Your Spelling Bee Companion for Wednesday, May 6, 2026
A field guide for the A I L R T U V hive: how many words you need, strategies for finding them, and (if you turn hint mode off) the full word lists you need to reach Genius and Queen Bee today.
Today's Board
Verified Answers
57
Disputed Words
33
Pangrams
1
Score for Queen Bee
252
Genius estimate: 176 points
Verified Answers
57
Find every accepted word in today's source list
Pangrams
1
Use all seven letters
Disputed Words
33
In our dictionary but not the Spelling Bee list
Puzzle Snapshot
Solve The Hive Before The Spoilers
This page is currently in hint mode: you get the board, counts, estimated score targets, and strategy prompts without answer words. Reveal specific words only when you are ready to check your solve.
Today's Read
Balanced
The A-center hive has 57 verified answers, 1 pangram, and a 252-point Queen Bee ceiling. Start with the longer A words and pattern families before cleaning up the 17 four-letter answers.
Verified answers
57
Max score
252
Genius
176
1 pangram
Pangram Hunt
Start by forcing every letter into longer shapes before clearing short entries. Pangrams are the fastest way to move the score.
252 possible points
Point Density
The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 176 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.
57 verified answers
Queen Bee Path
Use the word lists below to scoop up every point you need to reach Queen Bee.
Study mode
Definition Pass
Click unfamiliar words to reveal their definitions and cement them in your memory for next time.
Pattern Prompts
Work The Board Without Reveals
- Start with the biggest point swings: This board has 1 pangram, so the fastest route is to solve the all-letter shapes before sweeping short words. Examples: virtual, alluvial, arrival, ratatat, rattail.
- Use long-word stems before cleanup: There are 8 verified answers with seven or more letters. Work their stems first, because each one can be worth several short words. Examples: alluvial, arrival, ratatat, rattail, titular.
- Group by recurring starts: The strongest two-letter openings give you a structured scan instead of a random search through the hive. Examples: tail, tali, tall, tart, taut.
- Save four-letter words for the last pass: 17 verified answers are four letters. They matter for Queen Bee, but they are low-value compared with pangrams and longer answers. Examples: alit, aria, aril, aura, lair.
Common Prefixes
TR- starts
Several verified answers start with TR, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: trail, trait, trial, trivia, travail
AT- starts
Several verified answers start with AT, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: atilt, atria, attar, atrial
VI- starts
Several verified answers start with VI, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: villa, viral, vital, virtual
LA- starts
Several verified answers start with LA, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: larva, lariat, larval
Common Suffixes
-AIL endings
The AIL ending repeats across verified answers, so test it against the center letter and available stems.
Examples: avail, trail, rattail, travail
-IAL endings
The IAL ending repeats across verified answers, so test it against the center letter and available stems.
Examples: trial, atrial, trivial, alluvial
-TAR endings
The TAR ending repeats across verified answers, so test it against the center letter and available stems.
Examples: altar, attar, avatar, tartar
-VAL endings
The VAL ending repeats across verified answers, so test it against the center letter and available stems.
Examples: rival, larval, vulval, arrival
Progressive Help
Pangram Hints
Pangram 1
Look for a 7-letter answer that uses every letter in the hive and keeps A in the word.
Reveal words: virtual
Spoiler Control
Notable Words
- virtualPangram
- alluvial8 pts
- arrival7 pts
- ratatat7 pts
- rattail7 pts
- titular7 pts
- travail7 pts
- trivial7 pts
- atrial6 pts
- avatar6 pts
Why these matter
- virtual
VIRTUAL is a pangram, so it uses all seven letters and earns the bonus on top of its 7-letter base score.
- alluvial
ALLUVIAL is one of the board's long scoring answers; find this kind of shape before chasing one-point cleanup words.
- arrival
ARRIVAL is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
- ratatat
RATATAT is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
- rattail
RATTAIL is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
- titular
TITULAR is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
Hard Finds
Tricky Accepted Words
- virtual
VIRTUAL is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- alluvial
ALLUVIAL is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- arrival
ARRIVAL is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- ratatat
RATATAT is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- rattail
RATTAIL is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- titular
TITULAR is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- tart
TART is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- taut
TAUT is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
Disputed Candidates
Plausible Rejections
- valvular
VALVULAR fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- talaria
TALARIA fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- tuatara
TUATARA fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- vivaria
VIVARIA fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- atlatl
ATLATL fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- attrit
ATTRIT fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- latria
LATRIA fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- valval
VALVAL fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
Answer Vault
All The Words You Need And A Few You Don't.
Trusted words are those you'll need to solve the puzzle. Disputed words are the ones we found in our dictionary that don't appear in the Spelling Bee's curated list. But we thought you might like to see them anyway.