NYT Connections Answer

Welcome to another daily breakdown of the NYT Connections puzzle! If you’re here, you might be scratching your head over a few tricky overlaps in today’s grid. Whether you need a subtle nudge or the full answer for 2026-02-04, I’ve got you covered.

Today’s puzzle, curated by Wyna Liu, offers a balanced mix of synonyms, hobby-themed clusters, and one of those classic "wordplay" categories that usually hides in the purple slot. Let’s dive into the hints and solutions!

What is Today’s NYT Connections Hint?

If you’re looking to solve it on your own, here is a NYT Connections hint for each color group:

• Yellow: These words describe a state of disagreement or tension between people or groups.
• Green: Think about activities where you might win big (or lose it all) based on luck.
• Blue: These are informal ways to say "roughly" or "somewhere in the ballpark of."
• Purple: Look at the first few letters of these words; they all share a common theme related to professional sports.

Yellow: CONTENTION

The yellow category today is fairly straightforward. These four words all describe a lack of harmony or an ongoing struggle.

• CONFLICT: A serious disagreement or argument.
• DISCORD: Lack of agreement or harmony between people.
• FRICTION: Conflict or animosity caused by a clash of wills.
• RIVALRY: Competition for the same objective or for superiority.

Green: GAMES OF CHANCE

The green group focuses on games where strategy takes a backseat to pure luck or "the luck of the draw."

• BINGO: a game where players mark off numbers on cards.
• CRAPS: A popular casino dice game.
• LOTTERY: A form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers for a prize.
• WAR: A simple card game usually played by children where the highest card wins.

Blue: MORE OR LESS, COLLOQUIALLY

This group was a bit trickier because it relies on how we speak informally. These words are all used when we aren't being exact with numbers or descriptions.

• APPROX: Short for "approximately."
• BOUT: Often used in the phrase "roundabout" or "thereabout," but also shorthand for "about" in some contexts.
• LIKE: Used as a filler to mean "roughly" (e.g., "It was, like, five miles away").
• ROUND: Used when estimating (e.g., "A round hundred").

Purple: STARTING WITH NBA TEAMS

As always, the purple category is the most "meta." To solve this one, you have to look at the beginning of each word and recognize the name of a professional basketball team.

• BULLSEYE: Starts with the Chicago BULLS.
• HEATED: Starts with the Miami HEAT.
• MAGICAL: Starts with the Orlando MAGIC.
• NETSCAPE: Starts with the Brooklyn NETS.

NYT Connections Answer for February 4, 2026

If you just want the final groupings for today's puzzle (ID: 1031), here they are:

• CONTENTION: Conflict, Discord, Friction, Rivalry
• GAMES OF CHANCE: Bingo, Craps, Lottery, War
• MORE OR LESS, COLLOQUIALLY: Approx, Bout, Like, Round
• STARTING WITH NBA TEAMS: Bullseye, Heated, Magical, Netscape

Reflections on Today's Puzzle

Today's "Purple" category was a fun trip down memory lane with NETSCAPE—a word we don't hear much these days! The Blue category was probably the hardest to group, as "BOUT" and "LIKE" are such common words that they often camouflage themselves in other potential categories.

Did you manage to spot the NBA teams early on, or did the "GAMES OF CHANCE" throw you off first?

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you play NYT Connections?

In Connections, you are given a grid of 16 words. You must group them into four sets of four by finding a common thread between them. Each group is color-coded by difficulty: Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (trickiest).

When does NYT Connections reset?

The puzzle resets daily at midnight in your local time zone.

Can a word belong to more than one category?

While a word might seem like it fits in multiple categories, there is only one unique solution where every word fits into a group of four. This "overlap" is a deliberate part of the game's challenge!