SEP 3 2026

Spelling Bee September 3, 2026 Answers

All 60 valid words for the NYT Spelling Bee. Center letter: T.

💬 Join the discussion
60
Total Words
291
Max Points
204
Genius Score
T
Center Letter

Today’s Pangrams

Tap to reveal the pangrams (spoiler)

Heads up — this shows the hardest words of the day.

⭐ Today’s Pangram
LITTLENECK
Uses all 7 letters — worth 17 points
Also: TELEKINETIC

September 3, 2026 brought one of the more word-rich NYT Spelling Bee: 60 valid words, every single one containing the center letter T.

With 60 valid words, this was an unusually large puzzle — patient, systematic solvers had plenty of material to work with. The outer letters were C, E, I, K, L, N, and the longest answer aside from the pangram ran 9 letters for 9 points. Reaching Genius required 204 points out of a possible 291; see how this compares in the full answers archive.

The pangram used all 7 letters for 17 points — the highest-scoring word of the day (tap the spoiler above if you want it). If pangrams are where you get stuck, the pangram-spotting guide walks through the letter patterns that give them away.

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.

Advertisement
✓ Official NYT Answers
This list is confirmed against NYT’s official answers for today. Words NYT doesn’t accept are marked with an orange box below.

Word List Hints — September 3, 2026

Not ready to spoil the whole puzzle? The grid below shows how many of the September 3, 2026 answers start with each letter and how long they run, and the two-letter list gives the count for each opening pair. It is the fastest way to close out the last few words without seeing every answer.

Start \ Len4567891011Total
C2·1··1··4
E·2231···8
I·221·1··6
K3221····8
L4141··1·11
N1·121···5
T1034····118
Total2010168221160

Two-letter starts

CE1CI1CL2EC1EL4EN3IL1IN5KE2KI4KN2LE3LI8NE3NI2TE5TI13

All 60 Words — Sorted by Length

Tap to reveal all 60 answers (spoiler)

Spoiler warning — the complete answer list is below.

11 Letters1 word
TELEKINETIC18
10 Letters1 word
LITTLENECK17
9 Letters2 words
CLIENTELE 9
INTELLECT 9
8 Letters10 words
ECLECTIC 8
NINETEEN 8
ELENCTIC 8
ENCEINTE 8
ENCLITIC 8
KITELIKE 8
LENTICEL 8
TEKTITIC 8
TENTLIKE 8
TILELIKE 8
7 Letters17 words
ELECTEE 7
ENTENTE 7
ENTITLE 7
ILLICIT 7
KINETIC 7
LENIENT 7
NECKTIE 7
NETLIKE 7
CENTILE 7
ILLITIC 7
INTITLE 7
KINETIN 7
LICENTE 7
TECTITE 7
TEKTITE 7
TILLITE 7
TINLIKE 7
6 Letters29 words
CLIENT 6
ELICIT 6
ENTICE 6
INCITE 6
INTENT 6
KETTLE 6
KITTEN 6
LENTIL 6
LINNET 6
LINTEL 6
LITTLE 6
NETTLE 6
TICKET 6
TICKLE 6
TINKLE 6
TITTLE 6
CLITIC 6
ILLITE 6
INTINE 6
KETENE 6
KILTIE 6
KITTEL 6
KITTLE 6
LECTIN 6
LENTEN 6
LENTIC 6
LITTEN 6
TENTIE 6
TITTIE 6
5 Letters13 words
ELECT 5
ELITE 5
INLET 5
INTEL 5
KENTE 5
KNELT 5
LICIT 5
TENET 5
TINCT 5
TITLE 5
ELINT 5
ICTIC 5
TELIC 5
4 Letters32 words
CENT 1
CITE 1
KILT 1
KITE 1
KNIT 1
LENT 1
LILT 1
LINT 1
LITE 1
NITE 1
TEEN 1
TELL 1
TENT 1
TICK 1
TIKI 1
TILE 1
TILL 1
TILT 1
TINE 1
TINT 1
CELT 1
CETE 1
ETIC 1
INTI 1
KEET 1
KENT 1
LEET 1
NETT 1
TEEL 1
TELE 1
TIKE 1
TITI 1
Pangram ★ — uses all 7 letters High Value (8+ pts) Standard Valid word — not in NYT’s official list T= required center letter
Scroll to see all 60 words

What the Words Mean

Definitions for the September 3, 2026 answers — so you know exactly what you found, or what you missed. Pangrams are marked .

Tap to reveal all 53 definitions (spoiler)

Spoiler warning — every answer word is spelled out and defined below.

CENT
noun A fractional monetary unit of several countries
CITE
noun A short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage
CLIENT
noun A person who seeks the advice of a lawyer
CLIENTELE
noun Customers collectively
ECLECTIC
noun Someone who selects according to the eclectic method
ELECT
noun An exclusive group of people
ELICIT
verb Call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
ELITE
noun A group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status
ENTENTE
noun An informal alliance between countries
ENTICE
verb Provoke someone to do something through (often false or exaggerated) promises or persuasion
ENTITLE
verb Give the right to
ILLICIT
adjective Contrary to accepted morality (especially sexual morality) or convention
INCITE
verb Give an incentive for action
INLET
noun An arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands)
INTELLECT
noun Knowledge and intellectual ability
INTENT
noun An anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
KETTLE
noun A metal pot for stewing or boiling
KILT
noun A knee-length pleated tartan skirt worn by men as part of the traditional dress in the Highlands of northern Scotland
KINETIC
adjective Relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces associated therewith
KITE
noun A bank check that has been fraudulently altered to increase its face value
KITTEN
noun Young domestic cat
KNIT
noun A fabric made by knitting
LENIENT
adjective Tolerant or lenient
LENT
noun A period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
LENTIL
noun Round flat seed of the lentil plant used for food
LICIT
adjective Sanctioned by custom or morality especially sexual morality
LILT
noun A jaunty rhythm in music
LINNET
noun Small finch originally of the western United States and Mexico
LINT
noun Fine ravellings of cotton or linen fibers
LINTEL
noun Horizontal beam used as a finishing piece over a door or window
LITE
adjective Having relatively few calories
LITTLE
noun A small amount or duration
LITTLENECK
noun A quahog when young and small
NECKTIE
noun Neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
NETLIKE
adjective Having open interstices or resembling a web
NETTLE
noun Any of numerous plants having stinging hairs that cause skin irritation on contact (especially of the genus Urtica or family Urticaceae)
NINETEEN
noun The cardinal number that is the sum of eighteen and one
TEEN
noun A juvenile between the onset of puberty and maturity
TELL
noun A Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer
TENET
noun A religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof
TENT
noun A portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
TICK
noun A metallic tapping sound
TICKET
noun A commercial document showing that the holder is entitled to something (as to ride on public transportation or to enter a public…
TICKLE
noun A cutaneous sensation often resulting from light stroking
TILE
noun A flat thin rectangular slab (as of fired clay or rubber or linoleum) used to cover surfaces
TILL
noun Unstratified soil deposited by a glacier
TILT
noun A combat between two mounted knights tilting against each other with blunted lances
TINCT
verb Color lightly
TINE
noun Prong on a fork or pitchfork or antler
TINKLE
noun A light clear metallic sound as of a small bell
TINT
noun A quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color
TITLE
noun A heading that names a statute or legislative bill
TITTLE
noun A tiny or scarcely detectable amount

Word definitions from WordNet® 3.1, Princeton University.

Miss Words Like These Every Week?

The players who find CLIENTELE and INTELLECT consistently know their Latin and Greek roots. These books teach the exact system that unlocks words like LITTLENECK before you ever see the puzzle.

See the Books →
Advertisement

Frequently Asked Questions

September 3, 2026's puzzle contained 60 valid words, above average, giving solvers more paths to reach Genius than most puzzles offer. Every answer used the center letter T; the pangram LITTLENECK was worth 17 points, the maximum score was 291, and Genius required 204 points. The longest word, TELEKINETIC, scored 18. There was also 1 additional pangram: TELEKINETIC.
LITTLENECK was the September 3, 2026 pangram. Pangrams use every one of the 7 letters — C, E, I, K, L, N, T — at least once and collect a 7-point bonus on top of length, so LITTLENECK scored 17 points, the most of any word that day. No single find moves you toward Genius faster. There was also 1 additional pangram: TELEKINETIC.
The September 3, 2026 Spelling Bee had 60 valid words, which is above average, giving solvers more paths to reach Genius than most puzzles offer. The word list ranged from 4-letter words worth 1 point each to 11-letter words. All 60 words contain the center letter T and use only the 7 letters C, E, I, K, L, N, T. Words must be at least 4 letters long and may reuse any letter.
Reaching Genius on September 3, 2026 took 204 points — 70% of the day's 291-point maximum. For context on the tiers: Beginner begins around 6 points and Amazing lands near 146 (half the maximum) before Genius at 204. Queen Bee requires finding all 60 words for the maximum 291 points. Genius is the everyday target; Queen Bee is the completionist's badge.
The 7 letters for the September 3, 2026 Spelling Bee were C, E, I, K, L, N, T. The center letter — T — must appear in every valid word. The outer letters were C, E, I, K, L, N. Every valid word must be at least 4 letters, use only these 7 letters (repeats allowed), and appear in a standard dictionary. Proper nouns, hyphenated words, and obscure terms are excluded.

Join the discussion

How did today go? Share your progress, favorite finds, or where you got stuck. Be kind — no spoilers-shaming.

No comments yet — be the first!

Prev Archive Next