NYT Spelling Bee Answers for September 11, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter K with outer letters A, C, D, E, H, I. The puzzle contains 26 words worth 100 points, including 1 pangram. The longest word is 9 letters. To reach Genius you need 70 points; Queen Bee requires all 100 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 | K |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, d, e, h, i |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 26 words |
| Total Points | 100 points |
| Genius Level | 70 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C | 1 | 4 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 7 |
| D | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 |
| E | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| H | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 8 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | 5 | Σ | 12 | 7 | 5 | 1 | - | 1 | 26 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | |
|---|---|
| C | CA×2 CH×5 |
| D | DE×4 DI×1 |
| E | EK×1 |
| H | HA×4 HE×1 HI×3 |
| I | |
| K | KH×1 KI×4 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | |
|---|---|
| C | CAK×2 CHE×3 CHI×2 |
| D | DEC×2 DEK×2 DIK×1 |
| E | EKE×1 |
| H | HAC×2 HAK×2 HEC×1 HIC×1 HIK×2 |
| I | |
| K | KHA×1 KIC×2 KID×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....... † | CH9 | A small passerine bird (songbird) of the genus Parus or the family Paridae. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing. |
| ca... | CA5 | simple past tense and past participle of cake |
| 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 | A young bird. |
| 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 |
| di.. | DI4 | Alternative form of dyke: ditch; embankment; waterway; etc. |
| ek.. | EK4 | simple past tense and past participle of eke |
| ha.. | HA4 | To chop or cut down in a rough manner. |
| ha.... | HA6 | simple past tense and past participle of hack |
| ha.. | HA4 | A group dance of New Zealand's Maori people featuring rhythmic chanting, vigorous facial and arm movements, and foot stamping. Traditionally a war dance, today it is also performed to welcome guests, as a mark of respect at occasions such as commemorations and funerals, as a challenge to opposing teams at sports events, and for artistic purposes. |
| ha.. | HA4 | A hook; a pot-hook. |
| he.. | HE4 | Hell. |
| hi.. | HI4 | An awkward, naive, clumsy and/or rude country person. |
| hi.. | HI4 | A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise. |
| hi... | HI5 | simple past tense and past participle of hike |
| kh... | KH5 | A dull, yellowish-brown colour, the colour of dust. |
| ki.. | KI4 | To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg. |
| ki.... | KI6 | simple past tense and past participle of kick |
| ki.... | KI6 | simple past tense and past participle of kid |
| ki.... | KI6 | A child. |
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.
- chickadee† (CH9)
- cake (CA4)
- caked (CA5)
- check (CH5)
- checked (CH7)
- cheek (CH5)
- chick (CH5)
- deck (DE4)
- decked (DE6)
- deke (DE4)
- deked (DE5)
- dike (DI4)
- eked (EK4)
- hack (HA4)
- hacked (HA6)
- haka (HA4)
- hake (HA4)
- heck (HE4)
- hick (HI4)
- hike (HI4)
- hiked (HI5)
- khaki (KH5)
- kick (KI4)
- kicked (KI6)
- kidded (KI6)
- kiddie (KI6)
Answer Definitions
- chickadee† (noun): A small passerine bird (songbird) of the genus Parus or the family Paridae.
- cake (noun): A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing.
- caked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of cake
- 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.
- chick (noun): A young bird.
- 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
- dike (noun): Alternative form of dyke: ditch; embankment; waterway; etc.
- eked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of eke
- hack (verb): To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
- hacked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of hack
- haka (noun): A group dance of New Zealand's Maori people featuring rhythmic chanting, vigorous facial and arm movements, and foot stamping. Traditionally a war dance, today it is also performed to welcome guests, as a mark of respect at occasions such as commemorations and funerals, as a challenge to opposing teams at sports events, and for artistic purposes.
- hake (noun): A hook; a pot-hook.
- heck (interjection): Hell.
- hick (noun): An awkward, naive, clumsy and/or rude country person.
- hike (noun): A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.
- hiked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of hike
- khaki (noun): A dull, yellowish-brown colour, the colour of dust.
- kick (verb): To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.
- kicked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of kick
- kidded (verb): simple past tense and past participle of kid
- kiddie (noun): A child.