NYT Spelling Bee
NYT Spelling Bee Answers & Hints — July 16, 2026
· Edited by Sam Ezersky · By Sneha Rajput
- 37total words
- 166total points
- 116genius score
- 1pangram
Spelling Bee Hints for July 16, 2026
Five levels of help, gentlest first — take only as much as you need.
The pangram
Guess it from the clue — tap any ? to uncover that letter.
“The harsh, bitter quality of a smell or taste that irritates the senses.”
Words per starting letter
The gentlest nudge — which letters do the heavy lifting today.
Two-letter tally
How many words start with each pair — if a pair isn't here, nothing starts with it.
Word length grid
The most specific spoiler-free hint — hunt a missing word by its length.
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 10 |
| C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| D | 6 | 7 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| I | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| R | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| T | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| Y | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Σ | 12 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 37 |
Spelling Bee Answers for July 16, 2026
The full word list for this puzzle, grouped by length.
Every answer, by length
Groups open on tap, so nothing spoils early. Tap any word for its meaning.
Pangram 1 word
9-letter words 1 word
8-letter words 1 word
7-letter words 4 words
6-letter words 4 words
5-letter words 14 words
4-letter words 12 words
4-letter words score 1 point, longer words score their length, pangrams add +7.
Puzzle Stats — July 16, 2026
Difficulty, rank thresholds and how this puzzle compares to the archive.
Difficulty
Today's puzzle is on the harder side, with only 37 words against a historical average of roughly 45 — a leaner grid that leaves fewer easy fallbacks. The single pangram is a fairly technical, low-frequency word that most solvers won't stumble onto by accident, making the bonus points genuinely hard to claim. The letter set is heavy on repeated vowels and the consonant cluster feels constrained, which limits the variety of common patterns solvers can lean on. Shorter words are plentiful enough to reach a decent score, but cracking Genius will require finding several of the longer, more specialized entries.
37 words vs 43 on an average day · 166 points vs 193 · 1 pangram vs 1.6
Points needed for every rank
| Rank | Points | % of max |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Bee 👑 | 166 | 100% |
| Genius | 116 | 70% |
| Amazing | 83 | 50% |
| Great | 66 | 40% |
| Nice | 42 | 25% |
| Solid | 25 | 15% |
| Good | 13 | 8% |
| Moving Up | 8 | 5% |
| Good Start | 3 | 2% |
| Beginner | 0 | 0% |
About the pangram
acridity (15 pts). From Latin 'acer' (sharp, pungent), via the adjective 'acrid' which entered English in the early 18th century, likely modeled on 'acid'; the abstract noun form 'acridity' captures the quality of a biting, harsh smell or taste.
Puzzle facts
- Longest word: 9 letters.
- 12 of 37 words are 4-letter, 1-point words.
- Edited by Sam Ezersky — 28 puzzles in our archive.