NYT Spelling Bee Answers for September 28, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter T with outer letters C, D, N, O, R, U. The puzzle contains 45 words worth 198 points, including 2 pangrams. The longest word is 12 letters. To reach Genius you need 139 points; Queen Bee requires all 198 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 | c, d, n, o, r, u |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 45 words |
| Total Points | 198 points |
| Genius Level | 139 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 | 11 | 12 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 13 |
| D | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| N | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| O | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| R | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| T | 11 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 14 |
| U | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | Σ | 19 | 9 | 6 | 9 | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 45 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CO×10 CR×1 CU×2 |
|---|---|
| D | DO×2 DU×1 |
| N | NO×1 |
| O | ON×1 OR×1 OU×4 |
| R | RO×4 RU×2 |
| T | TO×7 TR×3 TU×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 | COC×1 CON×5 COO×1 COT×1 COU×2 CRO×1 CUR×1 CUT×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DOC×1 DON×1 DUC×1 |
| N | NON×1 |
| O | ONT×1 ORO×1 OUT×4 |
| R | ROO×1 ROT×2 ROU×1 RUN×2 |
| T | TOO×2 TOR×3 TOU×2 TRO×3 TUR×2 TUT×2 |
| U | UNC×1 UNT×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) |
|---|---|---|
| co....... † | CO9 | One who conducts or leads; a guide; a director. |
| no.......... † | NO12 | any material that does not conduct electricity; a dielectric |
| co..... | CO7 | A fruit of the coconut palm (not a true nut), Cocos nucifera, having a fibrous husk surrounding a large seed. |
| co..... | CO7 | To prepare something by mixing various ingredients, especially to prepare food for cooking. |
| co..... | CO7 | The act or method of controlling or directing. |
| co..... | CO7 | To twist in a violent manner. |
| co..... | CO7 | An outline, boundary or border, usually of curved shape. |
| co.. | CO4 | Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead. |
| co.... | CO6 | Gossypium, a genus of plant used as a source of cotton fiber. |
| co... | CO5 | To recite numbers in sequence. |
| co... | CO5 | An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley. |
| cr..... | CR7 | A small, often seasoned, piece of dry or fried bread. |
| cu.. | CU4 | Brief or terse, especially to the point of being rude. |
| cu.... | CU6 | Alternative form of cut-out |
| do.... | DO6 | A physician; a member of the medical profession; one who is trained and licensed to heal the sick or injured. The final examination and qualification may award a doctor degree in which case the post-nominal letters are D.O., DPM, M.D., DMD, DDS, in the US or MBBS in the UK. |
| do... | DO5 | A deep-fried piece of dough or batter, commonly made in a toroidal or ellipsoidal shape, and mixed with various sweeteners and flavors, sometimes filled with jelly, custard or cream. |
| du.. | DU4 | a pipe, tube or canal which carries gas or liquid from one place to another |
| on.. | ON4 | Upon; on top of. |
| or..... | OR7 | Characterized by fullness, clarity, strength, and smoothness of sound. |
| ou... | OU5 | To excel; go beyond in performance; surpass. |
| ou..... | OU7 | Situated in, designed to be used in, or carried on in the open air. |
| ou... | OU5 | A portion of music at the end of a song; like an intro, but at the end instead of the beginning. |
| ou.... | OU6 | To run faster than. |
| ro.. | RO4 | The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction. |
| ro... | RO5 | A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump. |
| ro.... | RO6 | Having a round, spherical or curved shape; circular; orbicular. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular , a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone. |
| ru.... | RU6 | Something that has been run out. |
| ru.. | RU4 | The smallest animal of a litter. |
| to.. | TO4 | A cartoon, especially an animated television show. |
| to.. | TO4 | The noise of a horn or whistle. |
| to.. | TO4 | past participle of tear (rip, rend, speed). |
| to.. | TO4 | A traditional Japanese lantern. |
| to.. | TO4 | An injury or wrong. |
| to.. | TO4 | A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc. |
| to.. | TO4 | Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way. |
| tr.. | TR4 | simple past tense of tread |
| tr.. | TR4 | An ugly old woman, a hag. |
| tr... | TR5 | Any of several species of fish in Salmonidae, closely related to salmon, and distinguished by spawning more than once. |
| tu.. | TU4 | To make a non-linear physical movement. Of a body, person, etc, to move around an axis through itself. |
| tu..... | TU7 | The act of coming forth. |
| tu... | TU5 | One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction. |
| tu.. | TU4 | A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting. |
| un... | UN5 | Not cut. |
| un.. | UN4 | Up to the time or degree that; until. |
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.
- conductor† (CO9)
- nonconductor† (NO12)
- coconut (CO7)
- concoct (CO7)
- conduct (CO7)
- contort (CO7)
- contour (CO7)
- coot (CO4)
- cotton (CO6)
- count (CO5)
- court (CO5)
- crouton (CR7)
- curt (CU4)
- cutout (CU6)
- doctor (DO6)
- donut (DO5)
- duct (DU4)
- onto (ON4)
- orotund (OR7)
- outdo (OU5)
- outdoor (OU7)
- outro (OU5)
- outrun (OU6)
- root (RO4)
- rotor (RO5)
- rotund (RO6)
- rout (RO4)
- runout (RU6)
- runt (RU4)
- toon (TO4)
- toot (TO4)
- torn (TO4)
- toro (TO4)
- tort (TO4)
- tour (TO4)
- tout (TO4)
- trod (TR4)
- trot (TR4)
- trout (TR5)
- turn (TU4)
- turnout (TU7)
- tutor (TU5)
- tutu (TU4)
- uncut (UN5)
- unto (UN4)
Answer Definitions
- conductor† (noun): One who conducts or leads; a guide; a director.
- nonconductor† (noun): any material that does not conduct electricity; a dielectric
- coconut (noun): A fruit of the coconut palm (not a true nut), Cocos nucifera, having a fibrous husk surrounding a large seed.
- concoct (verb): To prepare something by mixing various ingredients, especially to prepare food for cooking.
- conduct (noun): The act or method of controlling or directing.
- contort (verb): To twist in a violent manner.
- contour (noun): An outline, boundary or border, usually of curved shape.
- coot (noun): Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead.
- cotton (noun): Gossypium, a genus of plant used as a source of cotton fiber.
- count (verb): To recite numbers in sequence.
- court (noun): An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.
- crouton (noun): A small, often seasoned, piece of dry or fried bread.
- curt (adjective): Brief or terse, especially to the point of being rude.
- cutout (noun): Alternative form of cut-out
- doctor (noun): A physician; a member of the medical profession; one who is trained and licensed to heal the sick or injured. The final examination and qualification may award a doctor degree in which case the post-nominal letters are D.O., DPM, M.D., DMD, DDS, in the US or MBBS in the UK.
- donut (noun): A deep-fried piece of dough or batter, commonly made in a toroidal or ellipsoidal shape, and mixed with various sweeteners and flavors, sometimes filled with jelly, custard or cream.
- duct (noun): a pipe, tube or canal which carries gas or liquid from one place to another
- onto (preposition): Upon; on top of.
- orotund (adjective): Characterized by fullness, clarity, strength, and smoothness of sound.
- outdo (verb): To excel; go beyond in performance; surpass.
- outdoor (adjective): Situated in, designed to be used in, or carried on in the open air.
- outro (noun): A portion of music at the end of a song; like an intro, but at the end instead of the beginning.
- outrun (verb): To run faster than.
- root (noun): The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
- rotor (noun): A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump.
- rotund (adjective): Having a round, spherical or curved shape; circular; orbicular.
- rout (noun): A group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular , a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone.
- runout (noun): Something that has been run out.
- runt (noun): The smallest animal of a litter.
- toon (noun): A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
- toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.
- torn (verb): past participle of tear (rip, rend, speed).
- toro (noun): A traditional Japanese lantern.
- tort (noun): An injury or wrong.
- tour (noun): A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc.
- tout (noun): Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
- trod (verb): simple past tense of tread
- trot (noun): An ugly old woman, a hag.
- trout (noun): Any of several species of fish in Salmonidae, closely related to salmon, and distinguished by spawning more than once.
- turn (verb): To make a non-linear physical movement. Of a body, person, etc, to move around an axis through itself.
- turnout (noun): The act of coming forth.
- tutor (noun): One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction.
- tutu (noun): A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.
- uncut (adjective): Not cut.
- unto (conjunction): Up to the time or degree that; until.