NYT Spelling Bee Grid Today
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Interactive Grid Cross-Off Calculator
Type words you've found into the box below. The Grid Matrix and Two-Letter list will live-decrement so you can see exactly how many words remain in each category!
📊 The Official NYT Grid Matrix
Rows represent starting letters; columns represent word lengths.
| Letter | 4L | 5L | 6L | 7L | 8L | 9L | 10L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 8 |
| C | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 8 |
| E | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| F | 7 | 2 | 4 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 15 |
| I | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 5 |
| L | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | 13 |
| T | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 14 |
| TOTAL | 22 | 14 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 66 |
🔤 Two-Letter List (Starting Stems)
Two-letter prefixes with the remaining count of accepted words for each opening combination.
The Complete Guide to Analyzing the NYT Spelling Bee Grid Matrix
Every morning at 3:00 AM Eastern Time, thousands of dedicated word puzzle solvers open the New York Times Spelling Bee. While casual players guess words haphazardly, elite solvers who consistently achieve Queen Bee rely on a structured, mathematical weapon: The Spelling Bee Grid Matrix and Two-Letter Tally.
1. The Geometric Mechanics of the Grid
The Grid Matrix converts an unstructured anagram challenge into a bounded, finite set of discrete targets. It operates on a Cartesian coordinate system:
- Horizontal Rows: Represent each valid starting letter from the 7 letters in the honeycomb. If an outer letter never starts an accepted word, it is completely omitted from the row list.
- Vertical Columns: Represent exact word lengths, beginning at 4 letters and extending to the longest valid word in the day's puzzle (often 8, 9, or even 12 letters).
- Cell Intersections: Represent the exact count of words matching both constraints. A cell with a dash (—) guarantees zero valid words exist at that length for that letter.
2. How to Use the Two-Letter List to Isolate Blind Spots
When the Grid Matrix tells you that you are missing one 6-letter word starting with M, that information alone still leaves dozens of phonetic combinations. This is where the Two-Letter List becomes invaluable:
By checking your found words against the prefix stems (e.g. MA-3, ME-2, MO-4), you can quickly count how many words you have discovered under each prefix. If you have all three MA- words and both ME- words, but only three of your four MO- words, your search domain collapses to a single specific query: "Find a 6-letter word starting with MO that contains the center letter."
3. What Is a "Bingo" and Why Does It Matter?
In Spelling Bee terminology, a Bingo indicates that every single one of the seven letters in the hive serves as the initial letter for at least one accepted word. When a puzzle is a Bingo, solvers know they cannot neglect any outer letter during their initial sweeps. Non-Bingo days, by contrast, feature letters that function strictly as vowels or terminal consonants (such as 'Y' or 'G').
4. The Queen Bee Endgame Strategy
When solvers stall around 90% of the total word count, random letter shuffling rarely helps. Instead, follow this endgame routine:
- Input your found words into the Interactive Cross-Off Tool above.
- Sort the remaining cells from shortest to longest (4-letter gaps first).
- Apply compound noun checks: can any short found word combine with another valid root?
- Systematically cycle vowels through the second position of unresolved two-letter stems.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Spelling Bee Grid
What does the NYT Spelling Bee Grid show?
The grid shows the exact distribution of valid words broken down by starting letter and character count. It tells you how many 4, 5, 6, 7+ letter words exist for every starting letter without spoiling the answers.
What does a dash (—) mean in the grid table?
A dash indicates that there are zero accepted words for that specific starting letter and word length combination. For example, if row T has a dash under column 8, no 8-letter words begin with T today.
What is the Two-Letter List?
The Two-Letter List (or two-letter tally) summarizes all two-letter prefixes that begin valid words in today's hive alongside how many words start with each prefix (e.g., CA-5, CO-3).
Does the grid update daily?
Yes! Our grid updates every morning at precisely 3:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) in sync with the official New York Times game release.