Spelling Bee Summary August 2026
In the month of August 2026, 54 words were added to the Bee lexicon, and no words were discontinued, for a net gain of 54 words.
Here's a summary of what came and went during the past month, along with a few notes about the month’s pangrams; the rates at which the E+D and I+N+G combinations and the BINGO characteristic appeared; center letter distribution, the complete lists of pangrams and words added and removed; notes about unusual puzzles; and much more.
Here's a summary of what came and went during the past month, along with a few notes about the month’s pangrams; the rates at which the E+D and I+N+G combinations and the BINGO characteristic appeared; center letter distribution, the complete lists of pangrams and words added and removed; notes about unusual puzzles; and much more.
If you cite information from any LexiConnexxions report, please give credit and a link to the relevant page. These reports and analyses are compiled and prepared by a person, not a machine. Thank you.
Notes and Observations
2026-08-19: First Bee to use E+R together. This first use of E+R in the Bee allowed for many new words to be added to the Bee lexicon: 28 words, or 68% of the total solution set, were new to the Bee lexicon (In the three “S” Bees, new words comprised 56%, 63%, and 93% of the solution sets.) As he did with those S puzzles, Bee editor Sam Ezersky did a fine job in selecting a reasonable pangram and choosing a center letter (V) that kept it all in order. Contrary to what players might have expected (or feared), the solution set did not include any adverbs or adjectives that used the comparative suffix -ER. Over the past year and more, LexiConnexxions has noted 1) the significant decline in the rate at which new words are added to the Bee, and 2) a significant increase in the recycling of pangrams. We have long suggested that the use of S and E+R would keep things fresh, and the fun Bee of 2026-08-19 demonstrated that quite nicely. A really lovely puzzle.
Summary of Ins and Outs
In the month of August 2026, 54 words were added to the Bee lexicon, and 00 words were discontinued, for a net gain of 54 words.
53 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)-----54 total words added
- 0 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)------ 0 total words removed
Net gain: 54 words
Words were added (or restored) on 08 days this month.Words were removed on no days this month.No words were added or removed on 23 days this month.
53 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)-----54 total words added
- 0 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)------ 0 total words removed
Net gain: 54 words
Words were added (or restored) on 08 days this month.Words were removed on no days this month.No words were added or removed on 23 days this month.
WORD COUNTS, BINGO, -ING, -ED
CENTER LETTERS
PER-PUZZLE WORD COUNTS:
Highest: 77Lowest: 17Average (Mean): 44.52Median: 42Mode(s): 42
The BINGO characteristic was present in 14 of 31 puzzles (45.16%) The E+D combination was present in 06 of 31 puzzles (19.35%) The E+R combination, which appeared for the first time on was present in 01 of 31 puzzles (03.22%). The I+N+G combination was present in 05 of 31 puzzles (16.13%) Both I+N+G and E+D were in the Bee of 2026-08-07 (G D E I N P X, recycled from 2023-09-19) . This Bee was only the 17th time that I+N+G and E+D have appeared together.
The BINGO characteristic was present in 14 of 31 puzzles (45.16%) The E+D combination was present in 06 of 31 puzzles (19.35%) The E+R combination, which appeared for the first time on was present in 01 of 31 puzzles (03.22%). The I+N+G combination was present in 05 of 31 puzzles (16.13%) Both I+N+G and E+D were in the Bee of 2026-08-07 (G D E I N P X, recycled from 2023-09-19) . This Bee was only the 17th time that I+N+G and E+D have appeared together.
17 different center letters were used during the month.
A report of all center letters in Spelling Bee history may be seen HERE.
Frequency order:
4 N4 T3 M3 O2 B2 D2 G2 V1 C1 E1 H1 I1 K1 L1 R1 U1 Y
Alphabetical order:
2 B1 C2 D1 E2 G1 H1 I1 K1 L3 M4 N3 O1 R4 T1 U2 V1 Y
PANGRAMS AND LETTER SETS
Monthly total: 43Daily average: 1.39 per puzzle
Daily pangram numbers:6 in 0 puzzles (00.00%)5 in 0 puzzles (00.00%)4 in 0 puzzles (00.00%)3 in 1 puzzles (03.23%)2 in 10 puzzles (32.26%)1 in 20 puzzles (64.52%)
Of the 31 Bee puzzles this month:
05 (16.13%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had never been used before. These 05 puzzles introduced 07 new pangrams, and added a total of 48 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 9.60 new words per puzzle.
26 (83.87%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had been used before. These 26 puzzles used 35 recycled pangrams, introduced one pangram previously disallowed (read more HERE) and added a total of 06 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 0.23 new words per puzzle.
Of the 26 puzzles with repeat letter sets and repeat pangrams:06 letter sets were used for the second time07 letter sets were used for the third time08 letter sets were used for the fourth time05 letter sets were used for the fifth time
Average “age” of all pangrams and letter sets this month: 3.06Average “age” of recycled pangrams and letter sets this month: 3.46
Of the 31 Bee puzzles this month:
05 (16.13%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had never been used before. These 05 puzzles introduced 07 new pangrams, and added a total of 48 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 9.60 new words per puzzle.
26 (83.87%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had been used before. These 26 puzzles used 35 recycled pangrams, introduced one pangram previously disallowed (read more HERE) and added a total of 06 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 0.23 new words per puzzle.
Of the 26 puzzles with repeat letter sets and repeat pangrams:06 letter sets were used for the second time07 letter sets were used for the third time08 letter sets were used for the fourth time05 letter sets were used for the fifth time
Average “age” of all pangrams and letter sets this month: 3.06Average “age” of recycled pangrams and letter sets this month: 3.46
ALL THE PANGRAMS USED THIS MONTH
Brand-new pangrams are designated by the + sign; all the others are recycled pangrams.
ADMITTINGADORABLYBECLOUD+BECLOUDED+BITUMEN+BRICKBATBROADLYBUTTONINGCATBIRDCHANNELEDCHOCOLATECHUNKEDCURTAINDANCEHALLDORMANTECHOLOCATE* [previously disallowed]ELEMENTALLYEXCITINGEXPENDINGFLORIDLY+GLAMOURGROUNDHOG
HALCYONHAYFORKHEADBANG+HEADBANGED+HONEYDEWINTIMIDATINGMANDATINGMENTALLYMORDANTMOTORWAYMULTILEVELNATIONHOODPRODIGYPROVOLONE+QUOTINGRADICCHIOTACITURNUNBUTTONINGUNCHECKEDVALIDITYWEIGHTY
Debut of a Pangram Previously Disallowed: On 2026-08-09, the letter set for the Bee of 2026-08-09 was A C E H L O T, with center letter H, and two pangrams, CHOCOLATE and ECHOLOCATE. This was the second use of this letter set; the previous use was on 2022-01-22 with center letter O, and the sole pangram was CHOCOLATE, and ECHOLOCATE had been specifically disallowed. Thus, the Bee of 2026-08-09 was the first time in which these two pangrams appeared together, and in fact, ECHOLOCATE made its début that day.
WORDS ADDED TO AND REMOVED FROM THE SPELLING BEE LEXICON THIS MONTH (Pangrams are shown in ALL CAPS)
WORDS ADDED TO THE LEXICON
WORDS REMOVED FROM THE LEXICON
Words added, not previously disallowed (BRAND-NEW WORDS) (IN)
bandagebandagedbangedBECLOUDBECLOUDEDbienniumBITUMENbootingbouclechaletchattelelverevenereverfiddlyfloridFLORIDLYhandbagheadbandHEADBANGHEADBANGEDhellcathenbaneimbueindexinglevelerleverlovelornloverminuetminuteminutemennerveneveroverploverpopoverproveprovenPROVOLONEreevereproverevelrevelerrevererevolverevolverrolloverroveroverveerveneerverve
Words added, previously disallowed
(OUT-IN)
See the list of all OUT-IN words HERE.
ECHOLOCATE
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.
[none this month]
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]