Word ladder answers for April 5, 2026
The daily ladder for Sunday, April 5, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was WAVES to MARTS, solvable in 3 steps, and the longest was SHIM to UPEND, which needs at least 6.
Each solution below is hidden until you open it, so you can try the puzzle first. A shortest solution is shown for every puzzle; many ladders have more than one path of the same length, so yours may differ and still be optimal.
Puzzle 1: WAVES to MARTS
Show the solution
- V becomes R
- E becomes T
- W becomes M
Words in this ladder
- WAVES noun
- one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
- WARES noun
- articles of the same kind or material; usually used in combination: `silverware', `software'
- WARTS noun
- any small rounded protuberance (as on certain plants or animals)
- MARTS noun
- an area in a town where a public mercantile establishment is set up
Puzzle 2: HAWS to PALE
Show the solution
- H becomes P
- W becomes L
- S becomes E
Words in this ladder
- HAWS noun
- a spring-flowering shrub or small tree of the genus Crataegus
- PAWS noun
- a clawed foot of an animal especially a quadruped
- PALS noun
- a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
- PALE noun
- a wooden strip forming part of a fence
Puzzle 3: KOBO to WHAPS
Show the solution
- K becomes H
- O becomes S
- B becomes P
- add W
- O becomes A
Words in this ladder
- KOBO noun
- 100 kobos equal 1 naira in Nigeria
- HOBO noun
- a disreputable vagrant
- HOBS noun
- (folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings
- HOPS noun
- twining perennials having cordate leaves and flowers arranged in conelike spikes; the dried flowers of this plant are used in brewing to add the characteristic bitter taste to beer
- WHOPS verb
- hit hard
- WHAPS verb
- hit hard
Puzzle 4: NERD to FINE
Show the solution
- N becomes H
- D becomes E
- E becomes I
- H becomes F
- R becomes N
Words in this ladder
- NERD noun
- an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or boringly studious
- HERD noun
- a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals all of the same kind that are herded by humans
- HERE noun
- the present location; this place
- HIRE noun
- a newly hired employee
- FIRE noun
- the event of something burning (often destructive)
- FINE noun
- money extracted as a penalty
Puzzle 5: SHIM to UPEND
Show the solution
- I becomes E
- H becomes E
- M becomes D
- add P
- E becomes N
- S becomes U
Words in this ladder
- SHIM noun
- a thin wedge of material (wood or metal or stone) for driving into crevices
- SHEM noun
- (Old Testament) eldest son of Noah
- SEEM verb
- give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
- SEED noun
- a small hard fruit
- SPEED noun
- distance travelled per unit time
- SPEND verb
- pass time in a specific way
- UPEND verb
- become turned or set on end
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