The New York Times Spelling Bee for Monday, May 19, 2026 is one of the denser puzzles of the month. With 62 valid words, a 299-point maximum score, and not one but two pangrams buried inside a deceptively tidy seven-letter grid, today’s challenge from puzzle editor Sam Ezersky rewards patience, pattern recognition, and a willingness to revisit letters you may have already written off.
Whether you are aiming for Genius rank, chasing Queen Bee status, or simply trying to find that one last word before the day gets away from you, this complete guide has every hint and every answer you need.
Today’s Letters and Center Letter
Today’s seven letters are D, E, L, O, P, T, and U. The center letter, which must appear in every valid word, is U. That single constraint is doing a lot of heavy lifting today. Every answer without a U is a dead end, which is why experienced players always begin by filtering their internal word bank through the center letter before committing to a guess.
Today’s Pangrams: OUTPOLLED and POLLUTED
Today’s puzzle contains two pangrams, meaning two words that each use all seven available letters at least once.
The first pangram is OUTPOLLED, a nine-letter word meaning to receive more votes than an opponent. It carries a base score of 9 points plus the 7-point pangram bonus, totaling 16 points in a single entry.
The second pangram is POLLUTED, an eight-letter word meaning contaminated or made impure. At 8 letters plus the 7-point bonus, it delivers 15 points the moment you type it in.
Finding both pangrams early is the fastest route to Genius rank, and in a puzzle structured this way, spotting POLLUTED often unlocks OUTPOLLED almost immediately. The shared letter cluster P, O, L, L is the hook. Once you see it, the longer form tends to follow naturally.
Puzzle Statistics at a Glance
Total words: 62. Maximum score: 299 points. Pangrams: 2. Bingo: Yes, meaning every letter of the seven-letter set is the first letter of at least one valid answer. Word distribution: 18 four-letter words, 13 five-letter words, 20 six-letter words, 8 seven-letter words, 1 eight-letter word, and 2 nine-letter words.
Hints Before the Full Reveal
If you prefer to keep working before seeing the full list, here are directional hints by length.
For four-letter words: Think about household objects, simple verbs, and abbreviated forms. The letters L and U together open up several entries quickly. There are 18 to find.
For five-letter words: Verb forms and fabric-related words are hiding in plain sight. The combination T, U, L, E is particularly productive. There are 13 to find.
For six-letter words: This is the richest tier with 20 words. Familiar English suffixes such as -ED, -LE, and -ET will serve you well here. Several words are plurals or past tenses of four- and five-letter words already on your list.
For seven-letter words: Most are past tenses or extended forms of shorter words already in this puzzle. Double letters are a recurring feature at this length. There are 8 to find.
Today’s Complete NYT Spelling Bee Answer List for May 19, 2026
The following is the full verified answer list, organised by word length.
9-Letter Words (2): OUTDUELED, OUTPOLLED
8-Letter Word (1): POLLUTED
7-Letter Words (8): DELUDED, DEPUTED, DUELLED, DUETTED, OUTDUEL, OUTPOLL, POLLUTE, PUDDLED
6-Letter Words (20): DELUDE, DEPUTE, DUELED, DULLED, ELUDED, LULLED, OUTLET, OUTPUT, POUTED, PUDDLE, PULLED, PULLET, PULPED, PUPPET, PUTOUT, PUTTED, TOUPEE, TOUTED, TUPELO, TUTTED
5-Letter Words (13): DUPLE, DUPED, ELUTE, ETUDE, LETUP, LOUPE, LUTED, OUTED, POULT, PULED, TUPLE, TULLE, UPPED
4-Letter Words (18): DUEL, DULL, DUET, DUPE, LOUD, LOUT, LULL, LULU, LUTE, POUT, PULE, PULL, PUTT, TOLU, TULE, TOUT, TUTU, UPDO
A Few Words Worth Knowing
TUPELO is a flowering tree native to North America and a word that trips up many players because it does not follow the same structural logic as the rest of the list. It is one of the few words here where the U appears in the second position rather than anchoring the middle or end of the word.
TOLU is a balsam resin historically used in medicine and perfumery. It appears infrequently in everyday conversation, which makes it one of the easier words to miss entirely.
POULT refers to a young turkey or other game bird. It is a short word with a specific zoological meaning and one that seasoned Spelling Bee players learn to keep on file for exactly these kinds of grids.
DUELLED is the British and Canadian spelling of DUELED and the New York Times accepts both forms. If you typed DUELED already and then wonder whether DUELLED works as a separate entry, it does.
How to Reach Queen Bee Today
The path from zero to Queen Bee on a 62-word, 299-point puzzle is demanding but very achievable with a methodical approach. Start with the pangrams. POLLUTED and OUTPOLLED together contribute 31 points immediately. From there, work through the six-letter tier, which contains 20 words and represents the largest single source of points in the puzzle. Once that layer is exhausted, revisit your four-letter and five-letter words and look for extended forms by adding -ED, -LE, or -ET to words you have already found.
The Genius rank threshold for today’s puzzle sits at approximately 209 points, which is 70 percent of the 299-point maximum. Queen Bee requires all 299.
About the NYT Spelling Bee
The New York Times Spelling Bee was created by puzzle constructor Frank Longo and is now edited daily by Sam Ezersky as part of the NYT Games suite. It launched as a standalone digital game in 2018 and has grown into one of the most widely played word games in the United States. A new puzzle drops every day at 3 a.m. Eastern Time. Players need an active NYT Games subscription to access the full version.
