NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 18, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, d, g, i, n, t |
| # of Pangrams | 3 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 50 words |
| Total Points | 324 points |
| Genius Level | 227 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
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 | 9 | 10 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 11 |
| C | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | 14 |
| D | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| G | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| I | - | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| N | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 7 | Σ | 4 | 10 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 50 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×6 AD×2 AN×2 AT×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×12 CI×2 |
| D | DA×1 DI×5 |
| G | GI×1 |
| I | IC×1 IN×9 |
| N | NI×1 |
| T | TA×5 TI×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACA×2 ACI×3 ACT×1 ADD×2 ANT×2 ATT×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAC×1 CAD×1 CAG×1 CAN×9 CIC×1 CIT×1 |
| D | DAN×1 DIC×3 DID×2 |
| G | GIG×1 |
| I | ICI×1 INC×3 IND×5 INT×1 |
| N | NIA×1 |
| T | TAC×4 TAN×1 TIN×1 TIT×1 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ad....... † | AD9 | No definition found; request failed |
| di....... † | DI9 | No definition found; request failed |
| in........ † | IN10 | No definition found; request failed |
| ac.... | AC6 | A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar. |
| ac.... | AC6 | Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red. |
| ac... | AC5 | present participle of ace |
| ac.... | AC6 | Temporarily assuming the duties or authority of another person when they are unable to do their job. |
| ad.... | AD6 | A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug |
| an..... | AN7 | An agent that counteracts or neutralizes acidity, especially in the stomach. |
| an... | AN5 | Playful, funny, absurd. |
| at... | AT5 | The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation. |
| ca... | CA5 | plural of cactus |
| ca..... | CA7 | present participle of cadge |
| ca.... | CA6 | present participle of cage |
| ca.... | CA6 | A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France. |
| ca.... | CA6 | Impartial and free from prejudice. |
| ca... | CA5 | Any member of the family Canidae, including dogs, wolves, foxes, coyotes and jackals. |
| ca.... | CA6 | present participle of cane |
| ca... | CA5 | Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers. |
| ca..... | CA7 | present participle of can (“to be able to”) |
| ca.. | CA4 | An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup. |
| ca..... | CA7 | A vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century Italian music. |
| ca..... | CA7 | A drinking establishment, often specifically of the type found in Latin America. |
| ci.... | CI6 | Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. The periodical cicada. |
| ci.... | CI6 | present participle of cite |
| da..... | DA7 | The activity of taking part in a dance. |
| di.... | DI6 | present participle of dice |
| di... | DI5 | plural of dictum |
| di.... | DI6 | a didactic person |
| di...... | DI8 | Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality. |
| gi...... | GI8 | Very large. |
| ic... | IC5 | A sweet, often creamy and thick glaze made primarily of sugar, often enriched with ingredients like butter, egg whites, or flavorings, typically used for baked goods. |
| in.... | IN6 | To state solemnly, to chant. |
| in....... | IN9 | present participle of incant |
| in...... | IN8 | present participle of incite |
| in.... | IN6 | Any of the indica subspecies of the rice, Oryza sativa, which (unlike the japonica or sinica subspecies) are non-sticky and long-grained. |
| in..... | IN7 | plural of indicium |
| in.... | IN6 | To accuse of wrongdoing; charge. |
| in....... | IN9 | present participle of indict |
| in.... | IN6 | Left complete or whole; not touched, defiled, sullied or otherwise damaged. |
| ni.... | NI6 | A water-soluble vitamin, a component of vitamin B complex, found in meat, yeast, and dairy products; it is essential to metabolism. |
| ta... | TA5 | Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence. |
| ta.. | TA4 | The sense of touch; feeling. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end. |
| ta....... | TA9 | A person skilled in the planning and execution of tactics. |
| ta.... | TA6 | Pertaining to, containing, or obtained from tannin. |
| ti... | TI5 | A tint or colour. |
| ti..... | TI7 | Alternative letter-case form of Titanic Of or relating to the Titans, a race of giant gods in Greek mythology. Having great size, or great force, power, or strength. Of a conflict or contest: involving equally powerful participants. |
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.
- addicting† (AD9)
- dictating† (DI9)
- indicating† (IN10)
- acacia (AC6)
- acai (AC4)
- acid (AC4)
- acidic (AC6)
- acing (AC5)
- acting (AC6)
- addict (AD6)
- antacid (AN7)
- antic (AN5)
- attic (AT5)
- cacti (CA5)
- cadging (CA7)
- caging (CA6)
- cancan (CA6)
- candid (CA6)
- canid (CA5)
- caning (CA6)
- canna (CA5)
- canning (CA7)
- cant (CA4)
- cantata (CA7)
- cantina (CA7)
- cicada (CI6)
- citing (CI6)
- dancing (DA7)
- dicing (DI6)
- dicta (DI5)
- didact (DI6)
- didactic (DI8)
- gigantic (GI8)
- icing (IC5)
- incant (IN6)
- incanting (IN9)
- inciting (IN8)
- indica (IN6)
- indicia (IN7)
- indict (IN6)
- indicting (IN9)
- intact (IN6)
- niacin (NI6)
- tacit (TA5)
- tact (TA4)
- tactic (TA6)
- tactician (TA9)
- tannic (TA6)
- tinct (TI5)
- titanic (TI7)
Answer Definitions
- addicting† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- dictating† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- indicating† (n/a): No definition found; request failed
- acacia (noun): A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
- acai (noun): Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
- acid (adjective): Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar.
- acidic (adjective): Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red.
- acing (verb): present participle of ace
- acting (adjective): Temporarily assuming the duties or authority of another person when they are unable to do their job.
- addict (noun): A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug
- antacid (noun): An agent that counteracts or neutralizes acidity, especially in the stomach.
- antic (adjective): Playful, funny, absurd.
- attic (noun): The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.
- cacti (noun): plural of cactus
- cadging (verb): present participle of cadge
- caging (verb): present participle of cage
- cancan (noun): A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.
- candid (adjective): Impartial and free from prejudice.
- canid (noun): Any member of the family Canidae, including dogs, wolves, foxes, coyotes and jackals.
- caning (verb): present participle of cane
- canna (noun): Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.
- canning (verb): present participle of can (“to be able to”)
- cant (noun): An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup.
- cantata (noun): A vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century Italian music.
- cantina (noun): A drinking establishment, often specifically of the type found in Latin America.
- cicada (noun): Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. The periodical cicada.
- citing (verb): present participle of cite
- dancing (noun): The activity of taking part in a dance.
- dicing (verb): present participle of dice
- dicta (noun): plural of dictum
- didact (noun): a didactic person
- didactic (adjective): Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality.
- gigantic (adjective): Very large.
- icing (noun): A sweet, often creamy and thick glaze made primarily of sugar, often enriched with ingredients like butter, egg whites, or flavorings, typically used for baked goods.
- incant (verb): To state solemnly, to chant.
- incanting (verb): present participle of incant
- inciting (verb): present participle of incite
- indica (noun): Any of the indica subspecies of the rice, Oryza sativa, which (unlike the japonica or sinica subspecies) are non-sticky and long-grained.
- indicia (noun): plural of indicium
- indict (verb): To accuse of wrongdoing; charge.
- indicting (verb): present participle of indict
- intact (adjective): Left complete or whole; not touched, defiled, sullied or otherwise damaged.
- niacin (noun): A water-soluble vitamin, a component of vitamin B complex, found in meat, yeast, and dairy products; it is essential to metabolism.
- tacit (adjective): Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence.
- tact (noun): The sense of touch; feeling.
- tactic (noun): A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
- tactician (noun): A person skilled in the planning and execution of tactics.
- tannic (adjective): Pertaining to, containing, or obtained from tannin.
- tinct (noun): A tint or colour.
- titanic (adjective): Alternative letter-case form of Titanic Of or relating to the Titans, a race of giant gods in Greek mythology. Having great size, or great force, power, or strength. Of a conflict or contest: involving equally powerful participants.