Friday, October 16, 2026

Spelling Bee answers today, October 16

Today's NYT Spelling Bee has 56 answers and 2 pangrams, each one hidden until you tap. Want a nudge first?

Jump to the pangram Jump to all answers

Updated October 16, 5:06 p.m. ET by BeeHints

Puzzle by Sam Ezersky

Today's 2 pangrams

Words that use all seven letters, worth 7 bonus points each.

0 of 2 words shown. Tap a tile to peek.

Pangrams2

All 56 answers

Grouped by first letter, shortest first.

0 of 56 words shown. Tap a tile to peek.

b12

g12

i3

n2

p11

r10

u6

At a glance

Words: 56
Points: 339
Pangrams: 2
Longest word: 10 letters

1 perfect pangram (7 letters)
Bingo: a word starts with every letter
Average word: 6.4 letters

Maximum score 339. Genius takes 237 points: the fastest route is 31 words, starting with the longest ones, all 7 letters or longer.

Points for each rank

Genius takes 237 of 339 points.

Spelling Bee rank points for October 16
Rank	Share	Points
Beginner	0%	0
Good Start	2%	7
Moving Up	5%	17
Good	8%	27
Solid	15%	51
Nice	25%	85
Great	40%	136
Amazing	50%	170
Genius	70%	237
Queen Bee	100%	339

How ranks work

Real words that do not count

Everyday dictionary words that fit the letters but are not in the puzzle's word list. Save yourself the tries.

gunrunning
bunging
burring
pipping
pupping
piing

Letter grid

Spelling Bee letter grid for October 16
First letter	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
b	3	1	-	7	1	-	-	12
g (center letter)	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
Total	11	3	7	27	5	2	1	56

Two-letter list

bi2 words
br5 words
bu5 words

gi3 words
gr7 words
gu2 words

in3 words

ni2 words

pi6 words
pr2 words
pu3 words

ri5 words
ru5 words

un3 words
up2 words
ur1 word

Next puzzle every day at 3 a.m. ET

About today's Spelling Bee answers

Today's center letter is G, so every answer uses it. The outer letters are B, I, N, P, R, U. The shortest answers have 4 letters and the longest has 10; the average answer is 6.4 letters long.

Each four-letter word scores 1 point, longer words score one point per letter, and a pangram earns 7 extra points. That is how today adds up to 339 points. Missed a few? Check them off in the word tracker tomorrow before you look here, or browse past puzzles.

Questions and answers

What are today's Spelling Bee answers?

The October 16 Spelling Bee has 56 answers worth 339 points. They are listed on this page by first letter, each one hidden until you tap it, with the pangrams in their own group.

What is today's Spelling Bee pangram?

Today has 2 pangrams. Tap the tiles under "Today's 2 pangrams" above to reveal them, or get gentle pangram hints first on our pangram page.

How many points do I need for Genius today?

Genius takes 237 points today, which is 70% of the 339 points available. Queen Bee means finding every word.

Why was my word not accepted?

The puzzle uses its own curated word list. It leaves out obscure, offensive and hyphenated words and proper nouns, so some real dictionary words are not answers.

When do the answers change?

A new puzzle starts at 3 a.m. Eastern time. Yesterday's answers then move to our yesterday page and the archive.