The Monday, February 9, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle is game #708, and its theme clue is “Frequent flyer.” The answers point to airports: the spangram is AIRPORTS, and the six theme words are RUNWAY, LUGGAGE, SECURITY, PASSPORT, PILOT, and TARMAC. Start with the hints below. The answers sit behind a spoiler boundary further down the page.
Step 1: Use the theme clue
The published theme for February 9 is “Frequent flyer.” Read it as a prompt for things you encounter at an airport, from the check-in process to the runway. Because the theme is a category rather than a phrase, look for ordinary nouns connected to air travel and airport procedure.
Step 2: Understand how Strands hints work
Strands is played by connecting letters into theme words. Parade describes the spangram as the word that summarizes the theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. Every three non-theme words you find earns a hint, which reveals letters of a theme word. Parade’s guide is at https://parade.com/living/nyt-strands-hints-answers-today-spangram-monday-february-9-2026.
Non-theme words to unlock hints
TechRadar suggests these non-answer words as ways to unlock in-game hints: TRAP, SPORT, PITY, GROPE, MURAL, and COIL. They are not theme words, so finding them helps you earn hints without revealing the answers. TechRadar’s answer page is at https://www.techradar.com/computing/websites-apps/nyt-strands-today-answers-hints-9-february-2026.
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The spangram hint
The spangram is an eight-letter word. It touches the left and right sides of the board, so trace a path from one edge to the opposite edge. If you have found several theme words, look for the longest remaining path that spans the grid.
Spoiler boundary: spangram and theme words
Stop reading here if you want to solve the puzzle on your own.
Spangram
AIRPORTS
Theme words
- RUNWAY
- LUGGAGE
- SECURITY
- PASSPORT
- PILOT
- TARMAC
A note on the spelling of RUNWAY
Forbes lists the theme word as RUNAWAY in its February 9 coverage, at https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/02/08/todays-nyt-strands-hints-spangram-answers-monday-february-9-frequent-flyer/. TechRadar and Parade both list RUNWAY, and that spelling is the one that fits an airport theme, so RUNWAY is the answer here.
About the theme style
Forbes quotes a New York Times statement that some Strands themes are fill-in-the-blank phrases, steps in a process, items in the same category, synonyms, or homophones. February 9 falls in the category type: every theme word is a thing you would find in an airport. That is a useful pattern to check for on other days.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The Bottom Line
AIRPORTS is the spangram, and RUNWAY, LUGGAGE, SECURITY, PASSPORT, PILOT, and TARMAC are the theme words for game #708 on Monday, February 9, 2026.
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