K with outer letters C, D, E, H, N, U. The puzzle contains 34 words worth 150 points, including 2 pangrams. The longest word is 9 letters. To reach Genius you need 105 points; Queen Bee requires all 150 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 | K |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, d, e, h, n, u |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 34 words |
| Total Points | 150 points |
| Genius Level | 105 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | 4 | - | 3 | - | - | 8 |
| D | 5 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | 10 |
| E | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| H | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| K | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 |
| N | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| U | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | Σ | 14 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 34 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CH×7 CU×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DE×4 DU×6 |
| E | EK×1 |
| H | HE×1 HU×1 |
| K | KE×2 KN×2 KU×1 |
| N | NE×2 NU×4 |
| U | UN×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CHE×3 CHU×4 CUK×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DEC×2 DEK×2 DUC×2 DUK×2 DUN×2 |
| E | EKE×1 |
| H | HEC×1 HUN×1 |
| K | KEE×2 KNE×2 KUD×1 |
| N | NEC×2 NUK×2 NUN×2 |
| U | UNC×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ch..... † | CH7 | simple past tense and past participle of chunk |
| un....... † | UN9 | Unrestrained, not held back. |
| ch... | CH5 | A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece. |
| ch..... | CH7 | Having a pattern of checks; checkered. |
| ch... | CH5 | The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity. |
| ch... | CH5 | Meat from the shoulder of a cow or other animal. |
| ch..... | CH7 | simple past tense and past participle of chuck |
| ch... | CH5 | A part of something that has been separated. |
| cu.. | CU4 | A cucumber. |
| de.. | DE4 | Any raised flat surface that can be walked on: a balcony; a porch; a raised patio; a flat rooftop. |
| de.... | DE6 | simple past tense and past participle of deck |
| de.. | DE4 | A feint, fake, or other move made by the player with the puck to deceive a goaltender or defenceman. |
| de... | DE5 | simple past tense and past participle of deke |
| du.. | DU4 | To quickly lower the head or body, often in order to prevent it from being struck by something. |
| du.... | DU6 | simple past tense and past participle of duck |
| du.. | DU4 | The male ruler of a duchy (female equivalent: duchess). |
| du... | DU5 | simple past and past participle of duke |
| du.. | DU4 | To submerge briefly in a liquid. |
| du.... | DU6 | simple past tense and past participle of dunk |
| ek.. | EK4 | simple past tense and past participle of eke |
| he.. | HE4 | Hell. |
| hu.. | HU4 | A large or dense piece of something. |
| ke.. | KE4 | Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested. |
| ke.... | KE6 | simple past tense and past participle of keen |
| kn.. | KN4 | In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank. |
| kn... | KN5 | Having a knee or knees, or, in combination, the stated type of knee or knees. |
| ku.. | KU4 | A large, striped, African antelope of the species Tragelaphus imberbis (lesser kudu) or Tragelaphus strepsiceros (greater kudu). |
| ne.. | NE4 | The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals. |
| ne.... | NE6 | Having some specific type of neck |
| nu.. | NU4 | A nuclear weapon. |
| nu... | NU5 | simple past tense and past participle of nuke |
| nu...... | NU8 | Alternative form of nunchaku |
| nu..... | NU7 | Alternative form of nunchaku |
| un..... | UN7 | To remove a checkmark. |
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.
- chunked† (CH7)
- unchecked† (UN9)
- check (CH5)
- checked (CH7)
- cheek (CH5)
- chuck (CH5)
- chucked (CH7)
- chunk (CH5)
- cuke (CU4)
- deck (DE4)
- decked (DE6)
- deke (DE4)
- deked (DE5)
- duck (DU4)
- ducked (DU6)
- duke (DU4)
- duked (DU5)
- dunk (DU4)
- dunked (DU6)
- eked (EK4)
- heck (HE4)
- hunk (HU4)
- keen (KE4)
- keened (KE6)
- knee (KN4)
- kneed (KN5)
- kudu (KU4)
- neck (NE4)
- necked (NE6)
- nuke (NU4)
- nuked (NU5)
- nunchuck (NU8)
- nunchuk (NU7)
- uncheck (UN7)
Answer Definitions
- chunked† (verb): simple past tense and past participle of chunk
- unchecked† (adjective): Unrestrained, not held back.
- check (noun): A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.
- checked (adjective): Having a pattern of checks; checkered.
- cheek (noun): The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.
- chuck (noun): Meat from the shoulder of a cow or other animal.
- chucked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of chuck
- chunk (noun): A part of something that has been separated.
- cuke (noun): A cucumber.
- deck (noun): Any raised flat surface that can be walked on: a balcony; a porch; a raised patio; a flat rooftop.
- decked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deck
- deke (noun): A feint, fake, or other move made by the player with the puck to deceive a goaltender or defenceman.
- deked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deke
- duck (verb): To quickly lower the head or body, often in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
- ducked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of duck
- duke (noun): The male ruler of a duchy (female equivalent: duchess).
- duked (verb): simple past and past participle of duke
- dunk (verb): To submerge briefly in a liquid.
- dunked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of dunk
- eked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of eke
- heck (interjection): Hell.
- hunk (noun): A large or dense piece of something.
- keen (adjective): Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.
- keened (verb): simple past tense and past participle of keen
- knee (noun): In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.
- kneed (adjective): Having a knee or knees, or, in combination, the stated type of knee or knees.
- kudu (noun): A large, striped, African antelope of the species Tragelaphus imberbis (lesser kudu) or Tragelaphus strepsiceros (greater kudu).
- neck (noun): The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.
- necked (adjective): Having some specific type of neck
- nuke (noun): A nuclear weapon.
- nuked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of nuke
- nunchuck (noun): Alternative form of nunchaku
- nunchuk (noun): Alternative form of nunchaku
- uncheck (verb): To remove a checkmark.