Your Spelling Bee Companion for Sunday, May 17, 2026
A field guide for the L A C D O R T 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
54
Disputed Words
22
Pangrams
2
Score for Queen Bee
212
Genius estimate: 148 points
Verified Answers
54
Find every accepted word in today's source list
Pangrams
2
Use all seven letters
Disputed Words
22
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 L-center hive has 54 verified answers, 2 pangrams, and a 212-point Queen Bee ceiling. Start with the longer L words and pattern families before cleaning up the 25 four-letter answers.
Verified answers
54
Max score
212
Genius
148
2 pangrams
Pangram Hunt
Start by forcing every letter into longer shapes before clearing short entries. Pangrams are the fastest way to move the score.
212 possible points
Point Density
The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 148 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.
54 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 2 pangrams, so the fastest route is to solve the all-letter shapes before sweeping short words. Examples: cartload, doctoral, allocator, callaloo, carload.
- Use long-word stems before cleanup: There are 9 verified answers with seven or more letters. Work their stems first, because each one can be worth several short words. Examples: allocator, callaloo, cartload, doctoral, carload.
- Group by recurring starts: The strongest two-letter openings give you a structured scan instead of a random search through the hive. Examples: coal, cola, cold, colt, cool.
- Save four-letter words for the last pass: 25 verified answers are four letters. They matter for Queen Bee, but they are low-value compared with pangrams and longer answers. Examples: alto, call, clad, clod, clot.
Common Prefixes
CA- starts
Several verified answers start with CA, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: calla, carol, carload, catcall, callaloo
CO- starts
Several verified answers start with CO, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: color, coral, collar, corral, collard
AL- starts
Several verified answers start with AL, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: allot, altar, allocator
DO- starts
Several verified answers start with DO, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: dolor, dollar, doctoral
Common Suffixes
-OLL endings
The OLL ending repeats across verified answers, so test it against the center letter and available stems.
Examples: atoll, droll, troll
-RAL endings
The RAL ending repeats across verified answers, so test it against the center letter and available stems.
Examples: coral, corral, doctoral
-TAL endings
The TAL ending repeats across verified answers, so test it against the center letter and available stems.
Examples: octal, total, aortal
-LAR endings
The LAR ending repeats across verified answers, so test it against the center letter and available stems.
Examples: collar, dollar
Progressive Help
Pangram Hints
Pangram 1
Look for a 8-letter answer that uses every letter in the hive and keeps L in the word.
Reveal words: cartload
Pangram 2
Look for a 8-letter answer that uses every letter in the hive and keeps L in the word.
Reveal words: doctoral
Spoiler Control
Notable Words
- cartloadPangram
- doctoralPangram
- allocator9 pts
- callaloo8 pts
- carload7 pts
- catcall7 pts
- collard7 pts
- corolla7 pts
- locator7 pts
- aortal6 pts
Why these matter
- cartload
CARTLOAD is a pangram, so it uses all seven letters and earns the bonus on top of its 8-letter base score.
- doctoral
DOCTORAL is a pangram, so it uses all seven letters and earns the bonus on top of its 8-letter base score.
- allocator
ALLOCATOR is one of the board's long scoring answers; find this kind of shape before chasing one-point cleanup words.
- callaloo
CALLALOO is one of the board's long scoring answers; find this kind of shape before chasing one-point cleanup words.
- carload
CARLOAD is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
- catcall
CATCALL is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
Hard Finds
Tricky Accepted Words
- cartload
CARTLOAD is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- doctoral
DOCTORAL is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- allocator
ALLOCATOR is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- callaloo
CALLALOO is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- carload
CARLOAD is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- catcall
CATCALL is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- told
TOLD is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- toll
TOLL 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
- collator
COLLATOR fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- colorado
COLORADO fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- caracal
CARACAL fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- cattalo
CATTALO 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.
- calcar
CALCAR fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- catalo
CATALO fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- aldol
ALDOL 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.