NYT Spelling Bee Answers for October 20, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter H with outer letters C, I, K, M, N, U. The puzzle contains 18 words worth 79 points, including 1 pangram. The longest word is 8 letters. To reach Genius you need 55 points; Queen Bee requires all 79 points. Today is not a bingo — at least one letter starts no words. Compared with the eight-year average of about 184 points per puzzle, this is a smaller-than-average day.
Game Summary
| Center Letter | H |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, i, k, m, n, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 18 words |
| Total Points | 79 points |
| Genius Level | 55 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 3 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 8 |
| H | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| I | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| K | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| M | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| N | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CH×7 CI×1 |
|---|---|
| H | HI×1 HU×2 |
| I | IN×1 |
| K | KI×1 |
| M | MU×3 |
| N | NU×2 |
| U |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CHI×4 CHU×3 CIN×1 |
|---|---|
| H | HIC×1 HUN×2 |
| I | INC×1 |
| K | KIM×1 |
| M | MUC×1 MUN×2 |
| N | NUN×2 |
| U |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| mu...... † | MU8 | A child. |
| ch.. | CH4 | Elegant, stylish. |
| ch.... | CH6 | Affectedly trendy; chic and stylish in a pretentious way. |
| ch... | CH5 | A young bird. |
| ch.. | CH4 | The bottom of a face, the typically jutting jawline below the mouth. |
| ch... | CH5 | Meat from the shoulder of a cow or other animal. |
| ch.. | CH4 | A friend; a pal. |
| ch... | CH5 | A part of something that has been separated. |
| ci... | CI5 | A simple saddle girth used in Mexico. |
| hi.. | HI4 | An awkward, naive, clumsy and/or rude country person. |
| hu... | HU5 | A hump; a protuberance. |
| hu.. | HU4 | A large or dense piece of something. |
| in.. | IN4 | A unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot, or exactly 2.54 centimetres. |
| ki.... | KI6 | A Korean dish made of vegetables, such as cabbage or radishes, that are salted, seasoned, and stored in sealed containers to undergo lactic acid fermentation. |
| mu.. | MU4 | A large amount of. |
| mu... | MU5 | To chew with a grinding, crunching sound, and with the mouth closed. |
| nu...... | NU8 | Alternative form of nunchaku |
| nu..... | NU7 | Alternative form of nunchaku |
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.
- munchkin† (MU8)
- chic (CH4)
- chichi (CH6)
- chick (CH5)
- chin (CH4)
- chuck (CH5)
- chum (CH4)
- chunk (CH5)
- cinch (CI5)
- hick (HI4)
- hunch (HU5)
- hunk (HU4)
- inch (IN4)
- kimchi (KI6)
- much (MU4)
- munch (MU5)
- nunchuck (NU8)
- nunchuk (NU7)
Answer Definitions
- munchkin† (noun): A child.
- chic (adjective): Elegant, stylish.
- chichi (adjective): Affectedly trendy; chic and stylish in a pretentious way.
- chick (noun): A young bird.
- chin (noun): The bottom of a face, the typically jutting jawline below the mouth.
- chuck (noun): Meat from the shoulder of a cow or other animal.
- chum (noun): A friend; a pal.
- chunk (noun): A part of something that has been separated.
- cinch (noun): A simple saddle girth used in Mexico.
- hick (noun): An awkward, naive, clumsy and/or rude country person.
- hunch (noun): A hump; a protuberance.
- hunk (noun): A large or dense piece of something.
- inch (noun): A unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot, or exactly 2.54 centimetres.
- kimchi (noun): A Korean dish made of vegetables, such as cabbage or radishes, that are salted, seasoned, and stored in sealed containers to undergo lactic acid fermentation.
- much (determiner): A large amount of.
- munch (verb): To chew with a grinding, crunching sound, and with the mouth closed.
- nunchuck (noun): Alternative form of nunchaku
- nunchuk (noun): Alternative form of nunchaku