Your Spelling Bee Companion for Thursday, June 4, 2026

A field guide for the M A D I L N 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.

Open Solver Archive

Today's Board

madilnt

Verified Answers

Disputed Words

Pangrams

Score for Queen Bee

256

Genius estimate: 180 points

Verified Answers

Find every accepted word in today's source list

Pangrams

Use all seven letters

Disputed Words

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

High-count M hive with long MA- and MINI/MILI payoffs

Today's center letter is M, and the board is broad rather than stingy: there are 56 verified answers, but most of the real scoring comes from building out long M-heavy families instead of sweeping random fours. Start with MA-, MI-, and LA/LI stems that can stretch, because this hive rewards extensions like -MAN, -AL, and longer adjective or noun endings more than isolated cleanup words. Repeated M and A patterns matter all day, so revisit any short base that looks like it could grow.

Verified answers

Max score

256

Genius

180

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.

256 possible points

Point Density

The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 180 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.

56 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

MA- expansion lane: MA- is the board's biggest scoring family, with short footholds that grow into long keeps. Examples: mail, mailman, main, mainland, maintain.
MINI to MINIMAL ladder: A tiny-looking base blossoms into multiple accepted longer forms, so it is worth extending before moving on. Examples: mini, minim, minima, minimal.
MILI- military branch: The MILI- cluster hides some of the board's best medium and long scores. Examples: militant, militia, militiaman.
-MAN endings: Several answers cash in by adding -MAN to an existing base, which is a strong second-pass check. Examples: adman, madman, mailman, militiaman.
Repeated-M pressure: This hive rewards solvers who test doubled M shapes instead of assuming repetition is a trap. Examples: imam, llama, mamma, mammal, mammalian.
LI/LA vocabulary detours: A few less obvious LI- and LA- words are easy to miss but help fill the middle of the board. Examples: lamina, laminal, liminal, limn, llama.

Common Prefixes

ma
The dominant opening family on the board, spanning quick entries and several long score ladders.
Examples: madam, mail, mainland, maintain, mammalian
mi
MI- contains several of the best extension paths once you move past short cleanup.
Examples: midi, mild, militia, minimal, mint
la
LA- is smaller but it carries a few easy-to-miss accepted forms.
Examples: lama, lamina, laminal
ad
AD- gives you practical early footholds that can expand or connect to -MAN endings.
Examples: adamant, adman, admin, admit

Common Suffixes

-man
This ending repeats across multiple scoring answers and is one of the cleanest extension tests today.
Examples: adman, madman, mailman, militiaman
-al
The board likes adjective and noun finishes in -AL, including one of the longer standouts.
Examples: animal, laminal, minimal, mammal, mammalian
-ant
-ANT appears in both straightforward and longer answers, so it is worth trying after a valid stem.
Examples: adamant, militant
-a
Several accepted words land on an A ending, which helps when checking classical or borrowed-looking forms.
Examples: anima, lama, lima, mania, manta

Progressive Help

Pangram Hints

No-spoiler shape

There is one pangram, and it is a 9-letter animal word with a familiar geographic root tucked inside it.

Partial reveal

Think of a spotted dog breed; the answer starts with DA- and keeps M active in the middle.

Full reveal

Use the direct answer only if you want the board-defining save.

Reveal words: dalmatian

Spoiler Control

Notable Words

Why these matter

dalmatian
The only pangram, and the fastest way to map the whole board because it confirms every letter at once.
militiaman
One of the longest answers and a strong reminder to test whether MILITIA can grow one more step.
mammalian
A long repeated-letter payoff that proves the hive is comfortable with dense M and A reuse.
mainland
A clean high-value extension from MAIN that makes the MA- family especially productive.
maintain
Another MAIN upgrade; once you see it, the board stops feeling like a random cleanup exercise.
minimal
The MINI/MINIM/MINIMA chain turns into a reliable scoring ladder here.
liminal
A slightly literary-looking answer that sits right next to simpler LI- discoveries.
tatami
A memorable outlier that breaks the dominant MA-/MI- rhythm and is worth bookmarking.

Hard Finds

Tricky Accepted Words

limn
Easy to overlook because it feels incomplete at a glance, but it is a verified cleanup word.
laminal
An uncommon extension that rewards anyone who keeps pushing LAMINA one step farther.
minim
A short musical term that looks dubious until you remember the board likes MINI-based growth.
tatami
A useful borrowed word that does not sit inside the bigger MA- families.
anima
A classical-looking entry that is easy to skip if you only chase everyday vocabulary.
imam
Repeated M makes it feel risky, but it is a fully accepted four-letter save.
mantilla
A long clothing word that hides behind the broader MAN- and MA- clutter.

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.

Trusted Words

Reveal 56 trusted words