Spelling Bee hints & answers: Feb 21, 2026 (Puzzle #22461)

This page shows spoiler‑layered hints and full answers for the NYT Spelling Bee hive published on Feb 21, 2026 (2026-02-21 · Puzzle #22461).

Hive overview

This hive centers on M with six outer letters. It has 66 stored words, 6 pangrams, and about 383 available points before rank thresholds.

Show structure hint

This hive has 66 playable words worth about 383 points in total. Aim to unlock the pangram and a few long words early to get ahead of the ranking curve.

There are 6 pangrams hidden in this hive.

Show word-count hints

Word count matrix (starting letter × length):

	4	5	6	7+	Σ
M	4 letters12	5 letters9	6 letters5	7+ letters6	Total32
A	4 letters2	5 letters3	6 letters1	7+ letters4	Total10
C	4 letters3	5 letters2	6 letters3	7+ letters5	Total13
I	4 letters1	5 letters–	6 letters–	7+ letters2	Total3
N	4 letters–	5 letters–	6 letters1	7+ letters1	Total2
O	4 letters1	5 letters–	6 letters–	7+ letters1	Total2
T	4 letters–	5 letters–	6 letters4	7+ letters–	Total4
Σ	4 letters19	5 letters14	6 letters14	7+ letters19	Total66

Approximate rank thresholds for this hive:

Good Start: 0 pts
Moving Up: 8 pts
Good: 19 pts
Solid: 31 pts
Nice: 57 pts
Great: 96 pts
Amazing: 153 pts
Genius: 268 pts
Queen Bee: 383 pts

Check your current score in the NYT game to see how close you are to each rank.

Reveal full answer list (spoiler)

Full answer list for today's hive (alphabetical):

WordLengthScorePangram

AMINO
5
5
No
AMMO
4
1
No
AMMONIA
7
7
No
AMNIO
5
5
No
AMNIOTIC
8
15
Yes
ANATOMIC
8
15
Yes
ANIMA
5
5
No
ANIMATION
9
9
No
ATOM
4
1
No
ATOMIC
6
6
No
CAIMAN
6
6
No
CAMI
4
1
No
CAMO
4
1
No
CATMINT
7
7
No
CINNAMON
8
8
No
COMA
4
1
No
COMIC
5
5
No
COMMA
5
5
No
COMMIT
6
6
No
COMMON
6
6
No
COMMOTION
9
9
No
CONTAMINANT
11
18
Yes
CONTAMINATION
13
20
Yes
IMAM
4
1
No
IMITATION
9
9
No
INTIMATION
10
10
No
MAIM
4
1
No
MAIN
4
1
No
MAINTAIN
8
8
No
MAMA
4
1
No
MAMMA
5
5
No
MAMMON
6
6
No
MANIA
5
5
No
MANIAC
6
6
No
MANIC
5
5
No
MANICOTTI
9
16
Yes
MANNA
5
5
No
MANTA
5
5
No
MICA
4
1
No
MIMIC
5
5
No
MINI
4
1
No
MINICAM
7
7
No
MINIM
5
5
No
MINIMA
6
6
No
MINION
6
6
No
MINT
4
1
No
MITT
4
1
No
MOAN
4
1
No
MOAT
4
1
No
MOMMA
5
5
No
MONATOMIC
9
16
Yes
MONO
4
1
No
MONOMANIA
9
9
No
MONOMANIAC
10
10
No
MOON
4
1
No
MOOT
4
1
No
MOTION
6
6
No
MOTTO
5
5
No
NOMINATION
10
10
No
NONCOM
6
6
No
OMIT
4
1
No
OTTOMAN
7
7
No
TATAMI
6
6
No
TOMATO
6
6
No
TOMCAT
6
6
No
TOMTIT
6
6
No

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Today's hintsSee hive structure, rank cues, and spoiler-layered help.Spelling Bee archiveJump to stored hives by NYT print date.Previous hive: Feb 20, 2026Open the stored hive from Feb 20, 2026 · Puzzle #25549.Next hive: Feb 22, 2026Open the next stored hive from Feb 22, 2026 · Puzzle #22758.