NYT Spelling Bee Answers for October 23, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter L with outer letters C, G, I, O, T, X. The puzzle contains 29 words worth 88 points, including 1 pangram. The longest word is 11 letters. To reach Genius you need 62 points; Queen Bee requires all 88 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 | L |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, g, i, o, t, x |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 29 words |
| Total Points | 88 points |
| Genius Level | 62 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 | 10 | 11 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 5 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| G | 2 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| I | - | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| L | 6 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 6 |
| X | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 19 | 5 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 29 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CL×2 CO×4 |
|---|---|
| G | GI×3 GO×1 |
| I | IG×1 IL×2 |
| L | LI×2 LO×7 |
| O | OL×1 |
| T | TI×2 TO×4 |
| X |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CLO×2 COI×1 COL×2 COO×1 |
|---|---|
| G | GIG×1 GIL×2 GOO×1 |
| I | IGL×1 ILL×2 |
| L | LIC×1 LIL×1 LOC×2 LOG×2 LOL×1 LOO×1 LOT×1 |
| O | OLI×1 |
| T | TIL×2 TOI×1 TOL×1 TOO×1 TOX×1 |
| X |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| to......... † | TO11 | Of or pertaining to toxicology. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A type of shoe with an inflexible, often wooden sole sometimes with an open heel. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A thrombus, solidified mass of blood. |
| co.. | CO4 | Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral. |
| co... | CO5 | Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems). |
| co.. | CO4 | A young male horse. |
| co.. | CO4 | Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold. |
| gi.... | GI6 | A man who has a sexual relationship with a woman from whom he receives payment. |
| gi.. | GI4 | a breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals |
| gi.. | GI4 | Gold or other metal in a thin layer; gilding. Gold-colored paint or other coating. |
| go.... | GO6 | The number 10 100 {\displaystyle 10^{100}} , or ten to the power of a hundred. Equivalent to ten duotrigintillion (short scale), or ten sedecilliard (long scale). |
| ig... | IG5 | A dome-shaped Inuit shelter, constructed of blocks cut from snow. |
| il..... | IL7 | Not approved by law, but not invalid. |
| il..... | IL7 | Synonym of illogical |
| li... | LI5 | Not forbidden by formal or informal rules. |
| li.. | LI4 | To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music. |
| lo.. | LO4 | plural of locus |
| lo.. | LO4 | A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower. |
| lo... | LO5 | logical |
| lo.. | LO4 | A visual symbol or emblem that acts as a trademark or a means of identification of a company or organization. |
| lo.. | LO4 | To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks. |
| lo... | LO5 | a game of chance similar to bingo |
| ol.. | OL4 | A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables. |
| ti.. | TI4 | Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time). |
| ti.. | TI4 | To slope or incline (something); to slant. |
| to.. | TO4 | Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature. |
| to.. | TO4 | Loss or damage incurred through a disaster. |
| to.. | TO4 | A mechanical device intended to make a task easier. |
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.
- toxicologic† (TO11)
- clog (CL4)
- clot (CL4)
- coil (CO4)
- colic (CO5)
- colt (CO4)
- cool (CO4)
- gigolo (GI6)
- gill (GI4)
- gilt (GI4)
- googol (GO6)
- igloo (IG5)
- illicit (IL7)
- illogic (IL7)
- licit (LI5)
- lilt (LI4)
- loci (LO4)
- loco (LO4)
- logic (LO5)
- logo (LO4)
- loll (LO4)
- loot (LO4)
- lotto (LO5)
- olio (OL4)
- till (TI4)
- tilt (TI4)
- toil (TO4)
- toll (TO4)
- tool (TO4)
Answer Definitions
- toxicologic† (adjective): Of or pertaining to toxicology.
- clog (noun): A type of shoe with an inflexible, often wooden sole sometimes with an open heel.
- clot (noun): A thrombus, solidified mass of blood.
- coil (noun): Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
- colic (noun): Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).
- colt (noun): A young male horse.
- cool (adjective): Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold.
- gigolo (noun): A man who has a sexual relationship with a woman from whom he receives payment.
- gill (noun): a breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals
- gilt (noun): Gold or other metal in a thin layer; gilding. Gold-colored paint or other coating.
- googol (numeral): The number 10 100 {\displaystyle 10^{100}} , or ten to the power of a hundred. Equivalent to ten duotrigintillion (short scale), or ten sedecilliard (long scale).
- igloo (noun): A dome-shaped Inuit shelter, constructed of blocks cut from snow.
- illicit (adjective): Not approved by law, but not invalid.
- illogic (adjective): Synonym of illogical
- licit (adjective): Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
- lilt (verb): To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.
- loci (noun): plural of locus
- loco (adverb): A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower.
- logic (adjective): logical
- logo (noun): A visual symbol or emblem that acts as a trademark or a means of identification of a company or organization.
- loll (verb): To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
- loot (noun): A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks.
- lotto (noun): a game of chance similar to bingo
- olio (noun): A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
- till (preposition): Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
- tilt (verb): To slope or incline (something); to slant.
- toil (noun): Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
- toll (noun): Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.
- tool (noun): A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.