NYT Spelling Bee Answers for September 9, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter R with outer letters I, L, N, O, P, U. The puzzle contains 20 words worth 60 points, including 1 pangram. The longest word is 7 letters. To reach Genius you need 42 points; Queen Bee requires all 60 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 | R |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | i, l, n, o, p, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 20 words |
| Total Points | 60 points |
| Genius Level | 42 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| L | - | - | - | - | - |
| N | 2 | - | - | - | 2 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - |
| P | 6 | 3 | - | 2 | 11 |
| R | 4 | - | - | - | 4 |
| U | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | Σ | 13 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 20 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| I | IN×1 IR×1 |
|---|---|
| L | |
| N | NO×2 |
| O | |
| P | PO×4 PR×4 PU×3 |
| R | RI×1 RO×2 RU×1 |
| U | UN×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| I | INU×1 IRO×1 |
|---|---|
| L | |
| N | NOI×1 NOR×1 |
| O | |
| P | POO×1 POR×2 POU×1 PRI×2 PRO×2 PUR×3 |
| R | RIL×1 ROI×1 ROL×1 RUI×1 |
| U | UNR×1 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| pu..... † | PU7 | To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal. |
| in... | IN5 | To place (the remains of a person who has died) in an urn or other container. |
| ir.. | IR4 | A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel. |
| no.. | NO4 | Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre |
| no.. | NO4 | A type of seaweed, a red alga, laver (genus Pyropia, including species P. yezoensis and P. tenera). |
| po.. | PO4 | With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them. |
| po.. | PO4 | Pornography. |
| po... | PO5 | Pornographic |
| po.. | PO4 | To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it. |
| pr... | PR5 | A self-propagating misfolded conformer of a protein that is responsible for a number of diseases that affect the brain and other neural tissue. |
| pr... | PR5 | Advance; previous; coming before. |
| pr..... | PR7 | A type of word that refers anaphorically to a noun or noun phrase, but which cannot ordinarily be preceded by a determiner and rarely takes an attributive adjective. English examples include I, you, him, who, me, my, each other. Any of the pronouns by which a person prefers to be described, typically reflecting gender identity. |
| pr.. | PR4 | An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports. |
| pu.. | PU4 | A particular stitch in knitting; an inversion of stitches giving the work a ribbed or waved appearance. |
| pu.. | PU4 | Of a cat, to make a vibrating sound in its throat when contented. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface. |
| ru.. | RU4 | The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle. |
| un.... | UN6 | To straighten something that has been rolled, twisted or curled. |
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.
- purloin† (PU7)
- inurn (IN5)
- iron (IR4)
- noir (NO4)
- nori (NO4)
- poor (PO4)
- porn (PO4)
- porno (PO5)
- pour (PO4)
- prion (PR5)
- prior (PR5)
- pronoun (PR7)
- prop (PR4)
- purl (PU4)
- purr (PU4)
- rill (RI4)
- roil (RO4)
- roll (RO4)
- ruin (RU4)
- unroll (UN6)
Answer Definitions
- purloin† (verb): To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal.
- inurn (verb): To place (the remains of a person who has died) in an urn or other container.
- iron (noun): A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel.
- noir (adjective): Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre
- nori (noun): A type of seaweed, a red alga, laver (genus Pyropia, including species P. yezoensis and P. tenera).
- poor (adjective): With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.
- porn (noun): Pornography.
- porno (adjective): Pornographic
- pour (verb): To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it.
- prion (noun): A self-propagating misfolded conformer of a protein that is responsible for a number of diseases that affect the brain and other neural tissue.
- prior (adjective): Advance; previous; coming before.
- pronoun (noun): A type of word that refers anaphorically to a noun or noun phrase, but which cannot ordinarily be preceded by a determiner and rarely takes an attributive adjective. English examples include I, you, him, who, me, my, each other. Any of the pronouns by which a person prefers to be described, typically reflecting gender identity.
- prop (noun): An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports.
- purl (noun): A particular stitch in knitting; an inversion of stitches giving the work a ribbed or waved appearance.
- purr (verb): Of a cat, to make a vibrating sound in its throat when contented.
- rill (noun): A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet.
- roil (verb): To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of.
- roll (verb): To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface.
- ruin (noun): The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.
- unroll (verb): To straighten something that has been rolled, twisted or curled.