Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Answers to yesterday's Bee

Jump to answers for


The official answers for today's puzzle are:

Click on the arrow to show the definition.
Click outside the pop-up to close it.



Number of Pangrams: 1

Maximum Puzzle Score: 165

Number of Answers: 41

Points Needed for Genius: 115

Genius requires between 19 and 35 words. You need at least a 6-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 77% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 66% 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 165 was in the 47th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on January 19, 2026.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 41 possible answers rank it in the 53rd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on January 23, 2026.
The highest number of answers was 81 on June 8, 2019.
The lowest number of answers was 16 on March 27, 2023.

It takes a 6-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on January 26, 2026.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.0.
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 228
  • loll 212
  • toot 207
  • naan 190
  • nana 190
  • lilt 151
  • till 151
  • tilt 151
  • nene 149
  • tint 145
  • mama 142
  • mamma 142
  • acacia 137
  • acai 137
  • onion 137
  • onto 136
  • toon 136
  • anal 130
  • anon 129
  • olio 124
  • dodo 122
  • papa 121
  • tact 121
  • baba 119
  • poop 118
  • boob 117
  • booboo 117
  • lull 117
  • lulu 117
  • cocci 114
  • call 113
  • calla 113
  • mitt 113
  • mono 112
  • moon 112
  • tutu 112
  • ratatat 111
  • tart 111
  • tartar 111
  • tattoo 111
  • allay 110
  • ally 110
  • attar 110
  • loon 110
  • tatty 109
  • ammo 107
  • momma 107
  • epee 104
  • meme 104
  • peep 104


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 112,924 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,903 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*:

  • alar
  • alfa
  • alula
  • alular
  • alvar
  • arval
  • fallal
  • farfal
  • farl
  • flava
  • flavour
  • flavourful
  • fluor
  • furfural
  • lall
  • laura
  • lavalava
  • loof
  • loral
  • lour
  • luffa
  • olla
  • ovolo
  • rolf
  • ulva
  • valour
  • valval
  • valvar
  • valvula
  • valvular
  • volar
  • volva

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

afoul

adverb
  1. (principally nautical) In a state of collision or entanglement.
  2. (with of) In a state of entanglement or conflict (with).

alfalfa

noun
  1. A plant, principally of Medicago sativa, grown as a pasture crop.
  2. A type or breed of this plant.

aloof

adjective
  1. Reserved and remote; either physically or emotionally distant; standoffish.
adverb
  1. At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small distance; apart; away.
  2. Without sympathy; unfavorably.
preposition
  1. Away from; clear of.

aural

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to the ear.
  2. Of or pertaining to sound.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to an aura.

auroral

No Definition Found.

fall

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
  2. A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc.
  3. The time of the year when the leaves typically fall from the trees; autumn; the season of the year between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.
  4. A loss of greatness or status.
  5. That which falls or cascades.
  6. A crucial event or circumstance.
  7. A hairpiece for women consisting of long strands of hair on a woven backing, intended primarily to cover hair loss.
  8. Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed.
  9. The part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting (usu. plural).
  10. An old Scots unit of measure equal to six ells.
  11. A short, flexible piece of leather forming part of a bullwhip, placed between the thong and the cracker.
  12. The lid, on a piano, that covers the keyboard
verb
  1. (heading) To be moved downwards.
  2. To move downwards.
  3. To happen, to change negatively.
  4. To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance.
  5. To diminish; to lessen or lower.
  6. To bring forth.
  7. To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; said of the young of certain animals.
  8. To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin.
  9. To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before.
  10. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; said of the face.
  11. To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon).
  12. To begin with haste, ardour, or vehemence; to rush or hurry.
  13. To be dropped or uttered carelessly.
  14. (of a fabric) To hang down (under the influence of gravity).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The chasing of a hunted whale.

falloff

noun
  1. A reduction or decline.

flavor

noun
  1. The quality produced by the sensation of taste or, especially, of taste and smell in combined effect.
  2. A substance used to produce a taste. Flavoring.
  3. A variety (of taste) attributed to an object.
  4. The characteristic quality of something.
  5. A kind or type.
  6. One of the six types of quarks (top, bottom, strange, charmed, up, and down) or three types of leptons (electron, muon, and tauon).
  7. The quality produced by the sensation of smell; odour; fragrance.
verb
  1. To add flavoring to something.

flavorful

adjective
  1. Full of flavor.

floor

noun
  1. The interior bottom or surface of a house or building; the supporting surface of a room.
  2. Ground (surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground).
  3. The lower inside surface of a hollow space.
  4. A structure formed of beams, girders, etc, with proper covering, which divides a building horizontally into storeys/stories.
  5. The supporting surface or platform of a structure such as a bridge.
  6. A storey/story of a building.
  7. In a parliament, the part of the house assigned to the members, as opposed to the viewing gallery.
  8. Hence, the right to speak at a given time during a debate or other public event.
  9. That part of the bottom of a vessel on each side of the keelson which is most nearly horizontal.
  10. The rock underlying a stratified or nearly horizontal deposit.
  11. A horizontal, flat ore body.
  12. The largest integer less than or equal to a given number.
  13. An event performed on a floor-like carpeted surface.
  14. A floor-like carpeted surface for performing gymnastic movements.
  15. A lower limit on the interest rate payable on an otherwise variable-rate loan, used by lenders to defend against falls in interest rates. Opposite of a cap.
  16. A dance floor.
  17. The area in which business is conducted at a convention or exhibition
verb
  1. To cover or furnish with a floor.
  2. To strike down or lay level with the floor; to knock down.
  3. (driving) To accelerate rapidly.
  4. To silence by a conclusive answer or retort.
  5. To amaze or greatly surprise.
  6. To finish or make an end of.
  7. To set a lower bound.

flora

noun
  1. Plants considered as a group, especially those of a particular country, region, time, etc.
  2. A book describing the plants of a country, region, time, etc.
  3. The microorganisms that inhabit some part of the body

floral

noun
  1. A design involving flowers
  2. A perfume redolent of flowers
adjective
  1. Of, pertaining to, or connected with flowers.
  2. Portraying flowers, especially in a stylized way.

flour

noun
  1. Powder obtained by grinding or milling cereal grains, especially wheat, or other foodstuffs such as soybeans and potatoes, and used to bake bread, cakes, and pastry.
  2. The food made by grinding and bolting cleaned wheat (not durum or red durum) until it meets specified levels of fineness, dryness and freedom from bran and germ, also containing any of certain enzymes, ascorbic acid and certain bleaching agents.
  3. Powder of other material.
verb
  1. To apply flour to something; to cover with flour.
  2. To reduce to flour.
  3. To break up into fine globules of mercury in the amalgamation process.
noun
  1. A colorful, conspicuous structure associated with angiosperms, frequently scented and attracting various insects, and which may or may not be used for sexual reproduction.
  2. A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens and/or a pistil.
  3. A plant that bears flowers, especially a plant that is small and lacks wood.
  4. (usually with in) Of plants, a state of bearing blooms.
  5. (hypocoristic) The vulva, especially the labia majora.
  6. The best examples or representatives of a group.
  7. The best state of things; the prime.
  8. Flour.
  9. (in the plural) A substance in the form of a powder, especially when condensed from sublimation.
  10. A figure of speech; an ornament of style.
  11. Ornamental type used chiefly for borders around pages, cards, etc.
  12. (in the plural) Menstrual discharges.
noun
  1. Something that flows, such as a river.

fluff

noun
  1. Anything light, soft or fuzzy, especially fur, hair, feathers.
  2. Anything inconsequential or superficial.
  3. A lapse or mistake, especially a mistake in an actor's lines.
  4. Marshmallow creme.
  5. A passive partner in a lesbian relationship.
  6. A fart.
verb
  1. To make something fluffy.
  2. To become fluffy, puff up.
  3. To move lightly like fluff.
  4. (of an actor or announcer) To make a mistake in one's lines.
  5. To do incorrectly, for example mishit, miskick, miscue etc.
  6. To fart.
  7. To arouse (a male pornographic actor) before filming.

foal

noun
  1. A young horse or related animal, especially just after birth or less than a year old.
  2. A young boy who assisted the headsman by pushing or pulling the tub.
verb
  1. To give birth to (a foal); to bear offspring.

fool

noun
  1. A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.
  2. A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages).
  3. Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.
  4. Buddy, dude, man.
  5. A type of dessert made of puréed fruit and custard or cream.
  6. (often capitalized, Fool) A particular card in a tarot deck, representing a jester.
verb
  1. To trick; to deceive
  2. To act in an idiotic manner; to act foolishly
adjective
  1. Foolish.

foul

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.
  2. (of words or a way of speaking) obscene, vulgar or abusive.
  3. Detestable, unpleasant, loathsome.
  4. Disgusting, repulsive; causing disgust.
  5. Ugly; homely; poor.
  6. (of the weather) Unpleasant, stormy or rainy.
  7. Dishonest or not conforming to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.
  8. Entangled and therefore restricting free movement, not clear.
  9. Outside of the base lines; in foul territory.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A breach of the rules of a game, especially one involving inappropriate contact with an opposing player in order to gain an advantage; for example, tripping someone up in soccer, or contact of any kind in basketball.
  2. A (usually accidental) contact between a bowler and the lane before the bowler has released the ball.
  3. A foul ball, a ball which has been hit outside of the base lines.
verb
  1. To make dirty.
  2. To besmirch.
  3. To clog or obstruct.
  4. To entangle.
  5. To make contact with an opposing player in order to gain advantage.
  6. To hit outside of the baselines.
  7. To become clogged.
  8. To become entangled.
  9. To commit a foul.
  10. To hit a ball outside of the baselines.

full

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available.
  2. Complete; with nothing omitted.
  3. Total, entire.
  4. Having eaten to satisfaction, having a "full" stomach; replete.
  5. (with of) Replete, abounding with.
  6. (of physical features) Plump, round.
  7. Of a garment, of a size that is ample, wide, or having ample folds or pleats to be comfortable.
  8. Having depth and body; rich.
  9. Having the mind filled with ideas; stocked with knowledge; stored with information.
  10. Having the attention, thoughts, etc., absorbed in any matter, and the feelings more or less excited by it.
  11. Filled with emotions.
  12. Impregnated; made pregnant.
  13. (postnominal) Said of the three cards of the same rank in a full house.
  14. Drunk, intoxicated.
adverb
  1. Fully; quite; very; thoroughly; completely; exactly; entirely.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Utmost measure or extent; highest state or degree; the state, position, or moment of fullness; fill.
  2. (of the moon) The phase of the moon when its entire face is illuminated, full moon.
  3. (freestyle skiing) An aerialist maneuver consisting of a backflip in conjunction and simultaneous with a complete twist.
verb
  1. (of the moon) To become full or wholly illuminated.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To baptise.

Etymology 4

verb
  1. To make cloth denser and firmer by soaking, beating and pressing, to waulk, walk

furl

verb
  1. To lower, roll up and secure (something, such as a sail or flag)

larva

noun
  1. An early stage of growth for some insects and amphibians, in which after hatching from their egg, insects are wingless and resemble a caterpillar or grub, and amphibians lack limbs and resemble fish.
  2. An animal in the aforementioned stage.
  3. A form of a recently born or hatched animal that is quite different from its adult stage.

larval

adjective
  1. Of or relating to a larva or larvae.
  2. Being a larva.
  3. Characteristic of larvae.
  4. Having the form or shape of a larva.
  5. (disease) Undeveloped, latent.

lava

noun
  1. The molten rock ejected by a volcano from its crater or fissured sides.
  2. Magma.
  3. A shade of red, named after the volcanic lava.

loaf

Etymology 1

noun
  1. (also loaf of bread) A block of bread after baking.
  2. Any solid block of food, such as meat or sugar.
  3. Shortened from "loaf of bread", the brain or the head (mainly in the phrase use one's loaf).
  4. A solid block of soap, from which standard bars are cut.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To do nothing, to be idle.
  2. (Cockney rhyming slang) To headbutt, (from loaf of bread)

loll

verb
  1. To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
  2. To hang extended from the mouth, like the tongue of an animal heated from exertion.
  3. To let (the tongue) hang from the mouth in this way.

loofa

noun
  1. A tropical vine, of the genus Luffa, having almost cylindrical fruit with a spongy, fibrous interior; the dishcloth gourd
  2. The dried fibrous interior used as a sponge for bathing
  3. Any bathing sponge

luau

noun
  1. An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment.

luff

noun
  1. The vertical edge of a sail that is closest to the direction of the wind.
  2. The act of sailing a ship close to the wind.
  3. The roundest part of a ship's bow.
  4. The forward or weather leech of a sail, especially of the jib, spanker, and other fore-and-aft sails.
verb
  1. (of a sail) To shake due to being trimmed improperly.
  2. (of a boat) To alter course to windward so that the sails luff. (Alternatively luff up)
  3. To let out (a sail) so that it luffs.
  4. To alter the vertical angle of the jib of a crane so as to bring it level with the load.

lull

noun
  1. A period of rest or soothing.
  2. A period of reduced activity; a respite
  3. A period without waves or wind.
  4. An extended pause between sets of waves.
verb
  1. To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm
  2. To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.

lulu

noun
  1. A remarkable person, object or idea.
  2. A very attractive or alluring person.
  3. A very bad mistake or error.
  4. A fixed allowance paid to a legislator in lieu of reimbursement for actual expenses.

offal

noun
  1. The internal organs of an animal, used as animal food.
  2. A by-product of the grain milling process, which may include bran, husks, etc.
  3. A dead body; carrion.
  4. That which is thrown away as worthless or unfit for use; refuse; rubbish.

oral

noun
  1. A spoken test or examination, particularly in a language class.
  2. A physical examination of the mouth.
  3. Oral sex.
adjective
  1. Relating to the mouth.
  2. Spoken rather than written.

oval

noun
  1. An elongated round shape resembling an egg or ellipse.
  2. A thing having such a shape, such as an arena.
  3. In a projective plane, a set of points such that no three are collinear and there is a unique tangent line at each point.
adjective
  1. Having the shape of an oval.
  2. Of or pertaining to an ovum.

ovular

No Definition Found.

roll

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The act or result of rolling, or state of being rolled.
  2. A forward or backward roll in gymnastics; going head over heels. A tumble.
  3. Something which rolls.
  4. A swagger or rolling gait.
  5. A heavy, reverberatory sound.
  6. The uniform beating of a drum with strokes so rapid as scarcely to be distinguished by the ear.
  7. The oscillating movement of a nautical vessel as it rotates from side to side, on its fore-and-aft axis, causing its sides to go up and down, as distinguished from the alternate rise and fall of bow and stern called pitching; or the equivalent in an aircraft.
  8. The measure or extent to which a vessel rotates from side to side, on its fore-and-aft axis.
  9. The rotation angle about the longitudinal axis.
  10. The act of, or total resulting from, rolling one or more dice.
  11. A winning streak of continuing luck, especially at gambling (and especially in the phrase on a roll).
  12. A training match for a fighting dog.
  13. (paddlesport) An instance of the act of righting a canoe or kayak which has capsized, without exiting the watercraft, or being assisted.
  14. (paddlesport) The skill of righting a canoe or kayak which has capsized.
verb
  1. To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface.
  2. To turn over and over.
  3. To tumble in gymnastics; to do a somersault.
  4. To wrap (something) round on itself; to form into a spherical or cylindrical body by causing to turn over and over.
  5. To bind or involve by winding, as in a bandage; to enwrap; often with up.
  6. To be wound or formed into a cylinder or ball.
  7. To drive or impel forward with an easy motion, as of rolling.
  8. To utter copiously, especially with sounding words; to utter with a deep sound; — often with forth, or out.
  9. To press or level with a roller; to spread or form with a roll, roller, or rollers.
  10. To spread itself under a roller or rolling-pin.
  11. To move, or cause to be moved, upon, or by means of, rollers or small wheels.
  12. To leave or begin a journey.
  13. To compete, especially with vigor.
  14. To beat with rapid, continuous strokes, as a drum; to sound a roll upon.
  15. To apply (one line or surface) to another without slipping; to bring all the parts of (one line or surface) into successive contact with another, in such a manner that at every instant the parts that have been in contact are equal.
  16. To turn over in one's mind; to revolve.
  17. To behave in a certain way; to adopt a general disposition toward a situation.
  18. To throw dice.
  19. To roll dice such that they form a given pattern or total.
  20. To create a new character in a role-playing game, especially by using dice to determine properties.
  21. To generate a random number.
  22. (of a vessel) To rotate on its fore-and-aft axis, causing its sides to go up and down. Compare with pitch.
  23. (in folk songs) To travel by sailing.
  24. To beat up; to attack and cause physical damage to.
  25. To cause to betray secrets or to testify for the prosecution.
  26. To betray secrets.
  27. To be under the influence of MDMA (a psychedelic stimulant, also known as ecstasy).
  28. (of a camera) To (cause to) film.
  29. To slip past (a defender) with the ball.
  30. To have a rolling aspect.
  31. To perform a periodical revolution; to move onward as with a revolution.
  32. To move, like waves or billows, with alternate swell and depression.
  33. To move and cause an effect on someone
  34. To make a loud or heavy rumbling noise.
  35. To utter with an alveolar trill.
  36. To enrobe in toilet-paper (as a prank or spectacle).
  37. To create a customized version of.
  38. To engage in sparring in the context of jujitsu or other grappling disciplines.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. That which is rolled up.
  2. A document written on a piece of parchment, paper, or other materials which may be rolled up; a scroll.
  3. An official or public document; a register; a record
  4. A catalogue or list
  5. A quantity of cloth wound into a cylindrical form.
  6. A cylindrical twist of tobacco.
  7. A kind of shortened raised biscuit or bread, often rolled or doubled upon itself; see also bread roll.
  8. Part; office; duty; rôle.
  9. A measure of parchments, containing five dozen.
  10. (paddlesport) An instance of the act of righting a canoe or kayak which has capsized, without exiting the watercraft, or being assisted.

rural

noun
  1. A person from the countryside; a rustic.
adjective
  1. Relating to the countryside or to agriculture.

uvula

noun
  1. The fleshy appendage that hangs from the back of the palate, that closes the nasopharynx during swallowing.
  2. The slight elevation in the mucous membrane immediately behind the internal urethral orifice of the urinary bladder, caused by the middle lobe of the prostate.
  3. An object so suspended inside a bell that it may hit the bell and cause it to ring; a clapper.

uvular

noun
  1. A sound articulated with the uvula.
adjective
  1. Of or relating to the uvula.
  2. Of a sound, articulated with the uvula.

valor

noun
  1. Value; worth.
  2. Strength of mind in regard to danger; that quality which enables a person to encounter danger with firmness

vulva

noun
  1. The external female sexual organs, collectively.

vulval

No Definition Found.

vulvar

No Definition Found.