Thursday, January 1, 2026

Answers to yesterday's Bee

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The official answers for today's puzzle are:

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Number of Pangrams: 4

Maximum Puzzle Score: 363

Number of Answers: 61

Points Needed for Genius: 254

Genius requires between 30 and 53 words. You need at least an 8-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 86% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 63% of the remaining points to reach genius.

Other days with this pangram:

The button below will reveal a chart with the number of words by each letter. Red bars indicate that there is a pangram(s) starting with that letter.


How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

Today's score of 363 was in the 98th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on December 20, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 61 possible answers rank it in the 92nd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on December 30, 2025.
The highest number of answers was 81 on June 8, 2019.
The lowest number of answers was 16 on March 27, 2023.

It takes an 8-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on December 19, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 6.1.
For all Bees, the average word length has been 5.3.



Haven't I seen these letters before?

Hover over a letter to see its first and most recent appearance in the Bee!



Haven't I seen these words before?

The most common words in the Bee are:

  • noon 226
  • loll 209
  • toot 206
  • naan 188
  • nana 188
  • lilt 150
  • till 150
  • tilt 150
  • nene 147
  • tint 145
  • mama 141
  • mamma 141
  • onion 137
  • onto 136
  • toon 136
  • acacia 134
  • acai 134
  • anal 129
  • anon 127
  • olio 124
  • dodo 120
  • tact 120
  • baba 119
  • papa 119
  • boob 116
  • booboo 116
  • lull 116
  • lulu 116
  • poop 115
  • cocci 113
  • call 112
  • calla 112
  • mitt 112
  • mono 112
  • moon 112
  • tutu 112
  • ratatat 110
  • tart 110
  • tartar 110
  • tattoo 110
  • attar 109
  • loon 109
  • allay 108
  • ally 108
  • ammo 107
  • momma 107
  • tatty 106
  • roar 104
  • coot 103
  • epee 103


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 111,659 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,889 unique words.
Below are the distributions of the lengths of these words.



Valid dictionary words not in today's official answers

You may be wondering why these words aren't here*:

  • acini
  • acinic
  • aclinic
  • actin
  • actinal
  • actinally
  • actinia
  • actinian
  • actinic
  • actinically
  • alan
  • alanin
  • alant
  • alanyl
  • allicin
  • anaclitic
  • anality
  • analyticity
  • ancilla
  • anil
  • anilin
  • anility
  • anna
  • anta
  • antically
  • anticity
  • anticlinal
  • anticly
  • attaint
  • ayin
  • cain
  • callan
  • callant
  • calycinal
  • caninity
  • cantal
  • cantala
  • cantic
  • canty
  • catlin
  • clinal
  • clinally
  • cyanic
  • cyanin
  • cyanitic
  • cyclin
  • incitant
  • inia
  • inly
  • intactly
  • inti
  • lallan
  • lanital
  • latina
  • latinity
  • lattin
  • layin
  • liana
  • linac
  • linin
  • linn
  • linny
  • liny
  • nala
  • nancy
  • nanna
  • natantly
  • nictitant
  • nill
  • nitty
  • nyala
  • tacan
  • tain
  • tantalic
  • tian
  • tincal
  • tinnily
  • titania
  • titian
  • tiyin
  • tiyn
  • tyin
  • tyiyn

*Because the New York Times considers them obscure or offensive.

anal

noun
  1. Any of the anal scales of a reptile.
  2. Anal sex.
adjective
  1. Of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
  2. Of the stage in psychosexual development when the child's interest is alleged to be concentrated on the anal region.
  3. Of a person, compulsive and stubborn, obsessed with neatness and accuracy, supposedly from not having progressed beyond the anal stage.
  4. (of a vein) Proximate to the thorax.

anally

No Definition Found.

analytic

adjective
  1. Of, or relating to any form of analysis, or to analytics.
  2. Of, or relating to division into elements or principles.
  3. Having the ability to analyse.
  4. (of a proposition) that follows necessarily; tautologous.
  5. Of, or relating to algebra or a similar method of analysis.
  6. Being defined in terms of objects of differential calculus such as derivatives.
  7. Holomorphic; complex-differentiable.
  8. Of a language, having a grammar principally dependent on the arrangement of uninflected words within sentences to indicate meaning. Compare synthetic.

analytical

adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to analysis; resolving into elements or constituent parts
  2. Using analytic reasoning as opposed to synthetic.

analytically

adverb
  1. In an analytical manner.

annal

noun
  1. The record of a single event or item.

anti

noun
  1. A person opposed to a concept or principle.
adjective
  1. Opposed to something.
  2. That has a torsion angle between 90° and 180°
preposition
  1. Alternative form of anti-

antic

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A grotesque representation of a figure; a gargoyle.
  2. A caricature.
  3. (often in plural) A ludicrous gesture or act; ridiculous behaviour; caper.
  4. A grotesque performer or clown, buffoon.
verb
  1. To perform antics, caper.
  2. To make a fool of, to cause to look ridiculous.
  3. To perform (an action) as an antic; to mimic ridiculously.
adjective
  1. Playful, funny, absurd
  2. Grotesque, incongruous.
  3. Grotesque, bizarre
adjective
  1. Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome.
  2. Belonging to former times, not modern, out of date, old-fashioned.
  3. Designating a style of type.
  4. Embossed without gilt.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A pose, often exaggerated, in anticipation of an action; for example, a brief squat before jumping

attain

verb
  1. To gain (an object or desired result).
  2. To reach or come to, by progression or motion; to arrive at (a place, time, state, etc.).
  3. To come or arrive, by motion, growth, bodily exertion, or efforts toward a place, object, state, etc.
  4. To get at the knowledge of.
  5. To reach in excellence or degree.
  6. To reach a person after being behind them.

canal

noun
  1. An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.
  2. A tubular channel within the body.
  3. One of the faint, hazy markings resembling straight lines on early telescopic images of the surface of Mars.
verb
  1. To dig an artificial waterway in or to (a place), especially for drainage
  2. To travel along a canal by boat

cancan

noun
  1. A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.
  2. (motocross) A trick where one leg is brought over the seat, so that both legs are on one side.
verb
  1. To dance the cancan.

canna

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet.

cannily

No Definition Found.

canny

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Careful, prudent, cautious.
  2. Knowing, shrewd, astute.
  3. Frugal, thrifty.
  4. Pleasant, fair, favorable or agreeable to deal with.
  5. Gentle, quiet, steady.
adverb
  1. Very, considerably; quite, rather.
  2. Gently, quietly; carefully, skilfully.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. (especially of sound) Sounding as if it is coming through a tin can.

cant

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup.
  2. A private or secret language used by a religious sect, gang, or other group.
  3. A language spoken by some Irish Travellers; Shelta.
  4. Empty, hypocritical talk.
  5. Whining speech, such as that used by beggars.
  6. A blazon of a coat of arms that makes a pun upon the name (or, less often, some attribute or function) of the bearer, canting arms.
  7. A call for bidders at a public fair; an auction.
verb
  1. To speak with the jargon of a class or subgroup.
  2. To speak in set phrases.
  3. To preach in a singsong fashion, especially in a false or empty manner.
  4. Of a blazon, to make a pun that references the bearer of a coat of arms.
  5. To sell by auction, or bid at an auction.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Side, edge, corner, niche.
  2. Slope, the angle at which something is set.
  3. A corner (of a building).
  4. An outer or external angle.
  5. An inclination from a horizontal or vertical line; a slope or bevel; a tilt.
  6. A movement or throw that overturns something.
  7. A sudden thrust, push, kick, or other impulse, producing a bias or change of direction; also, the bias or turn so given.
  8. (coopering) A segment forming a side piece in the head of a cask.
  9. A segment of the rim of a wooden cogwheel.
  10. A piece of wood laid upon the deck of a vessel to support the bulkheads.
verb
  1. To set (something) at an angle.
  2. To give a sudden turn or new direction to.
  3. To bevel an edge or corner.
  4. To overturn so that the contents are emptied.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A parcel, a division.
verb
  1. To divide or parcel out.

Etymology 4

adjective
  1. Lively, lusty.

cantata

noun
  1. A vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century Italian music.

cantina

noun
  1. A drinking establishment, often specifically of the type found in Latin America.
  2. Abbreviated form of cantina truck, cantina wagon or cantina trailer

clan

noun
  1. A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief.
  2. A traditional social group of families in the Scottish Highlands having a common hereditary chieftain
  3. Any group defined by family ties with some sort of political unity.
  4. A group of players who habitually play on the same team in multiplayer games.
  5. A badger colony.

clinic

noun
  1. A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients.
  2. (by extension) A hospital session to diagnose or treat patients.
  3. A school, or a session of a school or class, in which medicine or surgery is taught by the examination and treatment of patients in the presence of the pupils.
  4. A group practice of several physicians.
  5. A meeting for the diagnosis of problems, or training, on a particular subject.
  6. A temporary office arranged on a regular basis to allow politicians to meet their constituents.
  7. A series of workouts used to build skills of practitioners regardless of team affiliation.
  8. One confined to bed by sickness.
  9. One who receives baptism on a sickbed.

clinical

noun
  1. A medical student's session spent in a real-world nursing environment.
adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to a medical clinic or facility.
  2. Dealing with practical management of patients; contrasting with prehealth sciences.
  3. Cool and emotionless.
  4. Of or relating to a bed.

clinically

adverb
  1. In a clinical manner; dispassionately or analytically.
  2. In the setting of a medical clinic; in a clinical setting.
  3. At a person's bedside.

clinician

noun
  1. A healthcare provider working in a clinic or hospital.

cyan

noun
  1. A vibrant pale greenish-blue colour between blue and green in the visible spectrum; the complementary colour of red; the colour obtained by subtracting red from white light.
adjective
  1. Of the colour cyan.

cynic

noun
  1. A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness.
  2. A person whose outlook is scornfully negative.
adjective
  1. Cynical (in all senses)
  2. Relating to the Dog Star.

cynical

adjective
  1. Of or relating to the belief that human actions are motivated only or primarily by base desires or selfishness.
  2. Skeptical of the integrity, sincerity, or motives of others.
  3. Bitterly or jadedly distrustful or contemptuous; mocking.
  4. Showing contempt for accepted moral standards by one's actions.
  5. Like the actions of a snarling dog, especially in reference to facial nerve paralysis.

cynically

adverb
  1. In a cynical manner

inanity

noun
  1. The property of being inane, of lacking material of interest or satisfaction, emptiness.
  2. Something that is inane.

incant

verb
  1. To state solemnly, to chant.
  2. To recite an incantation.

initial

noun
  1. The first letter of a word or a name.
  2. In plural, the first letter of each word of a person's full name considered as a unit.
  3. A distinguished initial letter of a chapter or section of a document.
  4. Onset, part of a syllable that precedes the syllable nucleus in phonetics and phonology.
verb
  1. To sign one's initial(s), as an abbreviated signature.
adjective
  1. Chronologically first, early; of or pertaining to the beginning, cause or origin.
  2. Spatially first, placed at the beginning, in the first position; especially said of the first letter of a word.

initially

adverb
  1. At the beginning.

inlay

noun
  1. The material placed within a different material in the form of a decoration.
  2. A filling for a tooth, made of ceramic or gold to fit the cavity and shape of tooth and cemented into place.
  3. The piece of paper or the booklet inside the case of a CD or DVD
verb
  1. To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design.
  2. To place an inlay in a tooth.

intact

adjective
  1. Left complete or whole; not touched, defiled, sullied or otherwise damaged
  2. Of animals, not castrated: an intact bull.
  3. Uncircumcised; commonly used to describe a penis with a foreskin in intactivism.

lain

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.
  2. To be placed or situated.
  3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition.
  4. Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist.
  5. Used with with: to have sexual relations with.
  6. Used with on/upon: to be incumbent (on); to be the responsibility of a person.
  7. To lodge; to sleep.
  8. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
  9. To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To conceal, keep quiet about.

lanai

noun
  1. (Florida) A Hawaiian-style roofed patio.

lantana

noun
  1. Any member of the genus Lantana of perennial verbenas with aromatic flower clusters.

lint

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A fine material made by scraping cotton or linen cloth; used for dressing wounds.
  2. Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc.
  3. The fibrous coat of thick hairs covering the seeds of the cotton plant.
  4. Raw cotton ready for baling.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To perform a static check on (source code) to detect stylistic or programmatic errors.

linty

No Definition Found.

litany

noun
  1. A ritual liturgical prayer in which a series of prayers recited by a leader are alternated with responses from the congregation.
  2. A prolonged or tedious list.

naan

noun
  1. A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.

nail

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
  2. The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera.
  3. The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds.
  4. The claw of a bird or other animal.
  5. A spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials. The nail is generally driven through two or more layers of material by means of impacts from a hammer or other device. It is then held in place by friction.
  6. A round pedestal on which merchants once carried out their business, such as the four nails outside The Exchange, Bristol.
  7. An archaic English unit of length equivalent to 1/20 of an ell or 1/16 of a yard (2 1/4 inches or 5.715 cm).

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To fix (an object) to another object using a nail.
  2. To drive a nail.
  3. To stud or boss with nails, or as if with nails.
  4. To catch.
  5. To expose as a sham.
  6. To accomplish (a task) completely and successfully.
  7. To hit (a target) effectively with some weapon.
  8. Of a male, to engage in sexual intercourse with.
  9. To spike, as a cannon.
  10. To nail down: to make certain, or confirm.

nana

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A banana
  2. A fool

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (term of endearment) one's grandmother
  2. A nanny

nanny

noun
  1. A child's nurse.
  2. A grandmother.
  3. A godmother.
  4. A female goat.
verb
  1. To serve as a nanny.
  2. To treat like a nanny's charges; to coddle.

natal

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Of or relating to birth.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Of or relating to the buttocks.

natality

noun
  1. The ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year.
  2. The human ability to create new ideas, institutions and frameworks out of nothing.

natant

adjective
  1. Floating or swimming (in water)
  2. In a horizontal position, as if swimming

nattily

No Definition Found.

natty

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Smart and fashionable.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Knotty.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Someone whose muscle gains are natural and not aided by the use of steroids.
  2. A national championship
adjective
  1. Natural, as opposed to steroid enhanced.
  2. National

niacin

noun
  1. A water-soluble vitamin, a component of vitamin B complex, found in meat, yeast, and dairy products; it is essential to metabolism.

ninny

noun
  1. A silly or foolish person.

tactician

noun
  1. A person skilled in the planning and execution of tactics.

taint

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A contamination, decay or putrefaction, especially in food
  2. A mark of disgrace, especially on one's character; blemish
  3. Tincture; hue; colour
  4. Infection; corruption; deprivation
  5. A marker indicating that a variable is unsafe and should be subjected to additional security checks.
verb
  1. To contaminate or corrupt (something) with an external agent, either physically or morally.
  2. To spoil (food) by contamination.
  3. To be infected or corrupted; to be touched by something corrupting.
  4. To be affected with incipient putrefaction.
  5. To mark (a variable) as unsafe, so that operations involving it are subject to additional security checks.
  6. To invalidate (a share capital account) by transferring profits into it.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A thrust with a lance, which fails of its intended effect.
  2. An injury done to a lance in an encounter, without its being broken; also, a breaking of a lance in an encounter in a dishonorable or unscientific manner.
verb
  1. To damage, as a lance, without breaking it; also, to break, as a lance, but usually in an unknightly or unscientific manner.
  2. To hit or touch lightly, in tilting.
  3. To thrust ineffectually with a lance.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. The perineum.

tannic

adjective
  1. Pertaining to, containing, or obtained from tannin.

tannin

noun
  1. Tannic acid or any of its derivatives.

tinct

No Definition Found.

tinily

No Definition Found.

tinny

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to or resembling tin.
  2. Pertaining to the thinness and cheapness of tin or similar-looking metals, in contrast to a heavier, more valuable metal.
  3. Pertaining to a thin, unpleasant sound recalling that of tin being rapped.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A can of beer.
  2. A small open aluminium boat.
  3. Small package of drugs wrapped in foil.

tint

noun
  1. A slight coloring.
  2. A pale or faint tinge of any color; especially, a variation of a color obtained by adding white (contrast shade)
  3. A color considered with reference to other very similar colors.
  4. A shaded effect in engraving, produced by the juxtaposition of many fine parallel lines.
verb
  1. To shade, to color.

tiny

noun
  1. A small child; an infant.
  2. Anything very small.
adjective
  1. Very small.

titan

noun
  1. Something or someone of very large stature, greatness, or godliness.

titanic

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Having great size, or great strength, force or power.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Of or relating to titanium, especially tetravalent titanium

titanically

No Definition Found.