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Sunday, February 1, 2026

Welcome to today’s New York Times Spelling Bee hints and answers. Today’s puzzle features a substantially larger than average board today, promising plenty of opportunities with a center letter of “B”. With a total of 80 words to find resulting in 427 total possible points, we are looking at a massively high scoring ceiling. Impressively, there are 2 pangrams to uncover. Whether you’re stuck looking for those elusive final few words to reach Genius rank, or simply seeking a gentle nudge to get the ball rolling, you’re in the right place. Dive into our comprehensive two-letter lists, explore our word length grid, and uncover targeted Merriam-Webster definitions tailored specifically to help you without giving the entire game away immediately. Good luck mastering the hive!

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Puzzle Stats

Total Words :

80

Total Pangrams :

2

Total Points:

427

Genius Score :

299

Pangram

Finding the nyt pangram is key to reaching “Genius” status.
Below is progressive reveal to help you achieve it.

10-letter pangram 0 / 10 letters revealed
??????????
9-letter pangram 0 / 9 letters revealed
?????????

NYT Spelling Bee Hints & Grid

Maximize your score without ruining the fun.

The grid shows how many words start with each letter, broken down by word length.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Σ
A 2 1 3
B 17 6 11 14 8 1 1 58
G 2 4 1 2 9
L 1 1 1 1 4
N 1 1 1 1 4
O 1 1 2
Σ 21 10 18 17 12 1 1 80

Knowing the first two letters of a missing word is often the perfect clue. Here is the two letter list for today’s puzzle.

  • AB 1
  • AL 2
  • BA 18
  • BI 8
  • BL 9
  • BO 23
  • GA 2
  • GI 2
  • GL 3
  • GO 2
  • LA 2
  • LO 2
  • NA 2
  • NI 1
  • NO 1
  • OB 2

Dictionary Clues for Todays List.

AB

  1. AB5 — marked by much life, movement, or activity; abubble; abuzz; alive; animated sounds like boil

AL

  1. AL6sounds like angina, bambino, bind, bio, blind
  2. AL5 — an explanation that frees one from fault or blame; apology; defense; excuse; justification sounds like blubber, caliber, club, clubbed, clubby

BA

  1. BA6sounds like aching, aging, ailing, beaming, bearing
  2. BA4sounds like bobby
  3. BA8 — as in chatter, babble; babble; blab; blabbing; chatter
  4. BA6sounds like buffoon
  5. BA7 — to extend outward beyond a usual point; to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly; to give up (a job or office); ballooning; beetling sounds like bugging, lagging, nagging, sagging
  6. BA4 — as in bond, recognizance; as in loop, bow; as in hod; bond; recognizance sounds like ail, ale
  7. BA7 — to leave a place often for another; bailing out; booking; buggering off; bugging off sounds like ailing, billing, mailing, railing, veiling
  8. BA6sounds like billing
  9. BA4 — a more or less round body or mass; a usually round or cone-shaped little piece of lead made to be fired from a firearm; globe; orb; sphere sounds like all, bell, bile, bill, boar
  10. BA7 — to form into a round compact mass; agglomerating; rolling; rounding; wadding sounds like billing
  11. BA7 — to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number; to extend outward beyond a usual point; accelerate; accumulate; appreciate sounds like buffoon, saloon
  12. BA10 — as in dilating, turgescent; dilating; turgescent; ventricose; bulging sounds like bluing, bulging, polluting
  13. BA5 — lacking in qualities that make for spirit and character; used or heard so often as to be dull; flat; insipid; milk-and-water sounds like bizarre, bubble, buckle, bun, bunch
  14. BA6 — as in comedian, wit; comedian; comedienne; comic; droll sounds like bonanza
  15. BA4 — without delay; directly; forthwith; headlong; immediately
  16. BA7 — to come into usually forceful contact with something; to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner; to shove into a closed position with force and noise; bashing; bumping sounds like bridging, bulging, hanging, ranking
  17. BA7 — the act of ordering that something not be done or used; barring; enjoining; forbidding; interdicting sounds like burning, tanning
  18. BA6sounds like blob, blobby, bobby, bombast, buyback

BI

  1. BI8sounds like bubble, bumble, collegial, colonial, gullible
  2. BI4 — a record of goods sold or services performed together with the costs due; a piece of printed paper used as money in the United States; a sheet bearing an announcement for posting in a public place; account; check sounds like bail, bale, ball, bawl, been
  3. BI9 — a small often deep body of water; mere; pool; puddle; stank sounds like belong
  4. BI7 — as in advertising, message; advertising; blurb; come-on; commercial sounds like belong, building, chilling, killing, schilling
  5. BI7sounds like bullion, jillion, million
  6. BI7 — to take part in drunken revelry; birling; carousing; reveling; roistering sounds like singing
  7. BI5sounds like dingo, lingo
  8. BI7sounds like burning, ginning, inning, sinning, winning

BL

  1. BL4 — to engage in casual or rambling conversation; to relate sometimes questionable or secret information of a personal nature; babble; cackle; chaffer sounds like lab, slab
  2. BL8 — as in chatter, babble; babble; babbling; blab; chatter sounds like bashing, clanging, flagging, flapping, lacking
  3. BL4 — as in crepe, blintze; blintze; crepe; oatcake; wheat cake sounds like been, bin
  4. BL5 — decorative objects (such as earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracelets) worn on the body; bijouterie; ice; jewelry; accessory sounds like billing, budding, bugging, bulging, buzzing
  5. BL5 — as in crepes, blintzes; blintzes; crepes; oatcakes; wheat cakes sounds like baloney, beady, bean, beefy, bikini
  6. BL4 — a small uneven mass; the quantity of fluid that falls naturally in one rounded mass; chunk; clod; clot sounds like lob, slob
  7. BL8
  8. BL4 — a website on which someone writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences; annals; diary; journal; log sounds like bog, clog, slog
  9. BL8 — a website on which someone writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences; annals; diary; journal; log

BO

  1. BO4
  2. BO6sounds like robin
  3. BO7 — to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument; clipping; cropping; cutting; cutting back
  4. BO8 — to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way; to make short up-and-down movements; blowing; boggling; bollixing (up)
  5. BO7 — to place in conflict or difficulties; broil; embrangle; embroil; mire sounds like bugging, jogging
  6. BO8 — to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way; blowing; bobbling; bollixing (up); booting
  7. BO4 — a small, inflamed swelling of the skin; fester; hickey; papule; pimple sounds like bail, bale, ball, bawl, bell
  8. BO7 — having a notably high temperature; ardent; broiling; burning; fervent sounds like billing, roiling
  9. BO5sounds like being, bring, buying, going, knowing
  10. BO4sounds like cola
  11. BO4sounds like bail, bale, ball, bawl, beau
  12. BO4 — as in machete, dagger; bayonet; bodkin; bowie knife; cutlass sounds like bellow, below, billow, blow, follow
  13. BO7 — as in salami, pepperoni; frank; frankfurter; hot dog; kielbasa sounds like ballerina, baloney, beluga, blown
  14. BO6sounds like bargain, carbon, robin
  15. BO4 — to make the clear sound heard when metal vibrates; chime; knell; peal; ring sounds like balk, ball, bang, bawl, long
  16. BO5sounds like bingo
  17. BO6 — as in dressing; dressing; cleaning; disemboweling; drawing sounds like burning
  18. BO6sounds like banjo, barb, barbed, barber, barrio
  19. BO4 — an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy; blunder; bobble; boo-boo; brick sounds like babe, bib, buoy
  20. BO6 — an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy; blunder; bobble; boob; brick
  21. BO8sounds like bagel, bugaboo, bugle, google
  22. BO6 — as in hissing; hissing; boo; hiss; hoot sounds like being, bluing, bring, buying, chewing
  23. BO4 — likely to seek or enjoy the company of others; clubbable; clubby; companionable; convivial sounds like ban, bane, bean, been, bin

GA

  1. GA7 — to engage in casual or rambling conversation; babbling; blabbing; cackling; chaffering
  2. GA8 — as in chatter, babble; babble; babbling; blab; blabbing sounds like baffling, dazzling, guzzling, paneling, tabling

GI

  1. GI6sounds like ribbon
  2. GI6 — to make (someone or something) the object of unkind laughter; deriding; jeering; laughing (at); mocking sounds like biking, biting, buying, dining, diving

GL

  1. GL4 — said or done in a way that lacks thought or is not sincere; facile; superficial; empty; hollow
  2. GL4 — a small uneven mass; the quantity of fluid that falls naturally in one rounded mass; blob; chunk; clod sounds like blob, gob, lob, slob
  3. GL6 — belonging or relating to the whole; covering everything or all important points; having every part of the surface the same distance from the center; across-the-board; blanket

GO

  1. GO8 — as in devouring, gulping; devouring; gorging; gormandizing; gulping sounds like bottling, coddling, guzzling, modeling, tabling
  2. GO6 — an imaginary being usually having a small human form and magical powers; brownie; dwarf; elf; faerie sounds like garlic, poplin

LA

  1. LA5sounds like abbey, lobbied, lobby, phobia, shabby
  2. LA6sounds like babble, dabble, libel, liberal, lineal

LO

  1. LO7 — to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm; casting; catapulting; chucking; dashing
  2. LO4

NA

  1. NA7 — to take or keep under one’s control by authority of law; to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly; apprehending; arresting; busting
  2. NA5 — one of high position or importance within a group; big; big boy; big cheese; big gun sounds like abbot, babble, cabin, dabble, habit

NI

  1. NI8 — to eat reluctantly and in small bites; to crush or grind with the teeth; to consume or wear away gradually; pecking; picking sounds like middling, piddling, sibling, sizzling, tabling

NO

  1. NO4sounds like knew, knob, lube, nab, new

OB

  1. OB8 — willing to do a favor; accommodating; accommodative; friendly; indulgent sounds like abiding
  2. OB6 — as in oval, cylindrical; as in rectangular; cylindrical; elliptical; oval sounds like along, belong, daylong, hourlong, long

The Complete Word List (Spoiler Alert!)

Ready to see the words? Use the toggles below to reveal today’s nyt spelling bee answers.

  • baba
  • bail
  • ball
  • bang
  • bill
  • blab
  • blin
  • blob
  • blog
  • boba
  • boil
  • bola
  • boll
  • bolo
  • bong
  • boob
  • boon
  • glib
  • glob
  • lobo
  • noob

  • aboil
  • albino
  • alibi
  • baaing
  • babbling
  • baboon
  • bagging
  • bailing
  • baling
  • balling
  • balloon
  • ballooning
  • banal
  • banana
  • banging
  • banning
  • baobab
  • bilabial
  • billabong
  • billing
  • billion
  • binging
  • bingo
  • binning
  • blabbing
  • bling
  • blini
  • blobbing
  • blogging
  • bobbin
  • bobbing
  • bobbling
  • bogging
  • boggling
  • boiling
  • boing
  • bologna
  • bonbon
  • bongo
  • boning
  • bonobo
  • booboo
  • boogaloo
  • booing
  • gabbing
  • gabbling
  • gibbon
  • gibing
  • global
  • gobbling
  • goblin
  • labia
  • labial
  • lobbing
  • nabbing
  • nabob
  • nibbling
  • obliging
  • oblong

Valid dictionary words not in today’s official answers

Today’s puzzle have total of 103 valid dictionary words that are excluded. If you found a valid dictionary word that wasn’t accepted, it’s likely due to the New York Times Spelling Bee’s strict editorial criteria. Sam Ezersky, the puzzle’s editor, manually curates the daily word list to balance difficulty and fairness.

  • Obscure or Highly Technical Words: Medical, legal, and intensely specific scientific jargon is frequently omitted to keep the puzzle accessible to a general audience.
  • Offensive Language: Vulgar or derogatory words are universally banned.
  • Proper Nouns: Capitalized names of people or places are never allowed.
  • Hyphenated Words: Multi-word combinations containing hyphens are excluded.
  • Letter S / Plurals: The letter “S” is generally never included on a Spelling Bee board to avoid making the game too simple by tacking plurals onto every word.

  • ABBA
  • ABIGAIL
  • ABLING
  • ABOLLA
  • ABOON
  • ALBA
  • ALBINAL
  • ALIBIING
  • BAAL
  • BABOO
  • BABOOL
  • BAGNIO
  • BAILLI
  • BAININ
  • BALBOA
  • BALLABILI
  • BALLAN
  • BALLON
  • BALOO
  • BANI
  • BANIA
  • BANIAN
  • BANING
  • BIALI
  • BIBB
  • BIBBING
  • BIGA
  • BIGG
  • BIGGIN
  • BIGGING
  • BIGGON
  • BIGNONIA
  • BILBO
  • BILBOA
  • BILGING
  • BILIAN
  • BILING
  • BILLON
  • BINAL
  • BING
  • BINGLING
  • BIOG
  • BLAG
  • BLAGGING
  • BLAIN
  • BLINGING
  • BLINNING
  • BOAB
  • BOBOL
  • BOBOLLING
  • BOGAN
  • BOGLING
  • BOGONG
  • BOINGING
  • BOLLING
  • BONA
  • BONGING
  • BOOAI
  • BOOBIALLA
  • BOOBING
  • BOOGALOOING
  • BOOL
  • BOOLING
  • BOONG
  • BOONGA
  • GABBA
  • GABION
  • GABLING
  • GABOON
  • GALABIA
  • GALLABIA
  • GANGBANG
  • GANGBANGING
  • GIBBING
  • GIBLI
  • GLIBBING
  • GLOBI
  • GLOBIN
  • GLOBING
  • GOALBALL
  • GOBAN
  • GOBANG
  • GOBBI
  • GOBBING
  • GOBBO
  • GOBI
  • GOBO
  • INGLOBING
  • LABLAB
  • LIBBING
  • LIBLAB
  • LOBI
  • LOBING
  • LOBOLA
  • LOBOLO
  • NABLA
  • NIBBING
  • NOBBLING
  • OBANG
  • OBIA
  • OBIING
  • OBOL
  • OBOLI