Word ladder answers for August 14, 2026
The daily ladder for Friday, August 14, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was LIFT to DRIFT, solvable in 2 steps, and the longest was OOH to DEMOTE, 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: LARKS to BAUDS
Show the solution
- L becomes B
- K becomes D
- R becomes U
Words in this ladder
- LARKS noun
- North American songbirds having a yellow breast
- BARKS noun
- tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants
- BARDS noun
- a lyric poet
- BAUDS noun
- (computer science) a data transmission rate (bits/second) for modems
Puzzle 2: LIFT to DRIFT
Show the solution
- L becomes R
- add D
Words in this ladder
- LIFT noun
- the act of giving temporary assistance
- RIFT noun
- a gap between cloud masses
- DRIFT noun
- a force that moves something along
Puzzle 3: EVES to RATS
Show the solution
- V becomes Y
- E becomes R
- Y becomes U
- E becomes T
- U becomes A
Words in this ladder
- EVES noun
- (Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
- EYES noun
- opinion or judgment
- RYES noun
- the seed of the cereal grass
- RUES noun
- European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
- RUTS noun
- a groove or furrow (especially one in soft earth caused by wheels)
- RATS noun
- any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
Puzzle 4: VICES to SAVERS
Show the solution
- V becomes R
- I becomes A
- C becomes V
- R becomes S
- add R
Words in this ladder
- VICES noun
- moral weakness
- RICES noun
- grains used as food either unpolished or more often polished
- RACES noun
- any competition
- RAVES noun
- a dance party that lasts all night and electronically synthesized music is played
- SAVES noun
- (sports) the act of preventing the opposition from scoring
- SAVERS noun
- someone who saves something from danger or violence
Puzzle 5: OOH to DEMOTE
Show the solution
- O becomes D
- H becomes E
- add T
- D becomes M
- add E
- add D
Words in this ladder
- OOH verb
- express admiration and pleasure by uttering `ooh' or `aah'
- DOH noun
- the syllable naming the first (tonic) note of any major scale in solmization
- DOE noun
- the federal department responsible for maintaining a national energy policy of the United States; created in 1977
- DOTE verb
- be foolish or senile due to old age
- MOTE noun
- (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
- EMOTE verb
- give expression or emotion to, in a stage or movie role
- DEMOTE verb
- assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
Today's puzzles are waiting
A new set of word ladders is released every day, free to play.
Play today's ladder