NYT Spelling Bee Answers for November 3, 2026
Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter C with outer letters A, B, I, K, L, T. The puzzle contains 49 words worth 273 points, including 3 pangrams. The longest word is 9 letters. To reach Genius you need 191 points; Queen Bee requires all 273 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 | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, i, k, l, t |
| # of Pangrams | 3 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 49 words |
| Total Points | 273 points |
| Genius Level | 191 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 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | 7 |
| B | 1 | 1 | - | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| C | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| I | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| K | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | - | 3 |
| L | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 7 |
| T | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | - | 8 | Σ | 11 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 49 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×2 AC×2 AL×1 AT×2 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×5 BI×1 BL×2 |
| C | CA×8 CI×2 CL×3 |
| I | IL×2 IT×1 |
| K | KI×3 |
| L | LA×4 LI×3 |
| T | TA×7 TI×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABA×2 ACA×2 ALA×1 ATT×2 |
|---|---|
| B | BAC×5 BIB×1 BLA×2 |
| C | CAB×2 CAC×1 CAL×3 CAT×2 CIA×1 CIL×1 CLA×1 CLI×2 |
| I | ILI×1 ILL×1 ITA×1 |
| K | KIC×3 |
| L | LAC×2 LAI×2 LIC×2 LIL×1 |
| T | TAC×5 TAI×1 TAL×1 TIC×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ba..... † | BA7 | simple past tense and past participle of backlight |
| cl....... † | CL9 | Website content that is aimed at generating advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy, relying on sensationalist headlines to attract click-throughs; such headlines. |
| ta...... † | TA8 | A line of motor vehicles causing or the result of traffic congestion or a traffic jam. |
| ab... | AB5 | plural form of an ancient bead calculator. |
| ab... | AB5 | Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'. |
| ac.... | AC6 | A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe. |
| al... | AL5 | An expression of sorrow or mourning. |
| at.... | AT6 | An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent or enemy. |
| at... | AT5 | The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation. |
| ba..... | BA7 | plural of bacillus |
| ba.. | BA4 | At or near the rear. |
| ba..... | BA7 | simple past tense and past participle of backbite |
| ba...... | BA8 | Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response. |
| bi...... | BI8 | Of or relating to the Bible. |
| bl... | BL5 | Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless. |
| bl....... | BL9 | A rejection; a vote against admitting someone. |
| ca... | CA5 | A secret political clique or faction. |
| ca.... | CA6 | Alternative spelling of Kabballah |
| ca... | CA5 | plural of cactus |
| ca.. | CA4 | A telephone conversation; a phone call. |
| ca... | CA5 | A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe. |
| ca...... | CA8 | The return of a situation to a previous position or state. |
| ca..... | CA7 | A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo. |
| ca..... | CA7 | Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, that have long flat leaves, and grow in marshy places. |
| ci...... | CI8 | A broad, flat, white Italian bread. |
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cilium |
| cl... | CL5 | An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk. |
| cl... | CL5 | A brief, sharp, not particularly loud, relatively high-pitched sound produced by the impact of something small and hard against something hard, such as by the operation of a switch, a lock, or a latch. |
| il... | IL5 | Relating to the ilium. |
| il..... | IL7 | Not approved by law, but not invalid. |
| it.... | IT6 | Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century. |
| ki.. | KI4 | To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg. |
| ki...... | KI8 | A backward kick, a retrograde movement of an extremity. |
| ki...... | KI8 | A sport similar to baseball, where a ball is kicked rather than hit. |
| la.. | LA4 | A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want. |
| la.... | LA6 | Of, relating to, or derived from milk. |
| la.. | LA4 | A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy. |
| la.... | LA6 | Of or pertaining to a layperson, layman, laywoman, or laypeople (laity). |
| li... | LI5 | Not forbidden by formal or informal rules. |
| li.. | LI4 | To stroke with the tongue. |
| li... | LI5 | A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers. |
| ta... | TA5 | Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence. |
| ta.. | TA4 | A small nail with a flat head. |
| ta.. | TA4 | The sense of touch; feeling. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end. |
| ta...... | TA8 | of or relating to tactics |
| ta.. | TA4 | Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic. |
| ti.. | TI4 | A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida. |
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.
- backlit† (BA7)
- clickbait† (CL9)
- tailback† (TA8)
- abaci (AB5)
- aback (AB5)
- acacia (AC6)
- acai (AC4)
- alack (AL5)
- attack (AT6)
- attic (AT5)
- bacilli (BA7)
- back (BA4)
- backbit (BA7)
- backtalk (BA8)
- biblical (BI8)
- black (BL5)
- blackball (BL9)
- cabal (CA5)
- cabala (CA6)
- cacti (CA5)
- call (CA4)
- calla (CA5)
- callback (CA8)
- catcall (CA7)
- cattail (CA7)
- ciabatta (CI8)
- cilia (CI5)
- clack (CL5)
- click (CL5)
- iliac (IL5)
- illicit (IL7)
- italic (IT6)
- kick (KI4)
- kickback (KI8)
- kickball (KI8)
- lack (LA4)
- lactic (LA6)
- laic (LA4)
- laical (LA6)
- licit (LI5)
- lick (LI4)
- lilac (LI5)
- tacit (TA5)
- tack (TA4)
- tact (TA4)
- tactic (TA6)
- tactical (TA8)
- talc (TA4)
- tick (TI4)
Answer Definitions
- backlit† (verb): simple past tense and past participle of backlight
- clickbait† (noun): Website content that is aimed at generating advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy, relying on sensationalist headlines to attract click-throughs; such headlines.
- tailback† (noun): A line of motor vehicles causing or the result of traffic congestion or a traffic jam.
- abaci (noun): plural form of an ancient bead calculator.
- aback (adverb): Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'.
- acacia (noun): A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
- acai (noun): Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
- alack (interjection): An expression of sorrow or mourning.
- attack (noun): An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent or enemy.
- attic (noun): The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.
- bacilli (noun): plural of bacillus
- back (adjective): At or near the rear.
- backbit (verb): simple past tense and past participle of backbite
- backtalk (noun): Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response.
- biblical (adjective): Of or relating to the Bible.
- black (adjective): Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.
- blackball (noun): A rejection; a vote against admitting someone.
- cabal (noun): A secret political clique or faction.
- cabala (proper noun): Alternative spelling of Kabballah
- cacti (noun): plural of cactus
- call (noun): A telephone conversation; a phone call.
- calla (noun): A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.
- callback (noun): The return of a situation to a previous position or state.
- catcall (noun): A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.
- cattail (noun): Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, that have long flat leaves, and grow in marshy places.
- ciabatta (noun): A broad, flat, white Italian bread.
- cilia (noun): plural of cilium
- clack (noun): An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk.
- click (noun): A brief, sharp, not particularly loud, relatively high-pitched sound produced by the impact of something small and hard against something hard, such as by the operation of a switch, a lock, or a latch.
- iliac (adjective): Relating to the ilium.
- illicit (adjective): Not approved by law, but not invalid.
- italic (adjective): Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.
- kick (verb): To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.
- kickback (noun): A backward kick, a retrograde movement of an extremity.
- kickball (noun): A sport similar to baseball, where a ball is kicked rather than hit.
- lack (noun): A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want.
- lactic (adjective): Of, relating to, or derived from milk.
- laic (noun): A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.
- laical (adjective): Of or pertaining to a layperson, layman, laywoman, or laypeople (laity).
- licit (adjective): Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
- lick (verb): To stroke with the tongue.
- lilac (noun): A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.
- tacit (adjective): Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence.
- tack (noun): A small nail with a flat head.
- tact (noun): The sense of touch; feeling.
- tactic (noun): A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
- tactical (adjective): of or relating to tactics
- talc (noun): Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic.
- tick (noun): A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida.