NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 31, 2026
Game Summary
| Center Letter | R |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, f, i, l, o, w |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 36 words |
| Total Points | 134 points |
| Genius Level | 94 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 8 |
| F | 2 | 7 | 2 | - | 1 | 12 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| L | 3 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| R | 8 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 10 |
| W | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | Σ | 18 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 36 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AF×3 AI×2 AR×3 |
|---|---|
| F | FA×3 FL×4 FO×2 FR×3 |
| I | |
| L | LA×1 LI×2 |
| O | OR×1 |
| R | RA×2 RI×4 RO×4 |
| W | WA×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AFA×1 AFF×1 AFR×1 AIR×2 ARI×2 ARR×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FAI×1 FAR×2 FLA×1 FLO×3 FOO×1 FOR×1 FRA×1 FRI×2 |
| I | |
| L | LAI×1 LIA×1 LIR×1 |
| O | ORA×1 |
| R | RAF×1 RAI×1 RIA×1 RIF×2 RIL×1 ROA×1 ROI×1 ROL×1 ROO×1 |
| W | WAL×1 WAR×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ai..... † | AI7 | Any flow of air, especially the motion of air around a moving aircraft or aerofoil. |
| af.. | AF4 | At, to, or from a great distance; far away. |
| af.... | AF6 | Something which is done or is to be done; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public. |
| af.. | AF4 | hairstyle characterized by tightly curled locks and a rounded shape. |
| ai..... | AI7 | A structure shaped to produce lift when moving in air. |
| ar.. | AR4 | A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata. |
| ar.. | AR4 | A tissue surrounding the seed in certain fruits such as pomegranates. |
| ar... | AR5 | A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow. |
| fa.. | FA4 | Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality. |
| fa... | FA5 | Emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum). |
| fa.... | FA6 | A litter of piglets. |
| fl... | FL5 | A natural or innate talent or aptitude. |
| fl... | FL5 | The interior bottom or surface of a house or building; the supporting surface of a room. |
| fl... | FL5 | Plants considered as a group, especially those of a particular country, region, time, etc. |
| fl.... | FL6 | Of, pertaining to, or connected with flowers. |
| fo...... | FO8 | Overly excessive or flashy ornamentation or decoration. |
| fo.. | FO4 | plural of forum (alternative form of forums). |
| fr... | FR5 | Easily broken physically; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish. |
| fr... | FR5 | A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites, Franciscans, or the Dominicans. |
| fr... | FR5 | A strip of pleated fabric or paper used as decoration or trim. |
| la.. | LA4 | A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground. |
| li.. | LI4 | One who frequently tells lies. |
| li.. | LI4 | The basic unit of currency in Turkey. |
| or.. | OR4 | Relating to the mouth. |
| ra.... | RA6 | A fibrous material used for tying plants, originating from the leaves of the raffia palm tree (genus Raphia). |
| ra.. | RA4 | A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing. |
| ri.. | RI4 | The official currencies of Iran, Oman, and Yemen. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A repeated instrumental melody line in a song. |
| ri...... | RI8 | The rabble; crowds; the common people. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of. |
| ro.. | RO4 | 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. |
| ro.. | RO4 | The external covering at the top of a building. |
| wa...... | WA8 | Any of three closely related species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. |
| wa..... | WA7 | A person who is actively engaged in battle, conflict or warfare; a soldier or combatant. |
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.
- airflow† (AI7)
- afar (AF4)
- affair (AF6)
- afro (AF4)
- airfoil (AI7)
- aria (AR4)
- aril (AR4)
- arrow (AR5)
- fair (FA4)
- farro (FA5)
- farrow (FA6)
- flair (FL5)
- floor (FL5)
- flora (FL5)
- floral (FL6)
- foofaraw (FO8)
- fora (FO4)
- frail (FR5)
- friar (FR5)
- frill (FR5)
- lair (LA4)
- liar (LI4)
- lira (LI4)
- oral (OR4)
- raffia (RA6)
- rail (RA4)
- rial (RI4)
- riff (RI4)
- riffraff (RI8)
- rill (RI4)
- roar (RO4)
- roil (RO4)
- roll (RO4)
- roof (RO4)
- wallaroo (WA8)
- warrior (WA7)
Answer Definitions
- airflow† (noun): Any flow of air, especially the motion of air around a moving aircraft or aerofoil.
- afar (adverb): At, to, or from a great distance; far away.
- affair (noun): Something which is done or is to be done; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public.
- afro (noun): hairstyle characterized by tightly curled locks and a rounded shape.
- airfoil (noun): A structure shaped to produce lift when moving in air.
- aria (noun): A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata.
- aril (noun): A tissue surrounding the seed in certain fruits such as pomegranates.
- arrow (noun): A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow.
- fair (adjective): Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.
- farro (noun): Emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum).
- farrow (noun): A litter of piglets.
- flair (noun): A natural or innate talent or aptitude.
- floor (noun): The interior bottom or surface of a house or building; the supporting surface of a room.
- flora (noun): Plants considered as a group, especially those of a particular country, region, time, etc.
- floral (adjective): Of, pertaining to, or connected with flowers.
- foofaraw (noun): Overly excessive or flashy ornamentation or decoration.
- fora (noun): plural of forum (alternative form of forums).
- frail (adjective): Easily broken physically; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish.
- friar (noun): A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites, Franciscans, or the Dominicans.
- frill (noun): A strip of pleated fabric or paper used as decoration or trim.
- lair (noun): A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
- liar (noun): One who frequently tells lies.
- lira (noun): The basic unit of currency in Turkey.
- oral (adjective): Relating to the mouth.
- raffia (noun): A fibrous material used for tying plants, originating from the leaves of the raffia palm tree (genus Raphia).
- rail (noun): A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing.
- rial (noun): The official currencies of Iran, Oman, and Yemen.
- riff (noun): A repeated instrumental melody line in a song.
- riffraff (noun): The rabble; crowds; the common people.
- rill (noun): A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet.
- roar (verb): To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.
- roil (verb): To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of.
- roll (verb): 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.
- roof (noun): The external covering at the top of a building.
- wallaroo (noun): Any of three closely related species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies.
- warrior (noun): A person who is actively engaged in battle, conflict or warfare; a soldier or combatant.