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Sunday, January 25, 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 “P”. With a total of 69 words to find resulting in 345 total possible points, we are looking at a massively high scoring ceiling. Impressively, there are 3 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 :

69

Total Pangrams :

3

Total Points:

345

Genius Score :

241

Pangram

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

7-letter pangram 0 / 7 letters revealed
???????
9-letter pangram 0 / 9 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 1 1 3 5
C 5 3 1 2 2 13
O 1 1 2
P 11 5 2 8 2 2 1 31
R 1 1 2 4
T 5 3 3 3 14
Σ 23 13 8 18 2 4 1 69

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

  • AI 1
  • AP 3
  • AT 1
  • CA 8
  • CO 3
  • CR 2
  • OC 1
  • OP 1
  • PA 10
  • PI 7
  • PO 7
  • PR 7
  • RA 4
  • TA 5
  • TI 2
  • TO 3
  • TR 4

Dictionary Clues for Todays List.

AI

  1. AI7 — a place from which aircraft operate that usually has paved runways and a terminal; aerodrome; airdrome; airfield; field sounds like carport, deport, escort, export, import

AP

  1. AP5 — into parts or pieces; asunder; piecemeal sounds like part
  2. AP7sounds like abbot, accurate, afferent, agate, amorist
  3. AP7sounds like parakeet, pecan, promote

AT

  1. AT4 — on top of; above; over sounds like stop, top

CA

  1. CA9
  2. CA4sounds like cop, copper, copy
  3. CA5
  4. CA6 — as in kidnapper, guard; custodian; guard; guardian; jailer sounds like chapter, raptor
  5. CA4 — an expression of dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment; beef; bitch; bleat; complaint sounds like cop, harp, sharp
  6. CA9sounds like barrio
  7. CA5sounds like copy
  8. CA7sounds like airport

CO

  1. CO4 — a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody; an enclosure with an open framework for keeping animals; bastille; big house; bridewell sounds like cap, cape, cup, dupe, hoop
  2. CO5 — to make a part of a body or system; absorb; assimilate; embody; incorporate sounds like kept
  3. CO7 — the complete works of an author; a dead body; oeuvres; bones; cadavers sounds like carport

CR

  1. CR4sounds like cap, clap
  2. CR4 — the quantity of an animal or vegetable product gathered at the end of a season; a usually small number of persons considered as a unit; harvest; array; band sounds like cop, drop, prop

OC

  1. OC6sounds like artery, artsy, arty, cope, copy

OP

  1. OP5 — of, relating to, or used in vision; ocular; optical; visual sounds like uptick

PA

  1. PA4 — a formal agreement between two or more nations or peoples; an arrangement about action to be taken; accord; alliance; compact sounds like act, backed, fact
  2. PA4 — two things of the same or similar kind that match or are considered together; brace; couple; couplet; duo sounds like air, bare, bear, care, chair
  3. PA4 — a male human parent; dad; daddy; father; old man sounds like pop, poppy
  4. PA9
  5. PA6 — to say after another; ditto; echo; quote; reecho sounds like beret, carat, ferret, merit, pellet
  6. PA4 — one of the pieces from which something is designed to be assembled; something belonging to, due to, or contributed by an individual member of a group; the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists; member; partition sounds like a****, art, cart, chart, dart
  7. PA7
  8. PA5 — an open space wholly or partly enclosed (as by buildings or walls); close; court; courtyard; enclosure
  9. PA7 — a person who loves his or her country and supports its interests and policies; loyalist sounds like atrium
  10. PA9 — having or showing love and support for one’s country; nationalist; nationalistic sounds like un*********

PI

  1. PI4sounds like peak, peaked, peek
  2. PI7
  3. PI5sounds like packet, pocket, ticket, wicket
  4. PI5sounds like peanut, people, puppet
  5. PI7sounds like erratic
  6. PI4 — to expand and contract in a rhythmic manner; beat; palpitate; pitter-patter; pulsate sounds like cheetah, peter
  7. PI7 — to expand and contract in a rhythmic manner; beat; palpitate; pitter-patter; pulsate sounds like puppet

PO

  1. PO4 — solid matter discharged from an animal’s alimentary canal; dirt; doo-doo; dropping; dung sounds like coop, coupe, dupe, hoop, loop
  2. PO4 — lacking money or material possessions; producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation; less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable; beggared; beggarly sounds like boor, lure, moor, pair, pare
  3. PO5 — a male human parent; dad; daddy; father; old man
  4. PO4 — a part of a body of water protected and deep enough to be a place of safety for ships; anchorage; harbor; harborage; haven sounds like court, fort, part, short, sort
  5. PO7 — a row of columns supporting a roof at the entrance of a building; colonnade; galilee; terrace; gallery
  6. PO8 — a vivid representation in words of someone or something; definition; delineation; depiction; description sounds like fortress, shortcut
  7. PO6 — a lazy person; deadbeat; do-nothing; drone; idler sounds like petite, tomato

PR

  1. PR4 — a stupid person; airhead; birdbrain; blockhead; bonehead sounds like brat, pat, rat
  2. PR7sounds like periodic, tropic
  3. PR5 — coming before all others in importance; going before another in time or order; arch; big; capital sounds like drier, dryer, friar, fryer
  4. PR7sounds like doctor, plotter, potter, rector, rocker
  5. PR4 — a structure that holds up or serves as a foundation for something else; brace; buttress; mount; mounting sounds like crop, drop, plop, pop
  6. PR8 — to make longer; drag (out); draw out; elongate; extend sounds like retract
  7. PR10

RA

  1. RA7 — a friendly relationship marked by ready communication and mutual understanding; communion; fellowship; rapprochement sounds like pore, pour, repair, report
  2. RA4 — experiencing or marked by overwhelming usually pleasurable emotion; having the mind fixed on something; ecstatic; elated; elevated sounds like apt, lapped, tapped
  3. RA6sounds like captor, chapter, wrapper
  4. RA7 — a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape; bind; box; catch-22; corner sounds like strap, trap

TA

  1. TA4sounds like top, topper, topple
  2. TA7sounds like topic, topical
  3. TA5
  4. TA7sounds like uproot
  5. TA4sounds like carp, harp, sharp, top

TI

  1. TI4sounds like beady, beefy, beep, beeper, cheap
  2. TI6 — of the very best kind; A-OK; A1; awesome; bang-up sounds like hilltop, laptop

TO

  1. TO7 — a warm outdoor coat; greatcoat; overcoat; surcoat sounds like taco
  2. TO5 — a major object of interest or concern (as in a discussion or artistic composition); content; matter; motif; motive sounds like tropic
  3. TO6 — lack of interest or concern; physical or mental inertness; apathy; casualness; complacence

TR

  1. TR4 — a device or scheme for capturing another by surprise; a setup in which hidden attackers lie in wait; something that catches and holds; ambush; net sounds like crap, rap, s****, tap
  2. TR4 — a going from one place to another usually of some distance; an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy; expedition; journey; passage sounds like drip, grip, rip, s****, tip
  3. TR5 — an organized group of stage performers; the combined army, air force, and navy of a nation; company; troupe; armed forces sounds like droop, group
  4. TR6 — as in tropical, subtropical; semitropical; subhumid; subtropical; tropical sounds like topic

The Complete Word List (Spoiler Alert!)

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

  • atop
  • capo
  • carp
  • coop
  • crap
  • crop
  • pact
  • pair
  • papa
  • part
  • pica
  • pita
  • poop
  • poor
  • port
  • prat
  • prop
  • rapt
  • tapa
  • tarp
  • tipi
  • trap
  • trip

  • airport
  • apart
  • apparat
  • apricot
  • capacitor
  • capri
  • captor
  • carpaccio
  • carpi
  • carport
  • coopt
  • corpora
  • octopi
  • optic
  • paratroop
  • parrot
  • partita
  • patio
  • patriot
  • patriotic
  • piccata
  • picot
  • pipit
  • piratic
  • pitapat
  • poppa
  • portico
  • portrait
  • potato
  • priapic
  • prior
  • proctor
  • protract
  • protractor
  • rapport
  • raptor
  • rattrap
  • tapioca
  • tapir
  • taproot
  • tiptop
  • topcoat
  • topic
  • torpor
  • troop
  • tropic

Valid dictionary words not in today’s official answers

Today’s puzzle have total of 118 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.

  • APOCARP
  • APOCOPIC
  • APOOP
  • APOPTOTIC
  • APORIA
  • APORT
  • APOTROPAIC
  • APPAIR
  • APPARITOR
  • APPORT
  • APPRO
  • APPROPRIATOR
  • APRACTIC
  • APROTIC
  • APTOTIC
  • ARPA
  • ATAP
  • ATOPIC
  • ATRIP
  • ATROPIA
  • ATTAP
  • ATTRAP
  • CACOTOPIA
  • CAPA
  • CAPI
  • CAPITA
  • CAPOT
  • CAPRIC
  • CAPRICCI
  • CAPRICCIO
  • CAPROIC
  • CARAP
  • CARROTTOP
  • CARTOP
  • CATOPTRIC
  • CIPPI
  • COAPT
  • COPATRIOT
  • COPITA
  • COPPRA
  • COPRA
  • CORPORATOR
  • CORTICOTROPIC
  • OCCIPITA
  • OPPO
  • PACA
  • PACO
  • PACTA
  • PAPPI
  • PAPRICA
  • PARA
  • PARAPARA
  • PARATACTIC
  • PARITOR
  • PAROTIC
  • PAROTITIC
  • PARP
  • PARR
  • PARRA
  • PARTI
  • PARTICIPATOR
  • PATACA
  • PATRICO
  • PICARA
  • PICARO
  • PICRA
  • PICRIC
  • PICRITIC
  • PIOPIO
  • PIPA
  • PIPI
  • PIRAI
  • PITARA
  • PITPROP
  • PITTA
  • POCO
  • POORI
  • POORT
  • POOT
  • POPPIT
  • PORTA
  • POTOO
  • POTOROO
  • POTT
  • POTTO
  • PRACTIC
  • PRAO
  • PRATT
  • PRIAPI
  • PROA
  • PROCARP
  • PROO
  • PROOTIC
  • PROPITIATOR
  • PROPRIA
  • PROPROCTOR
  • PROTATIC
  • PROTO
  • PTOTIC
  • RIPP
  • RIPRAP
  • RIPT
  • ROOP
  • ROOPIT
  • ROOTCAP
  • TAPPA
  • TAPPIT
  • TIPCART
  • TIPCAT
  • TIPT
  • TOPI
  • TOPO
  • TOPOI
  • TRAPT
  • TRIPART
  • TROP
  • TROPARIA
  • TROPPO