May 16, 2020

NYT Spelling Bee Answers — May 16, 2020

Margaret Chen Verified

Senior Editor · Spelling Bee solver since 2018

Below you will find every answer to the New York Times Spelling Bee for May 16, 2020 (Saturday). The honeycomb shows the seven letters; the pangram is highlighted in yellow.

Words54
Max Points265
Pangrams3
Genius186

4 letter answers 19 words

BELLBELTBILEBILLEELYGELTGILLGILTGLEEGLIBILLYLILTLILYLITETELLTILETILLTILTYELL

5 letter answers 15 words

BELIEBELLEBELLYBIBLEBIGLYBILGEBILLYELEGYELITEGELEELEGGYLEGITLIBELLIEGETITLE

6 letter answers 9 words

BEETLEBILLETEYELETGIBLETGIGGLEGIGGLYGLIBLYLITTLETITTLE

7 letter answers 3 words

LEGIBLELEGIBLYLIBELEE

8 letter answers 3 words

BELITTLEELIGIBLEELIGIBLY

9 letter answers 2 words

ILLEGIBLEILLEGIBLY

10 letter answers 1 word

LEGIBILITY

11 letter answers 1 word

ELIGIBILITY

12 letter answers 1 word

ILLEGIBILITY

Common questions

How many answers in the May 16, 2020 Spelling Bee?

54 valid answers worth 265 points, including 3 pangrams. Genius requires 186 points.

What is the pangram?

The pangrams are ELIGIBILITY, ILLEGIBILITY, LEGIBILITY. Pangrams use all seven letters and earn 7 bonus points.

What is the center letter?

The required center letter is L. Every valid answer must contain this letter.

How does scoring work?

4-letter words: 1 point. Longer words: 1 point per letter. Pangrams: +7 bonus. Genius is 70% of the maximum.