May 20, 2026
NYT Spelling Bee Answers — May 20, 2026
Below you will find every answer to the New York Times Spelling Bee for May 20, 2026 (Wednesday). The honeycomb shows the seven letters; the pangram is highlighted in yellow.
Words51
Max Points229
Pangrams3
Genius160
4 letter answers 21 words
ARCOBABABACKBARBBARDBARKBOARBOBABRADCARBCARDCOCACODACRABDARKDRABOKRAORCARACKROADROAR
5 letter answers 15 words
ABACKADOBOARBORARDORBABKABOARDBROADCACAOCAROBCOBRACOCOACRACKCROAKKABOBRADAR
6 letter answers 6 words
ABOARDABROADACCORDBAOBABDOODADDORADO
7 letter answers 2 words
BARBACKBARRACK
8 letter answers 3 words
BACKDOORBARBACOABOOKRACK
9 letter answers 3 words
BACKBOARDCARDBOARDCORKBOARD
11 letter answers 1 word
ABRACADABRA
Common questions
How many answers in the May 20, 2026 Spelling Bee?
51 valid answers worth 229 points, including 3 pangrams. Genius requires 160 points.
What is the pangram?
The pangrams are BACKBOARD, BACKDOOR, CORKBOARD. Pangrams use all seven letters and earn 7 bonus points.
What is the center letter?
The required center letter is A. 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.