Spelling Bee answers and hints for November 4, 2026

Today's puzzle is worth 286 points in total. These are the usual rank targets, worked out as a share of the total.

The longest answers are HORTATORY, PARATROOP, at 9 letters.

• ahoy: An utterance of this interjection.
• aorta: (anatomy) The great artery which carries the blood from the heart to all parts of the body except...
• arroyo: Any watercourse; any rivulet (whether it flows year-round or only seasonally).
• atop: (literary or archaic) On, to, or at the top.
• atrophy: (intransitive) To wither or waste away.
• hoar: Of a white or greyish-white colour.
• hoary: White or grey with age.
• hoop: A circular band of metal used to bind a barrel.
• hoorah: Alternative form of hurrah. [A cheer; a cry of hurrah!.]
• hooray: An expression of excitement.
• hoot: The cry of an owl.
• hoppy: Having a taste of hops; heavily flavoured with hops.
• hora: (dance) A circle dance popular in the Balkans, Israel and Yiddish culture worldwide.
• horror: (countable, uncountable) An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance.
• hortatory: Giving exhortation or advice; encouraging.
• hotpot: Alternative spelling of hot pot. [(chiefly UK) A stew of beef or lamb and potatoes.]
• hypo: (slang) A hypochondriac.
• oath: A solemn pledge or promise that invokes a deity, a ruler, or another entity (not necessarily pres...
• oaty: Containing oats.
• orator: A skilled and eloquent public speaker.
• oratory: The art of public speaking, especially in a formal, expressive, or forceful manner.
• paratroop: (intransitive) To serve as a paratrooper.
• parrot: A kind of bird, many species of which are colorful and able to mimic human speech, of the order P...
• pharaoh: (historical) The supreme ruler of Ancient Egypt; a formal address for the sovereign seat of power...
• photo: (informal) A photograph.
• pooh: (intransitive) To say "pooh".
• poop: (informal, intransitive) To defecate.
• poor: With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.
• poppa: (US, colloquial, sometimes childish) father, papa.
• poppy: Any plant of the genus Papaver or the family Papaveraceae, with crumpled, often red, petals and a...
• port: A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
• portray: To play a role; to depict a character, person, situation, or event.
• potato: A plant of species Solanum tuberosum or its edible starchy tuber.
• potty: A small, usually plastic, chamber pot used to toilet-train small children.
• prop: An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports.
• pyro: (informal, uncountable) Pyrotechnics.
• rapport: A relationship of mutual trust and respect; a close and harmonious relationship in which the peop...
• raptor: A bird of prey.
• roar: Of animals (especially a lion), to make a loud deep noise.
• root: The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and...
• ropy: Resembling rope in appearance or texture, used especially of muscles that are thick or hard to th...
• rotary: Capable of rotation.
• rotator: One who or that which rotates.
• rotatory: (obsolete) alternate or successive
• rotor: A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator,...
• taproot: (botany) A long, tapering root, exhibited by many plant species (such as carrots and dandelions).
• taro: Colocasia esculenta, raised as a food primarily for its corm, which distantly resembles potato.
• tarot: Any of the set of 78 playing cards (divided into five suits, including one of permanent trumps), ...
• tattoo: An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.
• throat: The front part of the neck.
• throaty: (of a sound) Produced in the throat; having a rough or coarse quality like a sound produced in th...
• toot: (countable) The noise of a horn or whistle.
• tooth: A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for ...
• toothy: Having prominent teeth.
• torah: (Abrahamism) The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, traditionally attributed to Moses and...
• toro: A traditional Japanese lantern.
• torpor: A state of being inactive or stuporous.
• tort: (law) A wrongful act, whether intentional or negligent, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to...
• torta: (US) A sandwich, served either hot or cold, on an oblong white sandwich roll, derived from Mexica...
• troop: (chiefly in the plural) A group of soldiers; military forces.
• trophy: An object, usually in the form of a statuette, cup, or shield, awarded for success in a competiti...
• trot: A gait of a person or animal faster than a walk but slower than a run.
• troth: (countable, archaic) A pledge or promise to marry someone.
• troy: A male given name.
• typo: A typographical error.
• tyro: A beginner; a novice.
• yahoo: (transitive, intransitive, informal) To give a cry of yahoo.
• yoohoo: (intransitive) To give a cry of "yoohoo".