JUL 26 2026

Spelling Bee July 26, 2026 Answers

All 63 valid words for the NYT Spelling Bee. Center letter: O.

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63
Total Words
244
Max Points
171
Genius Score
O
Center Letter

Today’s Pangram

Tap to reveal the pangram (spoiler)

Heads up — this shows the hardest word of the day.

⭐ Today’s Pangram
CATHOLIC
Uses all 7 letters — worth 15 points

July 26, 2026 brought one of the more word-rich NYT Spelling Bee: 63 valid words, every single one containing the center letter O.

With 63 valid words, this was an unusually large puzzle — patient, systematic solvers had plenty of material to work with. The outer letters were A, C, H, I, L, T, and the longest answer aside from the pangram ran 10 letters for 10 points. Reaching Genius required 171 points out of a possible 244; see how this compares in the full answers archive.

The pangram used all 7 letters for 15 points — the highest-scoring word of the day (tap the spoiler above if you want it). If pangrams are where you get stuck, the pangram-spotting guide walks through the letter patterns that give them away.

Prefer to solve it yourself? Get spoiler-free hints for today's Spelling Bee instead — the words grouped by starting letter and length, with a nudge toward the pangram, so nothing is spoiled until you ask.

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✓ Official NYT Answers
This list is confirmed against NYT’s official answers for today. Words NYT doesn’t accept are marked with an orange box below.

Word List Hints — July 26, 2026

Prefer a nudge over the full answer key? Here is how the 63 words for the July 26, 2026 Spelling Bee break down — how many begin with each letter, at each word length — followed by the two-letter start list. Work these first, then reveal the complete list only if you get stuck.

Start \ Len45678910Total
A15·1·1·8
C117313·126
H31·····4
I1······1
L55·····10
O21··1··4
T52111··10
Total28214351163

Two-letter starts

AC1AI1AL5AT1CA4CH2CI1CL3CO16HA1HO3IO1LI1LO9OA1OC1OI1OL1TA3TO7

All 63 Words — Sorted by Length

Tap to reveal all 63 answers (spoiler)

Spoiler warning — the complete answer list is below.

11 Letters1 word
LACCOLITHIC18
10 Letters2 words
CHOCOHOLIC 10
CATHOLICOI17
9 Letters5 words
ALCOHOLIC 9
HALACHOTH 9
LACCOLITH16
OTOLITHIC 9
TALLITOTH 9
8 Letters10 words
CALLALOO 8
CATHOLIC15
COATTAIL 8
OILCLOTH 8
TAILCOAT 8
CACHALOT 8
CHALLOTH 8
HALACHOT 8
OCOTILLO 8
OITICICA 8
7 Letters15 words
ALCOHOL 7
CHAOTIC 7
TOCCATA 7
ACHOLIA 7
CATTALO 7
CHALLOT 7
CHALOTH 7
CLOACAL 7
COLITIC 7
HALLOTH 7
LITOTIC 7
LOCHIAL 7
OOLITIC 7
OTOLITH 7
THIOLIC 7
6 Letters27 words
CALICO 6
CLOACA 6
COITAL 6
TATTOO 6
AHCHOO 6
CAHOOT 6
CATALO 6
CHALOT 6
CHOLLA 6
CITOLA 6
COCCAL 6
COCCIC 6
COOCOO 6
COOLTH 6
HALLOA 6
HALLOO 6
HALLOT 6
HILLOA 6
HOLLOA 6
HOLLOO 6
HOOTCH 6
LOCHIA 6
OOLITH 6
OTITIC 6
TALLOL 6
THOLOI 6
TICTOC 6
5 Letters39 words
ACHOO 5
AIOLI 5
ALLOT 5
ALOHA 5
ATOLL 5
CACAO 5
CLOTH 5
COACH 5
COATI 5
COCCI 5
COCOA 5
COLIC 5
HOOCH 5
LITHO 5
LOACH 5
LOATH 5
LOCAL 5
LOTTO 5
OCTAL 5
TOOTH 5
TOTAL 5
ALTHO 5
CHIAO 5
CHICO 5
CHOLO 5
CHOTT 5
CLOOT 5
COACT 5
COALA 5
COOCH 5
COTTA 5
HALLO 5
HILLO 5
HOLLA 5
HOLLO 5
HOTCH 5
LOTAH 5
LOTIC 5
THIOL 5
4 Letters42 words
ALTO 1
CIAO 1
CLOT 1
COAL 1
COAT 1
COCA 1
COHO 1
COIL 1
COLA 1
COLT 1
COOL 1
COOT 1
HALO 1
HOLT 1
HOOT 1
IOTA 1
LOCH 1
LOCI 1
LOCO 1
LOLL 1
LOOT 1
OATH 1
OLIO 1
TACO 1
TOIL 1
TOLL 1
TOOL 1
TOOT 1
CALO 1
CHAO 1
COCO 1
LOCA 1
LOTA 1
LOTH 1
LOTI 1
OHIA 1
OLLA 1
OTIC 1
OTTO 1
THIO 1
TOIT 1
TOLA 1
Pangram ★ — uses all 7 letters High Value (8+ pts) Standard Valid word — not in NYT’s official list O= required center letter
Scroll to see all 63 words

What the Words Mean

Definitions for the July 26, 2026 answers — so you know exactly what you found, or what you missed. Pangrams are marked .

Tap to reveal all 57 definitions (spoiler)

Spoiler warning — every answer word is spelled out and defined below.

AIOLI
noun Garlic mayonnaise
ALCOHOL
noun A liquor or brew containing alcohol as the active agent
ALCOHOLIC
noun A person who drinks alcohol to excess habitually
ALLOT
verb Give out
ALOHA
noun An acknowledgment that can be used to say hello or goodbye (aloha is Hawaiian and ciao is Italian)
ALTO
noun A singer whose voice lies in the alto clef
ATOLL
noun An island consisting of a circular coral reef surrounding a lagoon
CACAO
noun Tropical American tree producing cacao beans
CALICO
noun Coarse cloth with a bright print
CATHOLIC
noun A member of a Catholic church
CHAOTIC
adjective Lacking a visible order or organization
CIAO
noun An acknowledgment that can be used to say hello or goodbye (aloha is Hawaiian and ciao is Italian)
CLOACA
noun The cavity (in birds, reptiles, amphibians, most fish, and monotremes but not mammals) at the end of the digestive tract into which the…
CLOT
noun A lump of material formed from the content of a liquid
CLOTH
noun Artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
COACH
noun Someone in charge of training an athlete or a team
COAL
noun Fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period
COAT
noun An outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down
COATI
noun Omnivorous mammal of Central America and South America
COATTAIL
noun The loose back flap of a coat that hangs below the waist
COCA
noun A South American shrub whose leaves are chewed by natives of the Andes
COCCI
noun Any spherical or nearly spherical bacteria
COCOA
noun A beverage made from cocoa powder and milk and sugar
COHO
noun Fatty pinkish flesh of small salmon caught in the Pacific and Great Lakes
COIL
noun A structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops
COITAL
adjective Of or relating to coitus or copulation
COLA
noun Large genus of African trees bearing kola nuts
COLIC
noun Acute abdominal pain (especially in infants)
COLT
noun A young male horse under the age of four
COOL
noun The quality of being at a refreshingly low temperature
COOT
noun Slate-black slow-flying birds somewhat resembling ducks
HALO
noun An indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint
HOOCH
noun An illicitly distilled (and usually inferior) alcoholic liquor
HOOT
noun A loud raucous cry (as of an owl)
IOTA
noun A tiny or scarcely detectable amount
LOACH
noun Slender freshwater fishes of Eurasia and Africa resembling catfishes
LOATH
adjective Unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom
LOCAL
noun Public transport consisting of a bus or train that stops at all stations or stops
LOCH
noun A long narrow inlet of the sea in Scotland (especially when it is nearly landlocked)
LOCI
noun The scene of any event or action (especially the place of a meeting)
LOCO
adjective Informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
LOLL
verb Hang loosely or laxly
LOOT
noun Goods or money obtained illegally
LOTTO
noun A game in which numbered balls are drawn at random and players cover the corresponding numbers on their cards
OATH
noun Profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
OCTAL
adjective Of or pertaining to a number system having 8 as its base
OILCLOTH
noun Cloth treated on one side with a drying oil or synthetic resin
TACO
noun Offensive term for a person of Mexican descent
TAILCOAT
noun Formalwear consisting of full evening dress for men
TATTOO
noun A drumbeat or bugle call that signals the military to return to their quarters
TOCCATA
noun A baroque musical composition (usually for a keyboard instrument) with full chords and rapid elaborate runs in a rhythmically free style
TOIL
noun Productive work (especially physical work done for wages)
TOLL
noun A fee levied for the use of roads or bridges (used for maintenance)
TOOL
noun An implement used in the practice of a vocation
TOOT
noun A blast of a horn
TOOTH
noun Hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates
TOTAL
noun The whole amount

Word definitions from WordNet® 3.1, Princeton University.

Miss Words Like These Every Week?

The players who find CHOCOHOLIC and ALCOHOLIC consistently know their Latin and Greek roots. These books teach the exact system that unlocks words like CATHOLIC before you ever see the puzzle.

See the Books →
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Frequently Asked Questions

July 26, 2026's puzzle contained 63 valid words, above average, giving solvers more paths to reach Genius than most puzzles offer. Every answer used the center letter O; the pangram CATHOLIC was worth 15 points, the maximum score was 244, and Genius required 171 points. The longest word, CHOCOHOLIC, scored 10.
The pangram for July 26, 2026 was CATHOLIC. A pangram uses all 7 letters of the puzzle at least once — in this case A, C, H, I, L, O, T — and earns a 7-point bonus on top of its length score, making CATHOLIC worth 15 points total. Finding the pangram is the fastest way to jump from Amazing to Genius in a single word.
63 words were accepted in the July 26, 2026 puzzle — above average, giving solvers more paths to reach Genius than most puzzles offer. Lengths ran from 1-point 4-letter words up to 10 letters, every entry containing the center letter O and drawing only on A, C, H, I, L, O, T. Letters may repeat, and the 4-letter minimum always applies.
The Genius threshold for July 26, 2026 was 171 points — exactly 70% of the maximum score of 244. The NYT scoring tiers work as follows: Beginner starts at 5 points, Amazing requires roughly 122 points (50% of max), and Genius requires 171 points (70% of max). Queen Bee requires finding all 63 words for the maximum 244 points. Most competitive solvers aim for Genius; Queen Bee is reserved for completionists.
July 26, 2026's letters were A, C, H, I, L, O, T, with O in the center — required in every answer — surrounded by A, C, H, I, L, T. Valid words run 4+ letters, may repeat letters freely, and must be dictionary words; proper nouns and hyphenated forms never count.

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