Spelling Bees with I+N+G and E+D
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Updated 2026-06-28
The presence of the E+D and I+N+G letter combinations in the Spelling Bee delights some solvers and annoys others. Some enjoy the unique challenges, others find it mindless and rote to add these suffixes to other words.
How often do I+N+G and E+D appear in the Spelling Bee?
Pretty often.
In 2025, the letters I+N+G (suffix -ING) appeared in 63 of 365 puzzles (17.25%).
In 2024, I+N+G appeared in 52 of 366 puzzles (14.21%).
In 2025, the letters E+D (suffix -ED) appeared in 61 of 365 puzzles (16.71%).
In 2024, E+D appeared in 54 of 366 puzzles (14.76%).
LexiConnexxions records and reports the occurrence of I+N+G and E+D in our monthly and annual summary reports on changes to the Spelling Bee lexicon, which are available HERE.
Do I+N+G and E+D ever appear together in the same Bee?
Yes, but only very rarely.
Only 15 Spelling Bees have included those five letters (E D G I N) together:
2026-06-28 V D E G L I N2025-10-20 H D E G I N U2025-08-23 V D E G H I N2024-11-01 V A D E G I N2024-09-15 M D E G I L N2024-07-19 W D E G I L N2024-07-07 F D E G I L N2024-05-04 V C D E G I N2023-09-19 P D E G I N X2023-06-18 K A D E G I N2022-12-14 F D E G I N O2022-03-14 B D E G I N T2021-09-03 F A D E G I N2021-08-28 I D E F G N Y2021-04-10 A D E G I K N
A real rarity: I+N+G plus center letter E
Players are familiar with the pleasure (or torment) of an I+N+G Bee that does not include the letter E, because to solve the Bee, one has to think of specific words that cannot be in that puzzle (e.g., root verbs that end with E, such as LINE) in order to identify their E-less gerunds in the solution set (e.g., LINING). It’s fun. Or a torment.
What about when the Bee includes I+N+G and also E? That’s rare: Fewer than 100 Bees have had this letter combo, which can allow inclusion of both roots and gerunds in the solution set (depending on the entire letter set, of course)
To date, of the Bees that have the letters E+I+N+G, only 16 have had E as the center letter. These Bees are truly rare.
Having E in the center utterly transforms the BEE+ING experience, in that the solution set will include far fewer gerunds than players have come to expect from -ING Bees. This can be tricky, challenging, and fun.
What about when the Bee includes I+N+G and also E? That’s rare: Fewer than 100 Bees have had this letter combo, which can allow inclusion of both roots and gerunds in the solution set (depending on the entire letter set, of course)
To date, of the Bees that have the letters E+I+N+G, only 16 have had E as the center letter. These Bees are truly rare.
Having E in the center utterly transforms the BEE+ING experience, in that the solution set will include far fewer gerunds than players have come to expect from -ING Bees. This can be tricky, challenging, and fun.