Spelling Bee Solver
Enter your letters and find all possible words instantly
Quick Start:
- Click the center hex and type the center letter
- Fill in the 6 outer letters around it
- Press Enter or click Solve
Solving...
Results
Click the hexagons and type your letters
Or use Autofill to load today's puzzle
How to Use the Spelling Bee Solver
Find the center letter
Open the NYT Spelling Bee and identify the letter in the center hexagon. Every valid word must include this letter — it's the one constraint that shapes the entire puzzle.
Enter your letters
Click the center hex above and type the center letter. Then fill in the six surrounding hexagons with the outer letters. Letters auto-capitalize and auto-advance to the next hex.
Get your results
Click Solve or press Enter. The solver returns every dictionary-valid word sorted by length, with pangrams highlighted and total points calculated using official NYT scoring rules.
The Complete Guide to Solving the NYT Spelling Bee
What Is the NYT Spelling Bee?
The New York Times Spelling Bee is a daily word puzzle that challenges players to find as many words as possible from a set of seven letters arranged in a honeycomb pattern. One letter sits at the center — every word you form must include it. Words need to be at least four letters long, and you can reuse letters as many times as you want. The puzzle resets every day at midnight Eastern time, and thousands of players compete to reach the top rank of Queen Bee by finding all the words.
The game debuted in the NYT Magazine in 2018 and moved to the NYT Games app shortly after. Unlike Wordle, which gives you a single puzzle per day with no hints, the Spelling Bee rewards persistence — you can keep guessing words until you find them all. The challenge isn't just vocabulary; it's pattern recognition, letter combination awareness, and knowing which prefixes and suffixes combine with the available letters.
How Scoring Works
The Spelling Bee uses a straightforward scoring system. Four-letter words are worth 1 point each, regardless of the word. Five-letter and longer words earn points equal to their letter count — a 6-letter word gets 6 points, a 9-letter word gets 9 points. Pangrams, which use all seven available letters at least once, earn a 7-point bonus on top of their base score. This means a 7-letter pangram is worth 14 points (7 base + 7 bonus), while a 10-letter pangram earns 17 points.
Progress tiers are based on percentages of the maximum possible score: Beginner (0%), Starting (2%), Solid (5%), Nice (8%), Good (15%), Great (25%), Amazing (40%), Genius (70%), and Queen Bee (100%). Most regular players aim for Genius, which requires finding roughly 70% of all available points. Reaching Queen Bee means finding every single word — a feat that's genuinely difficult on puzzles with 50+ answers.
Why Use a Solver?
A solver tool isn't about cheating — it's about learning. Many players use solvers after they've finished their own attempt to see which words they missed. The most commonly overlooked words tend to be longer entries, words with repeated letters, and words that start with less common letter combinations. Running your letter set through a solver shows you the full landscape of possible words, including ones you might never have considered.
Some players use the solver as a hint system, checking pangram counts or total word counts without revealing the actual words. This gives you a sense of how much you've found versus how much is out there, which helps you decide whether to keep searching or call it a day. Our Autofill feature makes this especially easy — one click loads today's letters, and you can see the total word and pangram counts immediately.
Strategies for Finding More Words
Start with the pangrams. There's usually at least one per puzzle, and finding it early gives you a significant point boost. Try combining all seven letters in different orders — the pangram often uses a common prefix or suffix attached to a shorter root word. If the outer letters include common endings like -ING, -TION, -NESS, or -MENT, try attaching them to shorter words you've already found.
Work systematically through prefixes and suffixes. If your letters allow it, try every combination of the center letter with each outer letter as a starting letter. Then test common word beginnings: RE-, UN-, IN-, OUT-, OVER-. Do the same with endings: -ED, -ER, -EST, -ING, -LY, -TION. This methodical approach catches words that pure vocabulary recall misses.
Look for words with repeated letters. The Spelling Bee allows you to use letters more than once, which opens up possibilities like double letters (ROOM, DOOR), repeated prefixes (REDO, REUSE), and compound-adjacent words. Many players forget that letter reuse is allowed and miss words that seem too long for the available letters.
About This Solver
SbSolver's Spelling Bee tool uses a comprehensive English dictionary to find all valid words for any combination of seven letters. It follows the same rules as the official game: words must be at least four letters long, must include the center letter, and can only use the given seven letters (with repetition allowed). Pangrams are automatically detected and highlighted.
One thing to keep in mind: our dictionary is broader than the NYT's official word list. The New York Times excludes words that are obscure, potentially offensive, or not well-known enough for their audience. This means our solver might show words that the NYT wouldn't accept as official answers. If a word seems unusual or archaic, the NYT probably excluded it from the official list.
The solver processes everything in your browser — no data gets sent to our servers, and results appear instantly. Your letter combinations stay private. This also means the tool works offline once the page has loaded, making it usable anywhere without an internet connection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Spelling Bee solver work?
The solver takes your 7 letters (1 center + 6 outer) and checks them against a comprehensive English dictionary. It returns every valid word that includes the center letter, uses only the given letters (with repetition allowed), and is at least 4 letters long. Pangrams are automatically identified and scored with the 7-point bonus.
Does the solver use the official NYT word list?
No. The NYT uses a curated word list that excludes certain words they consider obscure, offensive, or not well-known enough. Our solver uses a general English dictionary, so you may see words that the NYT would not accept. Use it as a comprehensive hint tool — if a word seems unusual, the NYT probably excluded it from their official list.
What counts as a pangram?
A pangram is any word that uses all seven available letters at least once. It doesn't have to use each letter exactly once — a word that uses all seven letters but repeats some is still a pangram. Pangrams earn a 7-point bonus. A perfect pangram uses each letter exactly once (7 letters total), which makes it the shortest possible pangram.
Can I use the Autofill button for today's puzzle?
Yes. Click "Autofill Today's NYT Puzzle" to automatically load today's letter configuration into the hexagon grid. The solver will then find all dictionary-valid words for those letters. This is the fastest way to check your progress against the complete set of possible answers.
Why does the solver find more words than the official answer list?
The NYT carefully curates their word list, removing words they consider too obscure, potentially offensive, or not common enough for a general audience. Our dictionary is broader, so it includes words the NYT would reject. If a word seems rare or archaic to you, it probably won't count in the official game. Use the full list as a brainstorming tool, not as the final answer key.
Is the solver free to use?
Yes, completely free. No sign-up, no paywall, no subscription. The solver runs entirely in your browser, processes your letters locally, and displays results instantly. You can use it as many times as you want for any letter combination.