NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 23, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | K |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, c, d, e, l, o |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 38 words |
| Total Points | 173 points |
| Genius Level | 121 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 | 9 | 10 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 9 |
| C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| D | 3 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| E | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| K | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| L | 3 | - | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 15 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 38 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| B | BE×3 BL×3 BO×3 |
|---|---|
| C | CE×1 CL×2 CO×9 |
| D | DE×5 DO×2 |
| E | EK×1 |
| K | KE×2 KO×1 |
| L | LE×1 LO×5 |
| O |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| B | BEC×1 BED×2 BLO×3 BOC×1 BOO×2 |
|---|---|
| C | CEL×1 CLO×2 COC×3 COK×1 COL×2 COO×3 |
| D | DEC×3 DEK×2 DOC×2 |
| E | EKE×1 |
| K | KEE×2 KOO×1 |
| L | LEE×1 LOC×2 LOO×3 |
| O |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| bl..... † | BL7 | Obstructed, so that through movement or flow is prevented or impeded. |
| be.. | BE4 | A stream or small river. |
| be.... | BE6 | To deck, ornament, or adorn; to grace. |
| be...... | BE8 | Covered; encrusted; arrayed. |
| bl... | BL5 | A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. |
| bl... | BL5 | An exemplar of a certain masculine, independent male archetype. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A strong dark beer brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for spring consumption. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc. |
| bo.... | BO6 | simple past tense and past participle of book |
| ce....... | CE9 | A wing of a prison containing cells for the inmates. |
| cl... | CL5 | An instrument that measures or keeps track of time; a non-wearable timepiece. |
| cl..... | CL7 | simple past tense and past participle of clock |
| co.. | CO4 | A male bird, especially: A rooster: a male gallinaceous bird, especially a male domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). A cock pigeon. |
| co.... | CO6 | drunk |
| co.... | CO6 | Any of various edible European bivalve mollusks, of the family Cardiidae, having heart-shaped shells. |
| co.. | CO4 | Solid residue from roasting coal in a coke oven; used principally as a fuel and in the production of steel and formerly as a domestic fuel. |
| co...... | CO8 | To strike someone so forcefully that they are rendered unconscious. |
| co........ | CO10 | simple past tense and past participle of coldcock |
| co.. | CO4 | A person who prepares food. |
| co...... | CO8 | A book or an encyclopedia of recipes and cookery tips. |
| co.... | CO6 | Of food, that has been prepared by cooking. |
| de.. | DE4 | Any raised flat surface that can be walked on: a balcony; a porch; a raised patio; a flat rooftop. |
| de.... | DE6 | simple past tense and past participle of deck |
| de.... | DE6 | A frame or edge which limits the pulp and, consequently, the size of the resulting paper. |
| de.. | DE4 | A feint, fake, or other move made by the player with the puck to deceive a goaltender or defenceman. |
| de... | DE5 | simple past tense and past participle of deke |
| do.. | DO4 | Any of the genus Rumex of coarse weedy plants with small green flowers related to buckwheat, especially bitter dock (Rumex obtusifolius), and used as potherbs and in folk medicine, especially in curing nettle rash. |
| do.... | DO6 | simple past tense and past participle of dock |
| ek.. | EK4 | simple past tense and past participle of eke |
| ke.. | KE4 | A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern. |
| ke.... | KE6 | simple past tense and past participle of keel |
| ko.. | KO4 | An eccentric, strange or crazy person. |
| le.. | LE4 | The vegetable Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion. |
| lo.. | LO4 | Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination. |
| lo.... | LO6 | simple past tense and past participle of lock |
| lo.. | LO4 | To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes. |
| lo...... | LO8 | A comprehensive directory of fashion-related companies and people, such as fashion designers, industry figures, brands and retail stores. |
| lo.... | LO6 | simple past tense and past participle of look |
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.
- blocked† (BL7)
- beck (BE4)
- bedeck (BE6)
- bedecked (BE8)
- block (BL5)
- bloke (BL5)
- bock (BO4)
- book (BO4)
- booked (BO6)
- cellblock (CE9)
- clock (CL5)
- clocked (CL7)
- cock (CO4)
- cocked (CO6)
- cockle (CO6)
- coke (CO4)
- coldcock (CO8)
- coldcocked (CO10)
- cook (CO4)
- cookbook (CO8)
- cooked (CO6)
- deck (DE4)
- decked (DE6)
- deckle (DE6)
- deke (DE4)
- deked (DE5)
- dock (DO4)
- docked (DO6)
- eked (EK4)
- keel (KE4)
- keeled (KE6)
- kook (KO4)
- leek (LE4)
- lock (LO4)
- locked (LO6)
- look (LO4)
- lookbook (LO8)
- looked (LO6)
Answer Definitions
- blocked† (adjective): Obstructed, so that through movement or flow is prevented or impeded.
- beck (noun): A stream or small river.
- bedeck (verb): To deck, ornament, or adorn; to grace.
- bedecked (adjective): Covered; encrusted; arrayed.
- block (noun): A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.
- bloke (noun): An exemplar of a certain masculine, independent male archetype.
- bock (noun): A strong dark beer brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for spring consumption.
- book (noun): A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
- booked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of book
- cellblock (noun): A wing of a prison containing cells for the inmates.
- clock (noun): An instrument that measures or keeps track of time; a non-wearable timepiece.
- clocked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of clock
- cock (noun): A male bird, especially: A rooster: a male gallinaceous bird, especially a male domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). A cock pigeon.
- cocked (adjective): drunk
- cockle (noun): Any of various edible European bivalve mollusks, of the family Cardiidae, having heart-shaped shells.
- coke (noun): Solid residue from roasting coal in a coke oven; used principally as a fuel and in the production of steel and formerly as a domestic fuel.
- coldcock (verb): To strike someone so forcefully that they are rendered unconscious.
- coldcocked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of coldcock
- cook (noun): A person who prepares food.
- cookbook (noun): A book or an encyclopedia of recipes and cookery tips.
- cooked (adjective): Of food, that has been prepared by cooking.
- deck (noun): Any raised flat surface that can be walked on: a balcony; a porch; a raised patio; a flat rooftop.
- decked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deck
- deckle (noun): A frame or edge which limits the pulp and, consequently, the size of the resulting paper.
- deke (noun): A feint, fake, or other move made by the player with the puck to deceive a goaltender or defenceman.
- deked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of deke
- dock (noun): Any of the genus Rumex of coarse weedy plants with small green flowers related to buckwheat, especially bitter dock (Rumex obtusifolius), and used as potherbs and in folk medicine, especially in curing nettle rash.
- docked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of dock
- eked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of eke
- keel (noun): A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern.
- keeled (verb): simple past tense and past participle of keel
- kook (noun): An eccentric, strange or crazy person.
- leek (noun): The vegetable Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.
- lock (noun): Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.
- locked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of lock
- look (verb): To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes.
- lookbook (noun): A comprehensive directory of fashion-related companies and people, such as fashion designers, industry figures, brands and retail stores.
- looked (verb): simple past tense and past participle of look