The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ACELTZI

Monday, January 12, 2026

Words
46
Points
223
Genius
156
Pangram
1

Official answers

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Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • acacia

    noun — A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.

    noun — (history) A roll or bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.

    noun — The thickened or dried juice of several species in Acacieae, in particular Vachellia nilotica (syn. Acacia nilotica), the Egyptian acacia.

    noun — A false acacia; robinia tree, Robinia pseudoacacia.

    noun — Gum arabic; gum acacia.

    noun — Any of several related trees, such as the locust tree.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • acai

    noun — The fruit of these trees, harvested for its juice.

    noun — Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.

    Appeared in 23 recorded puzzles.

  • acetic

    adjective — Of, pertaining to, or producing vinegar

    adjective — Of or pertaining to acetic acid or its derivatives

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • alit

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • atilt

    adjective — At an angle from the vertical or horizontal.

    adverb — At an angle from the vertical or horizontal; at the point of falling over.

    preposition — Diagonally over or across.

    adverb — Tilting or as if tilting (charging with a lance, like a knight on horseback in a joust).

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • 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.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • cacti

    noun — Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.

    noun — Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • calcite

    noun — A very widely distributed crystalline form of calcium carbonate, CaCO3, found as limestone, chalk and marble

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • cattail

    noun — Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, that have long flat leaves, and grow in marshy places

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • celiac

    noun — Someone who has celiac disease.

    adjective — Of, pertaining to or located within the abdomen or abdominal cavity.

    adjective — Of or pertaining to celiac disease.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • celli

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • cilia

    noun — Hairs or similar protrusions along the margin of a plant organ.

    noun — A hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a unicellular organism or one cell of a multicelled organism). These structures serve either for locomotion by moving or as sensors.

    noun — One of the fine hairs along an insect's wing.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • cite

    verb — To quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or the words of another.

    noun — A citation

    verb — To list the source(s) from which one took information, words or literary or verbal context.

    verb — To summon officially or authoritatively to appear in court.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • eclectic

    noun — Someone who selects according to the eclectic method.

    adjective — Selecting a mixture of what appears to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles.

    adjective — Unrelated and unspecialized; heterogeneous.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • elicit

    verb — To evoke, educe (emotions, feelings, responses, etc.); to generate, obtain, or provoke as a response or answer.

    adjective — Elicited; drawn out; made real; open; evident.

    verb — To draw out, bring out, bring forth (something latent); to obtain information from someone or something.

    verb — To use logic to arrive at truth; to derive by reason

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • elite

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • icicle

    noun — A drooping, tapering shape of ice.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • iliac

    adjective — Of or pertaining to the ilium.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • illicit

    noun — A banned or unlawful item.

    adjective — Not approved by law, but not invalid.

    adjective — Breaking social norms.

    adjective — Unlawful.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • italic

    noun — A typeface in which the letters slant to the right.

    adjective — (of a typeface or font) Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.

    noun — An oblique handwriting style, such as used by Italian calligraphers of the Renaissance.

    adjective — (of a typeface or font) Having letters that slant or lean to the right; oblique.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • italicize

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • lactic

    adjective — Of, relating to, or derived from milk

    adjective — (of fermentation) That produces lactic acid

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • laic

    noun — A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.

    adjective — Lay, relating to laypersons, as opposed to clerical.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • laical

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • laicize

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • lattice

    noun — A flat panel constructed with widely-spaced crossed thin strips of wood or other material, commonly used as a garden trellis.

    verb — To make a lattice of.

    noun — A bearing with vertical and horizontal bands that cross each other.

    noun — A regular spacing or arrangement of geometric points, often decorated with a motif.

    noun — A discrete subgroup of Rn which is isomorphic to Zn (considered as an additive group) and spans the real vector space Rn.

    noun — A model of the tuning relationships of a just intonation system, comprising an array of points in a periodic multidimensional pattern.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • lice

    noun — A small parasitic wingless insect of the order Psocodea.

    noun — (not usually used in plural form) A contemptible person; one who is deceitful or causes harm.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • licit

    adjective — Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.

    adjective — Explicitly established or constituted by law.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • lilac

    noun — A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink or purple flowers.

    adjective — Having a pale purple colour.

    noun — A flower of the lilac shrub.

    noun — (color) A pale purple color, the color of some lilac flowers.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • lilt

    noun — A cheerful or melodious accent when speaking.

    noun — Animated, brisk motion; spirited rhythm; sprightliness.

    noun — A lively song or dance; a cheerful tune.

    verb — To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.

    verb — To utter with spirit, animation, or gaiety; to sing with spirit and liveliness.

    verb — To sing cheerfully, especially in Gaelic.

    Appeared in 20 recorded puzzles.

  • lite

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • little

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • tacit

    adjective — Expressed in silence; implied, but not made explicit; silent.

    adjective — Not derived from formal principles of reasoning; based on induction rather than deduction.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • tactic

    noun — A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.

    adjective — Tactical; of or relating to the art of military and naval tactics.

    noun — A maneuver used against an enemy.

    noun — A sequence of moves that limits the opponent's options and results in an immediate and tangible advantage, typically in the form of material.

    adjective — Describing a polymer whose repeat units are identical.

    Appeared in 17 recorded puzzles.

  • tactical

    noun — A combinator of proof tactics.

    adjective — Of, or relating to tactics

    noun — A private war reenactment event involving mock battles or skirmishes.

    adjective — Of, or relating to military operations that are smaller or more local than strategic ones

    adjective — Adroit, skilful or ingenious

    adjective — Having a military appearance, typically with accessories such as a bipod, adjustable stock, detachable magazine or black coloration

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • tactile

    adjective — Tangible; perceptible to the sense of touch.

    adjective — Used for feeling.

    adjective — Of or relating to the sense of touch.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • tail

    noun — The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to its posterior and near the anus.

    noun — The back, last, lower, or inferior part of anything.

    noun — (chiefly in the plural) The side of a coin not bearing the head; normally the side on which the monetary value of the coin is indicated; the reverse.

    noun — The tail-end of an object, e.g. the rear of an aircraft's fuselage, containing the tailfin.

    verb — To follow and observe surreptitiously.

    noun — The latter part of a time period or event, or (collectively) persons or objects represented in this part.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • tali

    noun — The bone of the ankle.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • tallit

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • tile

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • till

    preposition — Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).

    conjunction — Until, until the time that.

    noun — A cash register.

    noun — A removable box within a cash register containing the money.

    noun — The contents of a cash register, for example at the beginning or end of the day or of a cashier's shift.

    verb — To work or cultivate or plough (soil); to prepare for growing vegetation and crops.

    Appeared in 20 recorded puzzles.

  • tilt

    verb — To slope or incline (something); to slant.

    verb — To be at an angle.

    noun — A slope or inclination.

    noun — The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc.

    verb — To play worse than usual (often as a result of previous bad luck or losses).

    noun — The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this.

    Appeared in 20 recorded puzzles.

  • titillate

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • title

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • tittle

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • ziti

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ac×3
  • al×1
  • at×2
  • ca×3
  • ce×2
  • ci×2
  • ec×1
  • el×2
  • ic×1
  • il×2
  • it×2
  • la×5
  • li×6
  • ta×7
  • ti×6
  • zi×1

Words by first letter and length

456789Σ
a 222··· 6
c 1312·· 7
e ·11·1· 3
i ·121·1 5
l 4232·· 11
t 523111 13
z 1····· 1
Σ 131112622 46

The numbers

Genius today takes 156 points of 223 available. The average answer runs 5.5 letters.

Total points vs. all 384 recorded puzzles
57th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
50th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 17432 recorded answers

413 today34.6% all-time511 today22.8% all-time612 today20.0% all-time76 today12.1% all-time82 today6.3% all-time92 today2.6% all-time101.2% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
a Sunday, January 11, 2026 Thursday, January 8, 2026
c Sunday, January 11, 2026 Saturday, January 3, 2026
e Friday, January 9, 2026 Friday, December 5, 2025
i ● Sunday, January 11, 2026 Tuesday, December 30, 2025
l Wednesday, January 7, 2026 Tuesday, December 9, 2025
t Thursday, January 8, 2026 Tuesday, January 6, 2026
z Friday, December 12, 2025 first recorded time

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 42
  2. naan 30
  3. nana 30
  4. onion 29
  5. toot 28
  6. loll 28
  7. mama 25
  8. mamma 25
  9. cocoon 23
  10. acacia 23
  11. acai 23
  12. loon 23
  13. nene 23
  14. bill 22
  15. neon 22
  16. none 22
  17. olio 22
  18. aria 21
  19. onto 21
  20. toon 21
  21. cancan 21
  22. canna 21
  23. lull 20
  24. lulu 20
  25. lilt 20

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.