Word ladder answers for April 27, 2026
The daily ladder for Monday, April 27, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was HIT to BUT, solvable in 2 steps, and the longest was CLIOS to MALLS, 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: HIT to BUT
Show the solution
- I becomes U
- H becomes B
Words in this ladder
- HIT noun
- (baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball)
- HUT noun
- temporary military shelter
- BUT adverb
- and nothing more
Puzzle 2: DAZES to FARES
Show the solution
- Z becomes R
- D becomes F
Words in this ladder
- DAZES noun
- the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
- DARES noun
- a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy
- FARES noun
- an agenda of things to do
Puzzle 3: SWANS to SPENT
Show the solution
- W becomes C
- S becomes T
- A becomes E
- C becomes P
Words in this ladder
- SWANS noun
- stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult
- SCANS noun
- the act of scanning; systematic examination of a prescribed region
- SCANT verb
- work hastily or carelessly; deal with inadequately and superficially
- SCENT noun
- a distinctive odor that is pleasant
- SPENT verb
- pass time in a specific way
Puzzle 4: FIVER to MILLET
Show the solution
- V becomes L
- add L
- R becomes T
- F becomes M
Words in this ladder
- FIVER noun
- a United States bill worth 5 dollars
- FILER noun
- a party who files a notice with a law court
- FILLER noun
- used for filling cracks or holes in a surface
- FILLET noun
- a boneless steak cut from the tenderloin of beef
- MILLET noun
- any of various small-grained annual cereal and forage grasses of the genera Panicum, Echinochloa, Setaria, Sorghum, and Eleusine
Puzzle 5: CLIOS to MALLS
Show the solution
- L becomes H
- O becomes N
- H becomes A
- C becomes M
- N becomes L
- I becomes L
Words in this ladder
- CLIOS noun
- (Greek mythology) the Muse of history
- CHIOS noun
- an island in the Aegean Sea off the west coast of Turkey; belongs to Greece
- CHINS noun
- the protruding part of the lower jaw
- CAINS noun
- (Old Testament) Cain and Abel were the first children of Adam and Eve born after the Fall of Man; Cain killed Abel out of jealousy and was exiled by God
- MAINS noun
- any very large body of (salt) water
- MAILS noun
- the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
- MALLS noun
- a public area set aside as a pedestrian walk
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