NYT Spelling Bee Answers for October 16, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter G with outer letters B, I, N, P, R, U. The puzzle contains 56 words worth 339 points, including 2 pangrams. The longest word is 10 letters. To reach Genius you need 237 points; Queen Bee requires all 339 points. Today is a bingo — every letter starts at least one word. Compared with the eight-year average of about 184 points per puzzle, this is a larger-than-average day.
Game Summary
| Center Letter | G |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, i, n, p, r, u |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 56 words |
| Total Points | 339 points |
| Genius Level | 237 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 3 | 1 | - | 7 | 1 | - | - | 12 |
| G | 4 | - | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| I | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| N | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| P | 2 | - | 2 | 7 | - | - | - | 11 |
| R | 2 | 1 | - | 7 | - | - | - | 10 |
| U | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | 2 | 1 | 6 | Σ | 11 | 3 | 7 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 56 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| B | BI×2 BR×5 BU×5 |
|---|---|
| G | GI×3 GR×7 GU×2 |
| I | IN×3 |
| N | NI×2 |
| P | PI×6 PR×2 PU×3 |
| R | RI×5 RU×5 |
| U | UN×3 UP×2 UR×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| B | BIN×2 BRI×5 BUG×1 BUN×1 BUR×3 |
|---|---|
| G | GIB×1 GIG×1 GIN×1 GRI×5 GRU×2 GUN×1 GUR×1 |
| I | INN×1 INU×2 |
| N | NIG×1 NIP×1 |
| P | PIG×1 PIN×4 PIP×1 PRI×1 PRU×1 PUN×1 PUR×2 |
| R | RIB×1 RIG×1 RIN×2 RIP×1 RUB×1 RUI×2 RUN×2 |
| U | UNP×1 UNR×2 UPB×1 UPP×1 URG×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) |
|---|---|---|
| bu..... † | BU7 | present participle of burp |
| up........ † | UP10 | The traits acquired during one's childhood training |
| bi..... | BI7 | present participle of binge |
| bi..... | BI7 | present participle of bin |
| br..... | BR7 | present participle of bribe |
| br.. | BR4 | A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on both foremast and mainmast |
| br... | BR5 | To transport toward somebody/somewhere. |
| br...... | BR8 | present participle of bring |
| br..... | BR7 | present participle of brine |
| bu..... | BU7 | present participle of bug |
| bu.. | BU4 | A stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle, vat, a hole in a vessel etc. |
| bu.. | BU4 | A city or town. |
| bu..... | BU7 | present participle and gerund of burn |
| gi.... | GI6 | present participle of gibe |
| gi..... | GI7 | gerund of gig (in various senses). The act of engaging in a musical performance, acting in a theatre production, etc. The practice of working at a job, especially one that is freelance or temporary, or done on an on-demand basis. The act of catching or fishing with a gig or fizgig. |
| gi..... | GI7 | present participle of gin |
| gr.. | GR4 | A smile in which the lips are parted to reveal the teeth. |
| gr...... | GR8 | present participle of grin |
| gr.. | GR4 | To take hold of, particularly with the hand. |
| gr..... | GR7 | present participle of gripe |
| gr...... | GR8 | Which catches someone's attention; exciting |
| gr.. | GR4 | An insect at an immature stage of its life cycle. |
| gr...... | GR8 | present participle and gerund of grub |
| gu..... | GU7 | present participle of gun |
| gu.. | GU4 | A Hindu or Sikh spiritual teacher. |
| in.... | IN6 | A period of play in which members of a visiting baseball team attempt to hit a baseball pitched by the opposing home team until three players are called out, followed by a similar attempt by members of the home baseball team against the visiting team's pitching. There are nine or more innings in a regulation baseball game. |
| in..... | IN7 | present participle of inure |
| in...... | IN8 | present participle of inurn |
| ni.... | NI6 | Regular sushi: a piece of raw fish (or other topping) on top of a small oblong brick of sticky white rice. |
| ni..... | NI7 | present participle of nip |
| pi..... | PI7 | Damned (used as a mild intensive). |
| pi.. | PI4 | A high-pitched, short and somewhat sharp sound. |
| pi..... | PI7 | present participle of ping |
| pi.... | PI6 | present participle of pine |
| pi..... | PI7 | present participle of pin |
| pi.... | PI6 | present participle of pipe |
| pr.. | PR4 | A deliberately superior person; a person who demonstrates an exaggerated conformity or propriety, especially in an irritatingly arrogant or smug manner. |
| pr..... | PR7 | A removal of excess material from a tree or shrub. |
| pu..... | PU7 | present participle of pun |
| pu..... | PU7 | present participle of purge |
| pu..... | PU7 | present participle of purr |
| ri..... | RI7 | present participle of rib |
| ri..... | RI7 | Dress; tackle; especially , the ropes, chains, etc., that support the masts and spars of a sailing vessel, and serve as purchases for adjusting the sails, etc. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A solid object in the shape of a circle. A circumscribing object, (roughly) circular and hollow, looking like an annual ring, earring, finger ring etc. |
| ri..... | RI7 | The sound of something that rings. |
| ri..... | RI7 | present participle of rip |
| ru..... | RU7 | An impression of an embossed or incised surface made by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing with graphite, crayon or other coloring agent. |
| ru... | RU5 | present participle of rue |
| ru..... | RU7 | present participle of ruin |
| ru.. | RU4 | A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round. |
| ru..... | RU7 | Present participle of run. |
| un....... | UN9 | present participle of unpin |
| un... | UN5 | To remove the rigging from (a vessel, etc.). |
| un....... | UN9 | present participle of unrig |
| up.... | UP6 | present participle of up |
| ur.... | UR6 | present participle of urge |
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.
- burping† (BU7)
- upbringing† (UP10)
- binging (BI7)
- binning (BI7)
- bribing (BR7)
- brig (BR4)
- bring (BR5)
- bringing (BR8)
- brining (BR7)
- bugging (BU7)
- bung (BU4)
- burg (BU4)
- burning (BU7)
- gibing (GI6)
- gigging (GI7)
- ginning (GI7)
- grin (GR4)
- grinning (GR8)
- grip (GR4)
- griping (GR7)
- gripping (GR8)
- grub (GR4)
- grubbing (GR8)
- gunning (GU7)
- guru (GU4)
- inning (IN6)
- inuring (IN7)
- inurning (IN8)
- nigiri (NI6)
- nipping (NI7)
- pigging (PI7)
- ping (PI4)
- pinging (PI7)
- pining (PI6)
- pinning (PI7)
- piping (PI6)
- prig (PR4)
- pruning (PR7)
- punning (PU7)
- purging (PU7)
- purring (PU7)
- ribbing (RI7)
- rigging (RI7)
- ring (RI4)
- ringing (RI7)
- ripping (RI7)
- rubbing (RU7)
- ruing (RU5)
- ruining (RU7)
- rung (RU4)
- running (RU7)
- unpinning (UN9)
- unrig (UN5)
- unrigging (UN9)
- upping (UP6)
- urging (UR6)
Answer Definitions
- burping† (verb): present participle of burp
- upbringing† (noun): The traits acquired during one's childhood training
- binging (verb): present participle of binge
- binning (verb): present participle of bin
- bribing (verb): present participle of bribe
- brig (noun): A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on both foremast and mainmast
- bring (verb): To transport toward somebody/somewhere.
- bringing (verb): present participle of bring
- brining (verb): present participle of brine
- bugging (verb): present participle of bug
- bung (noun): A stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle, vat, a hole in a vessel etc.
- burg (noun): A city or town.
- burning (verb): present participle and gerund of burn
- gibing (verb): present participle of gibe
- gigging (noun): gerund of gig (in various senses). The act of engaging in a musical performance, acting in a theatre production, etc. The practice of working at a job, especially one that is freelance or temporary, or done on an on-demand basis. The act of catching or fishing with a gig or fizgig.
- ginning (verb): present participle of gin
- grin (noun): A smile in which the lips are parted to reveal the teeth.
- grinning (verb): present participle of grin
- grip (verb): To take hold of, particularly with the hand.
- griping (verb): present participle of gripe
- gripping (adjective): Which catches someone's attention; exciting
- grub (noun): An insect at an immature stage of its life cycle.
- grubbing (verb): present participle and gerund of grub
- gunning (verb): present participle of gun
- guru (noun): A Hindu or Sikh spiritual teacher.
- inning (noun): A period of play in which members of a visiting baseball team attempt to hit a baseball pitched by the opposing home team until three players are called out, followed by a similar attempt by members of the home baseball team against the visiting team's pitching. There are nine or more innings in a regulation baseball game.
- inuring (verb): present participle of inure
- inurning (verb): present participle of inurn
- nigiri (noun): Regular sushi: a piece of raw fish (or other topping) on top of a small oblong brick of sticky white rice.
- nipping (verb): present participle of nip
- pigging (adjective): Damned (used as a mild intensive).
- ping (noun): A high-pitched, short and somewhat sharp sound.
- pinging (verb): present participle of ping
- pining (verb): present participle of pine
- pinning (verb): present participle of pin
- piping (verb): present participle of pipe
- prig (noun): A deliberately superior person; a person who demonstrates an exaggerated conformity or propriety, especially in an irritatingly arrogant or smug manner.
- pruning (noun): A removal of excess material from a tree or shrub.
- punning (verb): present participle of pun
- purging (verb): present participle of purge
- purring (verb): present participle of purr
- ribbing (verb): present participle of rib
- rigging (noun): Dress; tackle; especially , the ropes, chains, etc., that support the masts and spars of a sailing vessel, and serve as purchases for adjusting the sails, etc.
- ring (noun): A solid object in the shape of a circle. A circumscribing object, (roughly) circular and hollow, looking like an annual ring, earring, finger ring etc.
- ringing (noun): The sound of something that rings.
- ripping (verb): present participle of rip
- rubbing (noun): An impression of an embossed or incised surface made by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing with graphite, crayon or other coloring agent.
- ruing (verb): present participle of rue
- ruining (verb): present participle of ruin
- rung (noun): A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
- running (verb): Present participle of run.
- unpinning (verb): present participle of unpin
- unrig (verb): To remove the rigging from (a vessel, etc.).
- unrigging (verb): present participle of unrig
- upping (verb): present participle of up
- urging (verb): present participle of urge