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Monday, February 9, 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 “T”. With a total of 58 words to find resulting in 220 total possible points, we are looking at an average number of points. There is just a single pangram hiding in today’s letter set. 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 :

58

Total Pangrams :

1

Total Points:

220

Genius Score :

154

Pangram

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

8-letter pangram 0 / 8 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 Σ
A 2 4 1 7
C 4 2 1 2 3 12
I 1 1 1 3
K 1 1
L 2 2 1 5
O 1 1
T 18 3 3 2 3 29
Σ 28 12 7 5 6 58

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

  • AL 3
  • AT 4
  • CA 3
  • CL 1
  • CO 8
  • IL 1
  • IO 1
  • IT 1
  • KI 1
  • LA 1
  • LI 2
  • LO 2
  • OC 1
  • TA 14
  • TI 6
  • TO 9

Dictionary Clues for Todays List.

AL

  1. AL4 — to come to rest after descending from the air; to come down from something (as a vehicle); landed; lit; perched sounds like eyelet, glut, gullet
  2. AL5 — to give as a share or portion; allocate; allow; apportion; assign sounds like blot, clot, lat, lot, plot
  3. AL4sounds like act, actor, after

AT

  1. AT5 — inclined or twisted to one side; askew; aslant; awry; cock-a-hoop sounds like stilt, tilt
  2. AT5 — a ring-shaped land mass surrounded by water and made of coral; barrier reef; cay; coral reef; key sounds like shuttle, subtle
  3. AT6 — the act or action of setting upon with force or violence; a sudden experiencing of a physical or mental disorder; aggression; assault; attempt sounds like stack, tack
  4. AT5 — a room or unfinished space directly beneath the roof of a building; cockloft; garret; loft sounds like antic, stick, tick

CA

  1. CA5
  2. CA7 — a vocal sound made to express scorn or disapproval; bird; boo; Bronx cheer; hiss
  3. CA7sounds like curtail

CL

  1. CL4 — a number of things considered as a unit; a small uneven mass; a stupid person; array; assemblage sounds like allot, blot, caught, cot, lat

CO

  1. CO4 — the hairy covering of a mammal especially when fine, soft, and thick; fleece; fur; hair; jacket sounds like boat, cat, caught
  2. CO5sounds like catty, caught, clot
  3. CO8sounds like curtail, whitetail
  4. CO8sounds like docket, pocket, rocket, socket
  5. CO8 — a distinct entity formed by the combining of two or more different things; admixture; alloy; amalgam; amalgamation sounds like cartel, curtail, foxtail, octane
  6. CO6 — sexual union involving penetration of the vagina by the penis; coition; commerce; congress; copulating sounds like cattle, kettle
  7. CO4 — a person who is just starting out in a field of activity; abecedarian; apprentice; babe; beginner sounds like bolt, cult, jolt, kilt, molt
  8. CO4 — as in geezer; geezer; bohemian; maverick; nonconformist sounds like boot, cat, caught, chute

IL

  1. IL7 — contrary to or forbidden by law; criminal; felonious; illegal; illegitimate sounds like elicit

IO

  1. IO4 — the smallest amount or part imaginable; beans; bubkes; continental; damn sounds like aroma, beta, boa, boat, boater

IT

  1. IT6sounds like idyllic, metallic, static, titanic

KI

  1. KI4 — as in fly, sail; coast; fly; glide; sail sounds like built, colt, cult, gilt, guilt

LA

  1. LA6sounds like tactic

LI

  1. LI5 — permitted by law; lawful; legal; legit; legitimate sounds like il*****
  2. LI4 — the attractive quality of speech or music that rises and falls in a pleasing pattern; movement; sway; swing; beat sounds like built, gilt, guilt, hilt, jilt

LO

  1. LO4 — valuables stolen or taken by force; something (as pieces of stamped metal or printed paper) customarily and legally used as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment; booty; pillage; plunder sounds like boot, chute, flute, hoot, jute
  2. LO5sounds like lat, motto

OC

  1. OC5sounds like artful, auction, awful, axle, battle

TA

  1. TA5 — understood although not put into words; implicit; implied; unexpressed; unspoken sounds like asset, cast, caste, facet, facile
  2. TA4 — the means or procedure for doing something; approach; fashion; form; how sounds like at****, back, hack, jack, knack
  3. TA4sounds like borrow, box, capo, chalk, cock
  4. TA4 — the ability to deal with others in touchy situations without offending them; diplomacy; tactfulness sounds like act, backed, fact, packed, pact
  5. TA6 — something done to achieve a particular goal; means; method; technique; way sounds like acting, active, antic, arctic, attic
  6. TA8 — suitable for bringing about a desired result under the circumstances; advisable; desirable; expedient; judicious
  7. TA4 — a body of employees or servants who accompany and wait on a person; the part of the body upon which someone sits; a behind part or surface; cortege; entourage sounds like ail, ale, bail, bale, dale
  8. TA8sounds like raincoat, sailboat
  9. TA4sounds like torque
  10. TA4sounds like collie, folly, golly, jolly, toffee
  11. TA4 — a usually formal discourse delivered to an audience; an exchange of views for the purpose of exploring a subject or deciding an issue; friendly, informal conversation or an instance of this; address; declamation sounds like balk, hawk, s****
  12. TA4 — extending to a great distance upward; requiring considerable physical or mental effort; altitudinous; high; lofty sounds like all, ball, bawl, call, fall
  13. TA6
  14. TA6

TI

  1. TI4 — as in moment, minute; beat; crack; flash; heartbeat sounds like attic, chick, dick, hick, kick
  2. TI8sounds like dictum, tactic, victim
  3. TI4sounds like cheeky, leaky, tacky, talky, turkey
  4. TI5
  5. TI4 — to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on; cultivate; farm; tend sounds like bill, chill, dill, fill, hill
  6. TI4 — the act of positioning or an instance of being positioned at an angle; angling; bend; cock; inclination sounds like built, gilt, guilt, hilt, jilt

TO

  1. TO7sounds like boycott, caught, cockatoo, comma, cot
  2. TO4sounds like chalk, cock, dock, hock, jock
  3. TO4 — very hard or unpleasant work; donkeywork; drudge; drudgery; fatigue sounds like boil, coil, foil, oil, roil
  4. TO4 — as in expense; as in tariff, income tax; expense; cost; price sounds like boll, bowl, coal, dole, foal
  5. TO4 — to reach for and take hold of by embracing with the fingers or arms; to agree to receive whether willingly or reluctantly; to become affected with (a disease or disorder); clasped; grasped sounds like book, cook, hook, look, nook
  6. TO4 — an article intended for use in work; one that is or can be used to further the purposes of another; one who is easily deceived or cheated; device; implement sounds like cool, fool, pool, rule, s****
  7. TO7sounds like bracket, coolant, coolest, flit, foolish
  8. TO4 — a bout of prolonged or excessive drinking; bender; binge; bust; carousal sounds like boot, chute, hoot, jute, loot
  9. TO5 — having no exceptions or restrictions; not lacking any part or member that properly belongs to it; trying all possibilities; absolute; all-out sounds like title, turtle

The Complete Word List (Spoiler Alert!)

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

  • alit
  • alto
  • clot
  • coat
  • colt
  • coot
  • iota
  • kilt
  • lilt
  • loot
  • tack
  • taco
  • tact
  • tail
  • talc
  • tali
  • talk
  • tall
  • tick
  • tiki
  • till
  • tilt
  • tock
  • toil
  • toll
  • took
  • tool
  • toot

  • allot
  • atilt
  • atoll
  • attack
  • attic
  • cacti
  • catcall
  • cattail
  • coati
  • coattail
  • cockatoo
  • cocktail
  • coital
  • illicit
  • italic
  • lactic
  • licit
  • lotto
  • octal
  • tacit
  • tactic
  • tactical
  • tailcoat
  • tallit
  • tattoo
  • ticktock
  • tikka
  • toccata
  • toolkit
  • total

Valid dictionary words not in today’s official answers

Today’s puzzle have total of 89 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.

  • ACTA
  • AKITA
  • ALKALOTIC
  • ATAATA
  • ATACTIC
  • ATLATL
  • ATOC
  • ATOCIA
  • ATOK
  • ATOKAL
  • CALCITIC
  • CATALATIC
  • CATALLACTIC
  • CATALO
  • CATTALO
  • CITAL
  • CITO
  • CITOLA
  • CLAT
  • CLIT
  • CLITIC
  • CLOOT
  • COACT
  • COAITA
  • COIT
  • COLITIC
  • COTT
  • COTTA
  • ICTAL
  • ICTIC
  • IKAT
  • ILLITIC
  • KATA
  • KATAL
  • KATI
  • KATTI
  • KIAAT
  • KOTO
  • LACCOLITIC
  • LATAKIA
  • LATI
  • LATILLA
  • LATITAT
  • LITAI
  • LITOTIC
  • LOTA
  • LOTI
  • LOTIC
  • LOTO
  • OCICAT
  • OCOTILLO
  • OCTA
  • OITICICA
  • OKTA
  • OOLITIC
  • OTIC
  • OTITIC
  • OTTO
  • TAAL
  • TAATA
  • TAIKO
  • TAIT
  • TAKA
  • TAKI
  • TALA
  • TALAK
  • TALLAT
  • TALLITOT
  • TALLOL
  • TALLOT
  • TALOOKA
  • TATT
  • TICAL
  • TICCA
  • TICKTACK
  • TICTAC
  • TICTOC
  • TIKA
  • TIKTAALIK
  • TILAK
  • TITI
  • TITOKI
  • TOCO
  • TOIT
  • TOITOI
  • TOKO
  • TOKOTOKO
  • TOLA
  • TOLT