Spelling Bee Summary April 2026
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In the month of April 2026, 25 words were added to the Bee lexicon, and 1 word was discontinued, for a net gain of 24 words.
Here's a summary of what came and went, along with a few notes about the month’s pangrams (numbers, types, and more), the lengths of the daily word lists, the rates at which the dreaded/adored -ED and -ING suffixes appeared, how often the BINGO characteristic appeared, center letter distribution, the complete list of pangrams and “Ins and Outs” in the month, and more.
Here's a summary of what came and went, along with a few notes about the month’s pangrams (numbers, types, and more), the lengths of the daily word lists, the rates at which the dreaded/adored -ED and -ING suffixes appeared, how often the BINGO characteristic appeared, center letter distribution, the complete list of pangrams and “Ins and Outs” in the month, and more.
Puzzles of Interest
2026-04-01 April Fools’ Day puzzle. The Bee mascot Beeatrice donned a jester's cap at the Genius level (and at the "Welcome Back" screen).
2026-04-10 X and Z were in the same puzzle. J, Q, S, X, and Z are the rarest letters in the Bee lexicon.131 Bees have included the letter X.119 Bees have included the letter Z.Only three Bees have included both X and Z, and all were based on the same pangram OXIDIZING: 2026-04-10, and the two earlier Bees that used the same pangram (2021-04-15 and 2023-10-21).
2026-04-21: Rare puzzle B C I K O R W * The puzzle had only three starting letters (BCW), an extreme rarity among Spelling Bee puzzles* None of the words in the solution set began with a vowel, another extremely rare occurrence* A very small solution set, with only 18 words; only 8 other Bees have had 18 words, and only 4 have had fewer than 18 words. Also of interest: This puzzle marked the 5th use of the pangram BRICKWORK; in 3 of the 4 previous uses, no words began with a vowel; in 1 of the 4 previous uses, there were only 4 starting letters.
2026-04-27: Center letter Z Z A E G I L NZ appears only rarely in the Bee, as reported HERE, and this puzzle was only the seventh time that Z has been center letter. More on center letters HERE.
2026-04-10 X and Z were in the same puzzle. J, Q, S, X, and Z are the rarest letters in the Bee lexicon.131 Bees have included the letter X.119 Bees have included the letter Z.Only three Bees have included both X and Z, and all were based on the same pangram OXIDIZING: 2026-04-10, and the two earlier Bees that used the same pangram (2021-04-15 and 2023-10-21).
2026-04-21: Rare puzzle B C I K O R W * The puzzle had only three starting letters (BCW), an extreme rarity among Spelling Bee puzzles* None of the words in the solution set began with a vowel, another extremely rare occurrence* A very small solution set, with only 18 words; only 8 other Bees have had 18 words, and only 4 have had fewer than 18 words. Also of interest: This puzzle marked the 5th use of the pangram BRICKWORK; in 3 of the 4 previous uses, no words began with a vowel; in 1 of the 4 previous uses, there were only 4 starting letters.
2026-04-27: Center letter Z Z A E G I L NZ appears only rarely in the Bee, as reported HERE, and this puzzle was only the seventh time that Z has been center letter. More on center letters HERE.
Summary of Ins and Outs
In the month of APRIL 2026, 25 words were added to the Bee lexicon, and 1 word was discontinued, for a net gain of 24 words.
24 new words were added that had never been used before, nor previously disallowed (IN)01 words were added that had been previously disallowed (OUT-IN)00 words that had been earlier allowed, then disallowed, were allowed again (IN-OUT-IN)00 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed again (OUT-IN-OUT-IN)-----25 total words added
- 1 words that had been previously allowed, now disallowed (IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (OUT-IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (IN-OUT-IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed (OUT-IN-OUT-IN-OUT)------ 1 total words removed
Net gain: 24 words
Words were added (or restored) on 6 days this month.Words were removed on 1 day this month.No words were added or removed on 24 days this month.
24 new words were added that had never been used before, nor previously disallowed (IN)01 words were added that had been previously disallowed (OUT-IN)00 words that had been earlier allowed, then disallowed, were allowed again (IN-OUT-IN)00 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed again (OUT-IN-OUT-IN)-----25 total words added
- 1 words that had been previously allowed, now disallowed (IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (OUT-IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (IN-OUT-IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed (OUT-IN-OUT-IN-OUT)------ 1 total words removed
Net gain: 24 words
Words were added (or restored) on 6 days this month.Words were removed on 1 day this month.No words were added or removed on 24 days this month.
WORD COUNTS, BINGO, -ING, -ED
CENTER LETTERS
PER-PUZZLE WORD COUNTSHighest: 68Lowest: 18Average (Mean): 44.47Median: 47.50Mode(s): 68, 23, 48, 62, 50
The BINGO characteristic was present in 12 of 30 puzzles (40.00%)
The E+D combination was present in 4 of 30 puzzles (13.33%)The I+N+G combination was present in 5 of 30 puzzles (16.67%)
The BINGO characteristic was present in 12 of 30 puzzles (40.00%)
The E+D combination was present in 4 of 30 puzzles (13.33%)The I+N+G combination was present in 5 of 30 puzzles (16.67%)
00 different center letters were used during the month.
A report of all center letters in Spelling Bee history may be seen HERE.
Frequency order:
3 A3 C3 G3 N2 B2 L2 M2 O2 R1 D1 F1 H1 K1 T1 U1 V1 Z
Alphabetical order:
3 A2 B3 C1 D1 F3 G1 H1 K2 L2 M3 N2 O2 R1 T1 U1 V1 Z
3 A2 B3 C1 D1 F3 G1 H1 K2 L2 M3 N2 O2 R1 T1 U1 V1 Z
PANGRAMS AND LETTER SETS
ALL THE PANGRAMS USED THIS MONTH
Brand-new pangrams are designated by the + sign; all the others are recycled pangrams.
Monthly total: 44Daily average: 1.46 per puzzle
Daily pangram numbers:6 in 0 puzzles (00.00%)5 in 0 puzzles (00.00%)4 in 1 puzzles (03.33%)3 in 1 puzzles (03.33%)2 in 9 puzzles (30.00%)1 in 19 puzzles (63.33%)
Of the 30 Bee puzzles this month:
06 (20.00%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had never been used before. These 6 puzzles introduced 11 new pangrams and added a total of 25 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 4.17 new words per puzzle.
24 (80.00%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had been used before. These 24 puzzles used 33 recycled pangrams, and added a total of 00 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 0.00 new words per puzzle. NO NEW WORDS ADDED VIA THESE BEES.
Of the 24 puzzles with repeat letter sets and repeat pangrams:08 letter sets were used for the second time05 letter sets were used for the third time05 letter sets were used for the fourth time06 letter sets were used for the fifth time
06 used for the first time08 used for the 2nd time05 used for the 3rd time05 used for the 4th time06 used for the 5th time
Average “age” of all pangrams and letter sets this month: 2.90Average “age” of recycled pangrams and letter sets this month: 3.38
Of the 30 Bee puzzles this month:
06 (20.00%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had never been used before. These 6 puzzles introduced 11 new pangrams and added a total of 25 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 4.17 new words per puzzle.
24 (80.00%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had been used before. These 24 puzzles used 33 recycled pangrams, and added a total of 00 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 0.00 new words per puzzle. NO NEW WORDS ADDED VIA THESE BEES.
Of the 24 puzzles with repeat letter sets and repeat pangrams:08 letter sets were used for the second time05 letter sets were used for the third time05 letter sets were used for the fourth time06 letter sets were used for the fifth time
06 used for the first time08 used for the 2nd time05 used for the 3rd time05 used for the 4th time06 used for the 5th time
Average “age” of all pangrams and letter sets this month: 2.90Average “age” of recycled pangrams and letter sets this month: 3.38
ABANDONINGAFFILIATING+ANONYMITYANTIMONYARGUABLYBRICKWORKBUMPING+BURGLARYCELIBACYCLEMENTINECOMEBACKCONTINUUMDAINTILYDELIGHTDELIGHTEDEFFACEMENT+ENGULFEDFACILITYFLANKEDFLATLINING+HABITATION+HIGHLIGHTED
ILLUMINATI+INCLEMENTINFLATING+INHABITATION+INTRICACYINVINCIBLELEGALIZINGLIGHTEDMATUTINAL+MIDBRAINNONCHALANCEOENOPHILE+OUTGROWTHOXIDIZINGPAVEMENTPAYCHECKPINHOLE+UNEQUALEDUNFLEDGEDVINCIBLEVOLTAGEWROUGHT
WORDS ADDED TO AND REMOVED FROM THE SPELLING BEE LEXICON THIS MONTH
WORDS ADDED TO THE LEXICON
WORDS REMOVED FROM THE LEXICON
Words added, not previously disallowed (BRAND-NEW WORDS) (IN)
bummingbumpBUMPINGimbuingnumbingHABITATIONINHABITATIONEFFACEMENTAFFILIATINGFLATLININGflittingINFLATINGliftingILLUMINATImanumitMATUTINALminutiatitaniumultimaultimataultimatumOENOPHILEphenolPINHOLE
Words added, previously disallowed
(OUT-IN)
See the list of all OUT-IN words HERE.
hoopoe
Words allowed, then disallowed, then allowed again (IN-OUT-IN)
See the list of all IN-OUT-IN words HERE.
[none this month
Words disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed (OUT-IN-OUT-IN)
See the list of all OUT-IN-OUT-IN words HERE.
[none this month]
Words previously allowed now disallowed (IN-OUT)
See the list of all IN-OUT words HERE.
gimping
Words allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed (IN-OUT-IN-OUT)
See the list of all IN-OUT-IN-OUT words HERE.
[none this month]
Words disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed (OUT-IN-OUT)
See the list of all OUT-IN-OUT words HERE.
Words disallowed, allowed, disallowed, allowed, disallowed (OUT-IN-OUT-IN-OUT)
See the list of all O-I-O-I-O words HERE.
[none this month
[none this month]