How to Suggest a Word to NYT Spelling Bee

If you have ever typed a perfectly good word into the hive and watched it shake, you can suggest a word to Spelling Bee directly to the New York Times editors. The NYT Help Center describes a built-in Suggest a Word form for subscribers with Games access and an email address for everyone else. This guide walks through both routes step by step, explains what the editors look for, and shows how to write a suggestion that is easy to review.

Why words go missing from Spelling Bee

Spelling Bee does not accept every word in the dictionary. The answer list is curated by hand. Sam Ezersky has edited the digital Spelling Bee since it launched in 2018, and in a 2022 NYT newsletter he explained that he starts each puzzle from the pangram and that esoteric words are the reason the game "needs a human touch."

The NYT's own rules say the word list leaves out words that are obscure, hyphenated or proper nouns, and words that are offensive. So a missing word usually falls into one of these groups:

• Too obscure for a general audience, even if it is in a big dictionary.
• Capitalized in normal use, such as brand names or place names.
• Hyphenated or usually written as two words.
• Offensive, or mainly used as a slur.
• Simply overlooked. A common word that should be there but is not.

The last group is where suggestions help most. Our explainer on why your word wasn't accepted covers rejections in more depth, and how the Spelling Bee dictionary is chosen explains the curation itself. This post is about the next step: telling the editors.

How to suggest a word to Spelling Bee (subscribers)

According to the NYT Help Center, if your subscription includes Games you can use the form inside the game:

1. Sign in to your New York Times account.
2. Open Spelling Bee in the New York Times Games app or on the website.
3. Select More in the upper right corner of the game.
4. Select Suggest a Word.
5. Fill out the form with your word and submit it.

That is the whole process. You do not need to finish the puzzle first, and the form is not tied to one day's letters, so you can suggest a word you remember from an older puzzle too.

Tips for the Suggest a Word form

• Check the spelling twice. A typo in a suggestion wastes a reviewer's time.
• Suggest one word at a time unless the words are closely related forms.
• Add context if the form allows it: where the word is commonly used and why you think a general audience knows it.
• Stay polite. Ezersky has said in an NYT piece that he reads the Spelling Bee forum. The people reviewing your note are puzzle lovers too.

How to suggest a word without a subscription

If your subscription does not include Games, the Help Center says you can email word suggestions to buzzwords@nytimes.com. Include:

• the word you are suggesting
• any extra context you think might help, such as the puzzle date you wanted it in

A simple email works best. For example:

Subject: Word suggestion: CODA

Hello, I'd like to suggest CODA for future Spelling Bee puzzles. It is a common music term and it also appears in everyday writing. I tried it while solving recently. Thank you!

(CODA is just an illustration of the format, not a claim about the current list.)

What happens after you suggest a word

The Help Center is clear on two points:

• Every suggestion is considered by the editors.
• They cannot respond to individual submissions.

So do not expect a reply, and do not expect the word to appear the next day. If a word is added, you will usually notice it only when it turns up in a later puzzle. Keep a note of what you suggested and when. Checking past puzzles in our Spelling Bee archive is an easy way to see whether a word has started to appear.

What makes a good word suggestion

Editors are choosing words for a broad audience. Before you submit, ask yourself these questions.

Words that tick every "good sign" box are the strongest candidates. A word that fails on obscurity is much less likely to be added, even after many suggestions.

The four-letter minimum comes straight from the rules: words must contain at least four letters and must include the center letter. Our Spelling Bee rules page has the full list.

Examples of suggestions that make sense (and some that do not)

Here is how to think about different kinds of missing words, using general categories rather than real list decisions:

• Everyday word that was missing: a strong suggestion. Explain where people use it.
• Newer word that has become common: worth suggesting, especially if it now appears in mainstream writing.
• Plural with an S: not worth suggesting. The hive normally leaves S out, so plurals with S almost never come up. The famous exception was the 2,500th puzzle on 12 March 2025. Our post on why there is no S in Spelling Bee has the details.
• Scientific or technical term: possible, but only if a general audience knows it.
• Brand or place name: not worth suggesting. Proper nouns are excluded.
• A word from another language: only if it is fully at home in English.

Keep a missing-word notebook

The best suggestions come from patterns, not one bad day. Keep a short list on your phone or in a notebook with three columns: the word, the date you tried it, and the hive letters. After a few weeks you will notice which words keep coming back and which ones you only tried once.

This habit has a second benefit. Writing down rejected words helps you remember that they are not accepted, so you stop wasting taps on them in future puzzles. Many regular solvers keep a personal "not in the Bee" list for exactly this reason.

When a word appears on your list several times and it passes the checklist above, it is a strong candidate. Send it in with a one-line reason, such as where you see it used. If the same word is later accepted, cross it off and enjoy the extra points.

Suggest a word vs complain in the forum

Many players vent about missing words in the daily NYT Spelling Bee forum. That is fun, and a 2022 NYT piece reported that Ezersky reads the forum and takes players' feedback into account. But the Help Center's official route is the Suggest a Word form or the buzzwords email. Use both: talk it over in the forum, then file a short, clear suggestion.

If you want to talk about it like a regular, our Spelling Bee glossary explains common forum terms.

A simple routine for missing words

Missing words are part of the game. This routine keeps them from spoiling your day:

1. Note the word and date when the hive rejects something you are sure of.
2. Check the rules quickly. Is it capitalized, hyphenated, too short, or does it use a letter not in the hive?
3. Finish the puzzle anyway. Use the Spelling Bee hints page if a rejected word knocked you off rhythm.
4. Compare with the full list on our today's Spelling Bee answers page after you play, to see which of your words were left out.
5. Send one clear suggestion through the form or email.
6. Let it go. You will not get a reply, and that is normal.

Why your suggestion still matters

It is easy to think a single email does nothing. But the editors build a list for millions of players, and they cannot think of every word on their own. When players point out a common word that slipped through, the list gets better for everyone. The Help Center says every suggestion is considered, so a short, well-reasoned note is worth sending.

For extra practice while you wait, play unlimited random hives in our free Spelling Bee practice game. It is unofficial and uses its own word list, so treat it as training rather than a preview of NYT decisions. And if long words are your thing, our guide to the Spelling Bee longest word shows how to find the biggest score in each hive.

Frequently Asked Questions