The New York Times Spelling Bee for January 10, 2026 offers a mix that feels friendly at first glance but rewards patience. As always, every word must be at least four letters long and include the center letter. Today’s letter set leans consonant-heavy with just enough vowels to keep things flexible, making it easy to start—but harder to finish strong.

About today’s puzzle

With R locked into the center, today’s hive encourages looping, rolling words. The mix of consonants like M, N, and G pairs nicely with the vowels, creating room for repeated-letter constructions. Overall, the puzzle feels fairly open, especially if you’re comfortable spotting “-ing” endings and compound-style builds.

NYT Spelling Bee Words and Answers: January 10, 2026

Here’s a best-effort list of words that fit today’s rules. Keep in mind: some are rare or unusual, so the official NYT list may vary.

  • RIGGING
  • RIGOR
  • RIMMING
  • RING
  • RINGING
  • ROOM
  • ROOMING
  • ROUGING
  • RUIN
  • RUING
  • RUINING
  • RUMOR
  • RUMORING
  • RUNG
  • RUNNING
  • UNMOOR
  • UNMOORING
  • UNRIG
  • UNRIGGING
  • URGING

Pangram of the day

MOURNING is a standout because it neatly pulls together every letter in the hive while still feeling like a natural, everyday word. It weaves vowels and consonants smoothly, includes the required center letter, and doesn’t rely on awkward repetition. That balance makes it especially satisfying to uncover during a solve.

Quick tactics for any puzzle

  • Start with the center letter
  • Play with prefixes and suffixes
  • Anagram your discoveries
  • Use repeated letters
  • Begin with easy 4-letter words

Final thoughts

January 10’s Spelling Bee is a great example of how repetition can be your friend. If you leaned into looping sounds, the board opened up nicely. How many words did you find—and did you spot the pangram early or late?