A
R
C
O
U
L
J

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Welcome to today’s New York Times Spelling Bee hints and answers. Today’s puzzle features an average-looking board with a center letter of “O”. With a total of 32 words to find resulting in 139 total possible points, we are looking at a lower point cap, so every word counts. There is just a single pangram hiding in today’s letter set. Whether you’re stuck looking for those elusive final few words to reach Genius rank, or simply seeking a gentle nudge to get the ball rolling, you’re in the right place. Dive into our comprehensive two-letter lists, explore our word length grid, and uncover targeted Merriam-Webster definitions tailored specifically to help you without giving the entire game away immediately. Good luck mastering the hive!

Rather see todays puzzle?

Puzzle Stats

Total Words :

32

Total Pangrams :

1

Total Points:

139

Genius Score :

97

Pangram

Finding the nyt pangram is key to reaching “Genius” status.
Below is progressive reveal to help you achieve it.

7-letter pangram 0 / 7 letters revealed
???????

NYT Spelling Bee Hints & Grid

Maximize your score without ruining the fun.

The grid shows how many words start with each letter, broken down by word length.

4 5 6 7 8 Σ
A 1 – 1 1 – 3
C 5 5 3 2 1 16
J – 1 – 1 – 2
L 2 1 – – – 3
O 2 1 1 – 1 5
R 2 – 1 – – 3
Σ 12 8 6 4 2 32

Knowing the first two letters of a missing word is often the perfect clue. Here is the two letter list for today’s puzzle.

  • AR 1
  • AU 2
  • CA 3
  • CL 1
  • CO 10
  • CR 1
  • CU 1
  • JO 1
  • JU 1
  • LO 3
  • OC 2
  • OR 3
  • RO 3

Dictionary Clues for Todays List.

AR

  1. AR4 — sounds like n****

AU

  1. AU6 — the first appearance of light in the morning or the time of its appearance; cockcrow; dawn; dawning; day sounds like drawer, flora, roar, trauma
  2. AU7 — the first appearance of light in the morning or the time of its appearance; cockcrow; dawn; dawning; day sounds like corporal, oracle, oral

CA

  1. CA5 — sounds like cocaine, coco, cocoa, cocoon, cuckoo
  2. CA8 —
  3. CA5 — a religious song; anthem; canticle; chorale; hymn sounds like choral, coral, kennel, kettle, peril

CL

  1. CL6 — sounds like coca

CO

  1. CO4 — sounds like boll, bowl, call
  2. CO4 —
  3. CO5 —
  4. CO4 —
  5. CO6 — an ornamental chain or string (as of beads) worn around the neck; the act of taking or holding under one’s control by authority of law; choker; dog collar; lei sounds like caller, calmer, cholera, dollar
  6. CO5 — a property that becomes apparent when light falls on an object and by which things that are identical in form can be distinguished; a substance used to color other materials; the hue or appearance of the skin and especially of the face; cast; hue sounds like caller, cul, cull
  7. CO4 — being in the latest or current fashion; having or showing a lack of friendliness or interest in others; free from emotional or mental agitation; à la mode; au courant sounds like call, cul
  8. CO5 — as in key, barrier reef; atoll; barrier reef; cay; key sounds like aural, causal, chorus, laurel, moral
  9. CO7 — sounds like choral, krona
  10. CO6 — an enclosure with an open framework for keeping animals; cage; coop; hutch; pen sounds like curl, morale

CR

  1. CR4 — sounds like brok, clock, cock

CU

  1. CU7 — sounds like crux

JO

  1. JO7 — given to or marked by mature intelligent humor; indicative of or marked by high spirits or good humor; clever; facetious; humorous sounds like circular, popular, secular

JU

  1. JU5 — sounds like poorer

LO

  1. LO5 — as in regional; regional; aboriginal; autochthonous; born sounds like focal, vocal
  2. LO4 — unable to think in a clear or sensible way; bats; batty; bonkers; brainsick sounds like coco, cocoa
  3. LO4 — to be limp from lack of water or vigor; to refrain from labor or exertion; to spend time doing nothing; droop; flag sounds like doll, lat, lull, pall

OC

  1. OC5 — to take place; be; befall; betide; chance sounds like acre, other, succor, sucker, upper
  2. OC6 — of, relating to, or used in vision; optic; optical; visual sounds like circular, color, j******, secular

OR

  1. OR8 — as in prophetic, portentous; baleful; dire; foreboding; menacing sounds like granular
  2. OR4 — expressed or communicated by voice; made or carried on through speaking rather than in writing; spoken; uttered; vocal sounds like aura, ch****, c****, laurel, m****
  3. OR4 — sounds like aura

RO

  1. RO4 — a violent shouting; loud, confused, and usually inharmonious sound; clamor; howl; hubbub sounds like boar, bore, chore, core, door
  2. RO6 — as in baroque, arabesque; arabesque; baroque; bedizened; florid sounds like coco, cocoa
  3. RO4 — to form into a round compact mass; to make a low heavy rolling sound; to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions; agglomerate; ball sounds like boll, bowl, coal, dole, foal

The Complete Word List (Spoiler Alert!)

Ready to see the words? Use the toggles below to reveal today’s nyt spelling bee answers.

  • arco
  • coal
  • coca
  • cola
  • cool
  • croc
  • loco
  • loll
  • oral
  • orca
  • roar
  • roll

  • aurora
  • auroral
  • cacao
  • callaloo
  • carol
  • cloaca
  • cocoa
  • collar
  • color
  • coral
  • corolla
  • corral
  • curacao
  • jocular
  • juror
  • local
  • occur
  • ocular
  • oracular
  • rococo

Valid dictionary words not in today’s official answers

Today’s puzzle have total of 47 valid dictionary words that are excluded. If you found a valid dictionary word that wasn’t accepted, it’s likely due to the New York Times Spelling Bee’s strict editorial criteria. Sam Ezersky, the puzzle’s editor, manually curates the daily word list to balance difficulty and fairness.

  • Obscure or Highly Technical Words: Medical, legal, and intensely specific scientific jargon is frequently omitted to keep the puzzle accessible to a general audience.
  • Offensive Language: Vulgar or derogatory words are universally banned.
  • Proper Nouns: Capitalized names of people or places are never allowed.
  • Hyphenated Words: Multi-word combinations containing hyphens are excluded.
  • Letter S / Plurals: The letter “S” is generally never included on a Spelling Bee board to avoid making the game too simple by tacking plurals onto every word.

  • ACAJOU
  • ALCO
  • ALCOOL
  • ALOO
  • AROLLA
  • CALALOO
  • CALO
  • CARACOL
  • CARCAJOU
  • CARJACOU
  • CLARO
  • CLOACAL
  • CLOU
  • CLOUR
  • COALA
  • COCCAL
  • COCCO
  • COCO
  • COLL
  • COLOUR
  • COOCOO
  • CORALLA
  • COROCORO
  • COUCAL
  • COUR
  • CROOL
  • CRUOR
  • CURACOA
  • JAROOL
  • JOCO
  • JOLL
  • JOUAL
  • JOUR
  • JUCO
  • LOCA
  • LOCULAR
  • LOOR
  • LORAL
  • LOUR
  • OLLA
  • ORRA
  • ROLLCOLLAR
  • RORAL
  • ROUCOU
  • ROUL
  • RUCOLA
  • URAO