Spelling Bee answers and hints for November 3, 2026

Today's puzzle is worth 273 points in total. These are the usual rank targets, worked out as a share of the total.

The longest answers are CLICKBAIT, BLACKBALL, at 9 letters.

• abaci: A device used for performing arithmetical calculations; (rare) a table on which loose counters ar...
• aback: By surprise; startled; dumbfounded. (see usage)
• acacia: (countable) A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
• acai: acai berry, the fruit of these trees, harvested for its juice.
• alack
• attack: An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
• attic: The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part ...
• bacilli: a taxonomic class of bacteria that includes two orders, Bacillales and Lactobacillales, which con...
• back: At or near the rear.
• backbit: To make spiteful slanderous or defamatory statements about someone.
• backlit: Lit or illuminated from behind.
• backtalk: Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response.
• biblical: Of or relating to the Bible.
• black: (of an object) Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.
• blackball: (countable) A rejection; a vote against admitting someone.
• cabal: (derogatory) A putative, secret organization of individuals gathered for a political purpose.
• cabala: Alternative spelling of Kabbalah. [(Judaism) A body of mystical Jewish teachings based on an esot...
• cacti: an open-source, web-based network monitoring, performance, fault and configuration management fra...
• call: (heading) To reach out with one's voice.
• calla: A calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica).
• callback: (programming) A function pointer passed as an argument to another function.
• catcall: A shout, whistle, or comment of a harassingly sexual nature, usually made toward a passing woman.
• cattail: (US, historically, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire) Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, t...
• ciabatta: A broad, flat, white Italian bread.
• cilia: (cytology) A short microscopic hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a un...
• clack: (intransitive) To make a sudden, sharp noise, or succession of noises; to click.
• click: (graphical user interface) The act of pressing a button on a computer mouse or similar input devi...
• clickbait: (Internet marketing, derogatory) Website content that is aimed at generating advertising revenue,...
• iliac: Relating to the ilium.
• illicit: Unlawful.
• italic: (typography, of a typeface or font) Having letters that slant or lean to the right; oblique.
• kick: (transitive) To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.
• kickback: (countable, informal) A covert, often illegal, payment in return for a favor consisting of provid...
• kickball: (sports, uncountable) A sport similar to baseball, where a ball similar to a soccer ball, is pitc...
• lack: (transitive, stative) To be without, not to have, to need, to require.
• lactic: Of, relating to, or derived from milk.
• laic: Lay, relating to laypersons, as opposed to clerical.
• laical: (unusual or technical) Of or pertaining to a layperson, layman, laywoman, or laypeople, i.e. the ...
• licit: Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
• lick: (transitive) To stroke with the tongue.
• lilac: A pale purple color, the color of some lilac flowers.
• tacit: Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence.
• tack: A small nail with a flat head.
• tact: Sensitive mental touch; special skill or faculty; keen perception or discernment; ready power of ...
• tactic: A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
• tactical: Of or relating to tactics.
• tailback: (American football) A running back or halfback who lines up furthest to the rear in an I formation.
• talc: Talcum powder.
• tick: A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida.