NYT Spelling Bee

Answers · Analysis · Spoiler controlled

Spelling Bee Answers & Analysis

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Start with the shape of the puzzle, reveal only the help you want, and open the full list when you are ready.

ILNORU C
43Answers
2Pangrams
207Maximum
145Genius

Answer shape

Use the distributions before revealing any words.

Words by first letter

C23
I5
L2
N1
O2
R3
U7

Words by length

412
515
610
73
82
91

Two-letter starts

CI1
CL1
CO15
CR3
CU3
IC2
IN1
IO1
IR1
LO2
NU1
OC2
RI1
RO1
RU1
UN6
UR1

Pangram ladder

Open one clue at a time.

Pangram 1
Length

9 letters · 16 points

First and last letters

C … R

Letter pattern

C•••••••R

C × 2, O × 2

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

councilor

Pangram 2
Length

8 letters · 15 points

First and last letters

U … R

Letter pattern

U••••••R

O × 2

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

unicolor

Complete answer list

Reveal full answers — spoiler

C 23

  • cirri
  • clinic
  • cocci
  • cocoon
  • coil
  • coin
  • coir
  • colic
  • colon
  • colonic
  • color
  • concur
  • conic
  • cool
  • corn
  • council
  • councilorPangram
  • croc
  • croci
  • croon
  • cull
  • curio
  • curl

I 5

  • icon
  • iconic
  • incur
  • ionic
  • ironic

L 2

  • loci
  • loco

N 1

  • nuncio

O 2

  • occur
  • oculi

R 3

  • ricin
  • rococo
  • runic

U 7

  • uncoil
  • uncool
  • uncurl
  • unicolorPangram
  • unicorn
  • unironic
  • uric

How hard was this puzzle?

This puzzle's structural difficulty is Tricky at 50/100, compared with 3 available puzzles through this date.

Read the difficulty methodology and comparisons