The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ACDEIPH

Friday, January 9, 2026

Words
37
Points
174
Genius
121
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 37 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • ache

    verb — To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.

    noun — Continued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain.

    verb — To cause someone or something to suffer pain.

    noun — The name of the Latin-script letter H.

    noun — Parsley

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • ached

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • ahead

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • aphid

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cache

    noun — A fast temporary storage where recently or frequently used information is stored to avoid having to reload it from a slower storage medium.

    noun — A store of things that may be required in the future, which can be retrieved rapidly, protected or hidden in some way.

    noun — (geocaching) A container containing treasure in a global treasure-hunt game.

    verb — To place in a cache.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • cached

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • chad

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • chai

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • chap

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • chapped

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • cheap

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cheapie

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cheep

    verb — Of a small bird, to make short, high-pitched sounds sounding like "cheep".

    noun — A short, high-pitched sound made by a small bird.

    interjection — The short, high-pitched sound made by a small bird.

    verb — To express in a chirping tone.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • cheeped

    verb — Of a small bird, to make short, high-pitched sounds sounding like "cheep".

    verb — To express in a chirping tone.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • chia

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • chic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • chica

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • chichi

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • chide

    verb — To admonish in blame; to reproach angrily.

    verb — To utter words of disapprobation and displeasure; to find fault; to contend angrily.

    verb — To make a clamorous noise; to chafe.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • chided

    verb — To admonish in blame; to reproach angrily.

    verb — To utter words of disapprobation and displeasure; to find fault; to contend angrily.

    verb — To make a clamorous noise; to chafe.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • chip

    noun — A small piece broken from a larger piece of solid material.

    verb — To chop or cut into small pieces.

    noun — A damaged area of a surface where a small piece has been broken off.

    noun — (games) A token used in place of cash.

    noun — A sovereign (the coin).

    noun — A circuit fabricated in one piece on a small, thin substrate.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • chipped

    verb — To break small pieces from.

    adjective — Having one or more chips (small pieces) missing.

    verb — To chop or cut into small pieces.

    verb — (often with "in") to contribute.

    verb — To become chipped.

    verb — To play a shot hitting the ball predominantly upwards rather than forwards. In association football specifically, when the shot is a shot on goal, the opposing goalkeeper may be the direct object of the verb, rather than the ball.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • dacha

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • deadhead

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • deadheaded

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • each

    pronoun — Every one; every thing.

    adverb — For one; apiece; per.

    noun — (operations) An individual item: the least quantitative unit in a grouping.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • head

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • headache

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • headed

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • headpiece

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • heap

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • heaped

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • heed

    verb — To mind; to regard with care; to take notice of; to attend to; to observe.

    verb — To pay attention, care.

    noun — Careful attention.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • heeded

    verb — To mind; to regard with care; to take notice of; to attend to; to observe.

    verb — To pay attention, care.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • hide

    verb — To put (something) in a place where it will be harder to discover or out of sight.

    verb — To put oneself in a place where one will be harder to find or out of sight.

    noun — The skin of an animal.

    noun — A secret room for hiding oneself or valuables; a hideaway.

    noun — (mainly British) A covered structure from which hunters, birdwatchers, etc can observe animals without scaring them.

    noun — The human skin.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • hippie

    noun — (1960s slang; still widely used in reference to that era) One who chooses not to conform to prevailing social norms: especially one who subscribes to values or actions such as acceptance or self-practice of recreational drug use, liberal or radical sexual mores, advocacy of communal living, strong pacifism or anti-war sentiment, etc.

    noun — Someone who dresses in a hippie style.

    noun — (modern slang) A person who keeps an unkempt or sloppy appearance and wearing unusually long hair (for males), and because of it, often stereotyped as a deadbeat.

    adjective — Of or pertaining to hippies.

    adjective — Not conforming to generally accepted standards.

    noun — (1950s slang) A teenager who imitated the beatniks.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • peach

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ac×2
  • ah×1
  • ap×1
  • ca×2
  • ch×16
  • da×1
  • de×2
  • ea×1
  • he×8
  • hi×2
  • pe×1

Words by first letter and length

45678910Σ
a 13····· 4
c 6534··· 18
d ·1··1·1 3
e 1······ 1
h 4·4·11· 10
p ·1····· 1
Σ 121074211 37

The numbers

Genius today takes 121 points of 174 available. The average answer runs 5.5 letters.

Total points vs. all 436 recorded puzzles
36th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
29th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 19742 recorded answers

412 today34.4% all-time510 today22.9% all-time67 today20.1% all-time74 today12.1% all-time82 today6.2% all-time91 today2.6% all-time101 today1.2% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a Thursday, January 8, 2026 Thursday, January 8, 2026
c Saturday, January 3, 2026 Saturday, January 3, 2026
d Thursday, January 8, 2026 Thursday, December 4, 2025
e Thursday, January 8, 2026 Friday, December 5, 2025
h ● Friday, January 2, 2026 Wednesday, December 3, 2025
i Thursday, January 8, 2026 Tuesday, December 30, 2025
p Wednesday, January 7, 2026 Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 45
  2. naan 35
  3. nana 35
  4. toot 32
  5. onion 31
  6. loll 30
  7. mama 28
  8. mamma 28
  9. acacia 26
  10. acai 26
  11. nene 26
  12. mini 25
  13. minim 25
  14. cocoon 24
  15. imam 24
  16. maim 24
  17. onto 24
  18. toon 24
  19. loon 24
  20. olio 24
  21. lilt 23
  22. till 23
  23. tilt 23
  24. aria 23
  25. mitt 23

Valid words the Bee rejected

Dictionary words the Bee never takes

Legitimate words (per the ENABLE list) that fit the letters but aren't official answers — usually judged too obscure.