Spelling Bee hints & answers: Jul 18, 2026 (Puzzle #25128)

This page shows spoiler‑layered hints and full answers for the NYT Spelling Bee hive published on Jul 18, 2026 (2026-07-18 · Puzzle #25128).

Hive overview

This hive centers on C with six outer letters. It has 73 stored words, 2 pangrams, and about 389 available points before rank thresholds.

Show structure hint

This hive has 73 playable words worth about 389 points in total. Aim to unlock the pangram and a few long words early to get ahead of the ranking curve.

There are 2 pangrams hidden in this hive.

Show word-count hints

Word count matrix (starting letter × length):

	4	5	6	7+	Σ
C	4 letters6	5 letters5	6 letters3	7+ letters5	Total19
A	4 letters1	5 letters2	6 letters6	7+ letters1	Total10
E	4 letters1	5 letters2	6 letters1	7+ letters6	Total10
I	4 letters–	5 letters1	6 letters3	7+ letters1	Total5
L	4 letters3	5 letters2	6 letters2	7+ letters3	Total10
P	4 letters3	5 letters3	6 letters2	7+ letters3	Total11
T	4 letters2	5 letters2	6 letters1	7+ letters3	Total8
Σ	4 letters16	5 letters17	6 letters18	7+ letters22	Total73

Approximate rank thresholds for this hive:

Good Start: 0 pts
Moving Up: 8 pts
Good: 19 pts
Solid: 31 pts
Nice: 58 pts
Great: 97 pts
Amazing: 156 pts
Genius: 272 pts
Queen Bee: 389 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

ACACIA
6
6
No
ACAI
4
1
No
ACCEPT
6
6
No
ACETAL
6
6
No
ACETATE
7
7
No
ACETIC
6
6
No
ALPACA
6
6
No
APACE
5
5
No
APIECE
6
6
No
ATTIC
5
5
No
CACTI
5
5
No
CALCITE
7
7
No
CALL
4
1
No
CALLA
5
5
No
CAPE
4
1
No
CAPITAL
7
7
No
CAPLET
6
6
No
CATALPA
7
7
No
CATCALL
7
7
No
CATTAIL
7
7
No
CATTLE
6
6
No
CELIAC
6
6
No
CELL
4
1
No
CELLI
5
5
No
CILIA
5
5
No
CITE
4
1
No
CLAP
4
1
No
CLEAT
5
5
No
CLIP
4
1
No
ECLAT
5
5
No
ECLECTIC
8
8
No
ECLIPTIC
8
8
No
ELECT
5
5
No
ELECTEE
7
7
No
ELICIT
6
6
No
ELLIPTIC
8
8
No
ELLIPTICAL
10
17
Yes
EPIC
4
1
No
EPILEPTIC
9
9
No
ICICLE
6
6
No
ILIAC
5
5
No
ILLICIT
7
7
No
IPECAC
6
6
No
ITALIC
6
6
No
LACE
4
1
No
LACTATE
7
7
No
LACTEAL
7
7
No
LACTIC
6
6
No
LAIC
4
1
No
LAICAL
6
6
No
LATTICE
7
7
No
LICE
4
1
No
LICIT
5
5
No
LILAC
5
5
No
PACE
4
1
No
PACT
4
1
No
PALACE
6
6
No
PEACE
5
5
No
PELLICLE
8
8
No
PEPTIC
6
6
No
PICA
4
1
No
PICCATA
7
7
No
PIECE
5
5
No
PLACATE
7
7
No
PLACE
5
5
No
TACET
5
5
No
TACIT
5
5
No
TACT
4
1
No
TACTIC
6
6
No
TACTICAL
8
8
No
TACTILE
7
7
No
TAILPIECE
9
16
Yes
TALC
4
1
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: Jul 17, 2026Open the stored hive from Jul 17, 2026 · Puzzle #18162.Next hive: Jul 19, 2026Open the next stored hive from Jul 19, 2026 · Puzzle #22628.