Today’s NYT Spelling Bee puzzle was a satisfying mix of short everyday words and one standout pangram that tied the entire grid together. With T locked in as the mandatory center letter, the real challenge was spotting how the surrounding letters could stretch into a longer, high-scoring word.

Let’s break down how this puzzle came together, how the pangram was found, and the full list of valid words you can submit today.

Today’s Letters

• Center letter: T

• Outer letters: A, C, I, K, L, O

So every valid word must:

• Be 4 letters or longer

• Include the letter T

• Use only the letters A C I K L O T

The Pangram for Today

Pangram: COCKTAIL

This is the only pangram for today’s puzzle.

COCKTAIL uses all seven letters at least once:

• C

• O

• C

• K

• T

• A

• I

• L

While it’s not a perfect pangram (because some letters repeat), it’s still the key word that unlocks the higher score tiers and confirms you’ve fully cracked the puzzle.

How to find NYT Spelling Bee pangram fast

How I Found the Pangram

I usually start by scanning for strong consonant clusters, and today the letter K immediately stood out. K rarely appears alone in Spelling Bee puzzles — it almost always pairs with C, O, or I.

From there:

• CO felt natural

• COCK appeared quickly

• Adding T gave structure

• AIL is a very common ending in Spelling Bee words

Once those pieces snapped together, COCKTAIL became obvious — and it instantly confirmed that all seven letters were usable.

Full Word List for 9 February 2026

Here are all accepted words, grouped for clarity.

4-Letter Words

• ALIT

• ALTO
• CLOT
• COOT
• IOTA
• KILT
• LILT
• LOOT
• TACK
• TACO
• TACT
• TAIL
• TALC
• TALI
• TALK
• TALL
• TICK
• TIKI
• TILL
• TILT
• TOCK
• TOIL
• TOLL
• TOOK
• TOOL
• TOOT

5-Letter Words

• ALLOT
• ATILT
• ATOLL
• ATTIC
• CACTI
• COATI
• LICIT
• LOTTO
• OCTAL
• TACIT
• TIKKA
• TOTAL

6-Letter Words

• ATTACK
• COITAL
• ITALIC
• LACTIC
• TACTIC
• TALLIT
• TATTOO

7+-Letter Words

• COCKTAIL (PANGRAM)

• CATCALL
• CATTAIL
• COATTAIL
• COCKATOO
• ILLICIT
• TACTICAL
• TAILCOAT
• TICKTOCK
• TOCCATA
• TOOLKIT

Note: NYT Spelling Bee does not allow proper nouns or hyphenated words, so related forms outside this list won’t count.

Strategy Tips from Today’s Puzzle

• Don’t ignore K: If a puzzle includes K, there’s almost always a longer word hiding.

• Endings matter: Suffixes like -AIL, -TAL, and -TIC helped build multiple valid words.

• Build outward: Finding COCK first made it easier to extend into the full pangram.

Lessons from Today’s Puzzle

The 9 February 2026 Spelling Bee puzzle was a great example of how one strong pangram can organize the entire board. Once COCKTAIL was found, many smaller words fell into place naturally.

If you enjoy puzzles like this, practicing daily pangrams is one of the fastest ways to improve both your Spelling Bee scores and your vocabulary range.

Come back tomorrow for the next pangram breakdown — and see how fast you can reach Genius.