All 66 valid words for the NYT Spelling Bee. Center letter: I.
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The NYT Spelling Bee for September 8, 2026 was one of the more word-rich puzzle, with 66 valid words built entirely around the center letter I — which must appear in every answer.
With 66 valid words, this was an unusually large puzzle — patient, systematic solvers had plenty of material to work with. The outer letters were A, C, E, F, L, T, and the longest answer aside from the pangram ran 9 letters for 9 points. Reaching Genius required 217 points out of a possible 309; see how this compares in the full answers archive.
The pangram was worth 15 points — more than any other word that day. With answers ranging from 4 letters up to 9, working methodically from the shortest words up is the surest route to Genius; see the full method in our strategy guide.
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.
Prefer a nudge over the full answer key? Here is how the 66 words for the September 8, 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 \ Len | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | · | 1 | · | 8 |
| C | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | · | · | · | 8 |
| E | · | 1 | 1 | · | 1 | · | · | 3 |
| F | 7 | 2 | 4 | · | 1 | · | 1 | 15 |
| I | · | 1 | 2 | 2 | · | · | · | 5 |
| L | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | · | · | · | 13 |
| T | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | · | 14 |
| Total | 22 | 14 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 66 |
AC3AF2AL1AT2CA3CE2CI2CL1EC1EL2FA5FI8FL2IC2IL2IT1LA4LE1LI8TA7TI7
Spoiler warning — the complete answer list is below.
Definitions for the September 8, 2026 answers — so you know exactly what you found, or what you missed. Pangrams are marked ★.
Spoiler warning — every answer word is spelled out and defined below.
Word definitions from WordNet® 3.1, Princeton University.
The players who find AFFILIATE and TITILLATE consistently know their Latin and Greek roots. These books teach the exact system that unlocks words like FACELIFT before you ever see the puzzle.
How did today go? Share your progress, favorite finds, or where you got stuck. Be kind — no spoilers-shaming.
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