All 44 valid words for the NYT Spelling Bee. Center letter: M.
💬 Join the discussionHeads up — this shows the hardest words of the day.
The NYT Spelling Bee for July 28, 2026 was a generous puzzle, with 44 valid words built entirely around the center letter M — which must appear in every answer.
With 44 valid words, this puzzle offered more paths to Genius than most, though finding every word still required broad vocabulary coverage. The outer letters were D, E, G, I, N, P, and the longest answer aside from the pangram ran 9 letters for 9 points. Reaching Genius required 171 points out of a possible 244; 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 44 words for the July 28, 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 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | · | · | 7 |
| E | · | 1 | · | 1 | 1 | · | 3 |
| G | · | 1 | · | · | · | · | 1 |
| I | · | · | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| M | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | · | · | 20 |
| P | 1 | · | 2 | 1 | · | · | 4 |
| Total | 11 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 44 |
DE4DI3EM3GI1IM9ME6MI14PE1PI3
Spoiler warning — the complete answer list is below.
Definitions for the July 28, 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 IMPINGING and EMENDING consistently know their Latin and Greek roots. These books teach the exact system that unlocks words like IMPEDING 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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