A look back at every NYT Spelling Bee puzzle from July 2026 — the toughest and most generous days, the standout pangrams, and a link to all 17 full answer lists.
17
Puzzles
940
Total Words
55
Avg / Puzzle
27
Pangrams
How July Played Out
July 2026 brought 17 puzzles, from July 3, 2026 through July 19, 2026, with 940 valid words in total — an average of 55 per day. The month’s most demanding grid was July 9, 2026, a tight 27 words around center letter V — a smaller pool where every find counts toward Genius. The most generous was July 13, 2026 at 101 words, giving solvers far more paths to the rank.
The highest-scoring day was July 13, 2026 with a maximum of 450 points on the board. If you want to see how any single day shook out — full word list, pangrams, Genius threshold, and the words the editor rejected — every puzzle is linked in the table below.
Standout Pangrams
Pangrams use all seven letters and carry a 7-point bonus, so they’re the fastest jump between ranks. Here are the month’s longest, most eye-catching pangrams:
GALLIVANTING12 letters · July 19, 2026 — Wander aimlessly in search of pleasure
LILLIPUTIAN11 letters · July 11, 2026 — A very small person (resembling a Lilliputian)
HABITABLE9 letters · July 4, 2026 — Fit for habitation
AVALANCHE9 letters · July 6, 2026 — A slide of large masses of snow and ice and mud down a mountain
BOTTLEFUL9 letters · July 10, 2026 — The quantity contained in a bottle
Words Worth Knowing
A few of the longer or more unusual answers from July — the kind that separate Genius from Queen Bee:
GALLIVANTINGWander aimlessly in search of pleasure
LILLIPUTIANA very small person (resembling a Lilliputian)
BLUEBOTTLEAn annual Eurasian plant cultivated in North America having showy heads of blue or purple or pink or white flowers
ELLIPTICALRounded like an egg
NAVIGATINGTravel on water propelled by wind or by other means
TITIVATINGMake neat, smart, or trim
Definitions from WordNet® 3.1, Princeton University.
Center Letters This Month
Every answer had to include the day’s center letter. In July the centers were A (×1), B (×1), C (×2), D (×1), E (×1), G (×1), K (×1), M (×1), O (×2), P (×1), T (×2), U (×1), V (×2). The letters C, O, T, V came up more than once.
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Every Puzzle in July 2026
All 17 days, newest first isn’t always how you remember them — here they are in order. Tap any day for the complete answer list and word meanings.