NYT Spelling Bee
NYT Spelling Bee Answers & Hints — July 9, 2026
· Edited by Sam Ezersky · By Sneha Rajput
- 24total words
- 128total points
- 90genius score
- 2pangrams
Spelling Bee Hints for July 9, 2026
Five levels of help, gentlest first — take only as much as you need.
The pangrams
Guess it from the clue — tap any ? to uncover that letter.
“Attacked a target by swooping down steeply from the air and releasing bombs.”
“To attack a target by flying steeply downward and dropping explosives.”
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 | 10 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| D | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | 1 | 9 |
| E | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| I | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| M | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| O | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| V | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 9 |
| Σ | 6 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 |
Spelling Bee Answers for July 9, 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 2 words
7-letter words 3 words
6-letter words 4 words
5-letter words 9 words
4-letter words 6 words
4-letter words score 1 point, longer words score their length, pangrams add +7.
Puzzle Stats — July 9, 2026
Difficulty, rank thresholds and how this puzzle compares to the archive.
Difficulty
This is a tougher-than-average puzzle, held back significantly by a constrained letter set that yields only 24 words against a historical average of 45.2, and a max score of 128 versus the typical 190.3. The heavy V-center requirement filters out a huge swath of common vocabulary, and while the two pangrams share an obvious root, spotting the longer one demands committing to a compound verb form that solvers may hesitate over. A bright spot: several short, familiar words pad the early score, but the middle tier of five- and six-letter entries requires patience to exhaust.
24 words vs 44 on an average day · 128 points vs 192 · 2 pangrams vs 1.6
Points needed for every rank
| Rank | Points | % of max |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Bee 👑 | 128 | 100% |
| Genius | 90 | 70% |
| Amazing | 64 | 50% |
| Great | 51 | 40% |
| Nice | 32 | 25% |
| Solid | 19 | 15% |
| Good | 10 | 8% |
| Moving Up | 6 | 5% |
| Good Start | 3 | 2% |
| Beginner | 0 | 0% |
About the pangrams
divebombed (17 pts). The simple past of 'divebomb,' this form extends the WWII aviation compound into a completed action; its appearance here as a debut word reflects how rarely Spelling Bee puzzles assemble the specific letter set needed to accommodate this nine-letter past-tense form.
divebomb (15 pts). A compound verb formed in mid-20th-century American English, combining 'dive' (from Old Norse 'dýfa,' to dip or plunge) with 'bomb,' describing the steep-angle attack runs pioneered by military aircraft in World War II; its use as a verb meaning to swoop aggressively spread rapidly into civilian slang.
Puzzle facts
- Longest word: 10 letters.
- 6 of 24 words are 4-letter, 1-point words.
- Edited by Sam Ezersky — 21 puzzles in our archive.