Word ladder answers for July 28, 2026
The daily ladder for Tuesday, July 28, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was FORTH to WORTS, solvable in 2 steps, and the longest was BOSSED to ROOSTER, which needs at least 6. Players found DUGS to RAGS the trickiest: they averaged 2.5 steps against a shortest path of 2.
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: FORTH to WORTS
Show the solution
- F becomes W
- H becomes S
Words in this ladder
- FORTH noun
- a river in southern Scotland that flows eastward to the Firth of Forth
- WORTH noun
- an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
- WORTS noun
- usually used in combination: `liverwort'; `milkwort'; `whorlywort'
Puzzle 2: DUGS to RAGS
Show the solution
- D becomes R
- U becomes A
Words in this ladder
- DUGS noun
- an udder or breast or teat
- RUGS noun
- floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
- RAGS noun
- a small piece of cloth or paper
Puzzle 3: LORDS to CLICKS
Show the solution
- O becomes A
- D becomes K
- R becomes C
- A becomes I
- add C
Words in this ladder
- LORDS noun
- terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
- LARDS noun
- soft white semisolid fat obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of the hog
- LARKS noun
- North American songbirds having a yellow breast
- LACKS noun
- the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
- LICKS noun
- a salt deposit that animals regularly lick
- CLICKS noun
- a short light metallic sound
Puzzle 4: JILT to MIMES
Show the solution
- J becomes M
- T becomes S
- add E
- L becomes M
Words in this ladder
- JILT noun
- a woman who jilts a lover
- MILT noun
- fish sperm or sperm-filled reproductive gland; having a creamy texture
- MILS noun
- a Cypriot monetary unit equal to one thousandth of a pound
- MILES noun
- a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
- MIMES noun
- an actor who communicates entirely by gesture and facial expression
Puzzle 5: BOSSED to ROOSTER
Show the solution
- S becomes U
- B becomes R
- D becomes R
- S becomes T
- U becomes S
- add O
Words in this ladder
- BOSSED verb
- raise in a relief
- BOUSED verb
- haul with a tackle
- ROUSED verb
- become active
- ROUSER noun
- someone who rouses others from sleep
- ROUTER noun
- a worker who routes shipments for distribution and delivery
- ROSTER noun
- a list of names
- ROOSTER noun
- adult male chicken
Today's puzzles are waiting
A new set of word ladders is released every day, free to play.
Play today's ladder