NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 2, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, e, h, o, u, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 23 words |
| Total Points | 79 points |
| Genius Level | 55 points |
| Bingo? | No |
Table of Contents
As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!
- Spelling Bee Grid
- Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
- Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
- Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
- Today's Complete Solution
- Answer Definitions
If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).
Spelling Bee Grid
The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| E | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| H | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 5 |
| N | 6 | 1 | - | - | - | 7 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 13 | 5 | 3 | - | 2 | 23 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| B | BE×1 BO×6 BU×1 |
|---|---|
| E | EB×2 EN×1 |
| H | HO×5 |
| N | NE×2 NO×4 NU×1 |
| O | |
| U | |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| B | BEE×1 BON×5 BOO×1 BUN×1 |
|---|---|
| E | EBO×2 ENB×1 |
| H | HOB×1 HON×4 |
| N | NEN×1 NEO×1 NON×1 NOO×2 NOU×1 NUB×1 |
| O | |
| U | |
| Y |
Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)
The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.
Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.
Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| ho...... † | HO8 | A type of bun or pastry sweetened with honey. |
| be.. | BE4 | past participle of be. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates. |
| bo... | BO5 | Alternative spelling of bonnie |
| bo.... | BO6 | The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river. |
| bo.. | BO4 | resembling, having the appearance or consistence of, or relating to bone; osseous. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A prayer; petition. |
| bu... | BU5 | A rabbit, especially a juvenile. |
| eb.. | EB4 | (now poetic) Ebony; an ebony tree. |
| eb... | EB5 | A hard, dense, deep black wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros. |
| en.. | EN4 | A person whose gender identity is not strictly male or female; one who is outside of the gender binary. |
| ho.... | HO6 | A toast made while touching glasses together. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A sharpening stone composed of extra-fine grit used for removing the burr or curl from the blade of a razor or some other edge tool. |
| ho... | HO5 | A viscous, sweet fluid produced from plant nectar by bees. Often used to sweeten tea or to spread on baked goods. |
| ho...... | HO8 | Alternative form of honey bee |
| ne.. | NE4 | The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The second of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas. |
| no.. | NO4 | Not any of a given number or group. |
| no.. | NO4 | A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| no.. | NO4 | A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English. |
| nu... | NU5 | Knobbly; covered with small knobs. |
Today's Complete Solution
The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.
Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.
- honeybun† (HO8)
- been (BE4)
- bonbon (BO6)
- bone (BO4)
- bonny (BO5)
- bonobo (BO6)
- bony (BO4)
- boon (BO4)
- bunny (BU5)
- ebon (EB4)
- ebony (EB5)
- enby (EN4)
- hobnob (HO6)
- hone (HO4)
- honey (HO5)
- honeybee (HO8)
- nene (NE4)
- neon (NE4)
- none (NO4)
- noob (NO4)
- noon (NO4)
- noun (NO4)
- nubby (NU5)
Answer Definitions
- honeybun† (noun): A type of bun or pastry sweetened with honey.
- been (verb): past participle of be.
- bonbon (noun): A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy.
- bone (noun): A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
- bonny (adjective): Alternative spelling of bonnie
- bonobo (noun): The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river.
- bony (adjective): resembling, having the appearance or consistence of, or relating to bone; osseous.
- boon (noun): A prayer; petition.
- bunny (noun): A rabbit, especially a juvenile.
- ebon (noun): (now poetic) Ebony; an ebony tree.
- ebony (noun): A hard, dense, deep black wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros.
- enby (noun): A person whose gender identity is not strictly male or female; one who is outside of the gender binary.
- hobnob (noun): A toast made while touching glasses together.
- hone (noun): A sharpening stone composed of extra-fine grit used for removing the burr or curl from the blade of a razor or some other edge tool.
- honey (noun): A viscous, sweet fluid produced from plant nectar by bees. Often used to sweeten tea or to spread on baked goods.
- honeybee (noun): Alternative form of honey bee
- nene (noun): The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.
- neon (noun): The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The second of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas.
- none (pronoun): Not any of a given number or group.
- noob (noun): A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- noun (noun): A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.
- nubby (adjective): Knobbly; covered with small knobs.