Word Labyrinth

Word ladder answers for August 18, 2026

The daily ladder for Tuesday, August 18, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was PAY to CAWS, solvable in 3 steps, and the longest was JAGS to SLITHER, which needs at least 7.

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: PAY to CAWS

Easy Shortest solution: 3 steps · Solved by 2 players

Show the solution
  2. Y becomes S
  3. add W
  4. P becomes C

Words in this ladder

PAY noun
something that remunerates
PAS noun
(ballet) a step in dancing (especially in classical ballet)
PAWS noun
a clawed foot of an animal especially a quadruped
CAWS noun
the sound made by corvine birds

Puzzle 2: DICES to PILES

Easy Shortest solution: 3 steps · Solved by 1 player

Show the solution
  2. C becomes N
  3. D becomes P
  4. N becomes L

Words in this ladder

DICES noun
a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
DINES verb
have supper; eat dinner
PINES noun
a coniferous tree
PILES noun
pain caused by venous swelling at or inside the anal sphincter

Puzzle 3: WADES to STAPLER

Medium Shortest solution: 5 steps · Solved by 1 player

Show the solution
  2. D becomes L
  3. W becomes S
  4. add T
  5. add P
  6. S becomes R

Words in this ladder

WADES noun
English tennis player who won many women's singles titles (born in 1945)
WALES noun
one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; during Roman times the region was known as Cambria
SALES noun
income (at invoice values) received for goods and services over some given period of time
STALES verb
urinate, of cattle and horses
STAPLES noun
(usually plural) a necessary commodity for which demand is constant
STAPLER noun
a machine that inserts staples into sheets of paper in order to fasten them together

Puzzle 4: BAAS to TWAIN

Medium Shortest solution: 5 steps · Solved by 1 player

Show the solution
  2. A becomes R
  3. S becomes N
  4. add I
  5. B becomes T
  6. R becomes W

Words in this ladder

BAAS noun
South African term for `boss'
BRAS noun
an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts
BRAN noun
broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the flour by sifting
BRAIN noun
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
TRAIN noun
public transport provided by a line of railway cars coupled together and drawn by a locomotive
TWAIN noun
two items of the same kind

Puzzle 5: JAGS to SLITHER

Hard Shortest solution: 7 steps · Solved by 1 player

Show the solution
  2. J becomes L
  3. G becomes T
  4. add E
  5. S becomes R
  6. add H
  7. add S
  8. A becomes I

Words in this ladder

JAGS noun
a sharp projection on an edge or surface
LAGS noun
the act of slowing down or falling behind
LATS noun
the basic unit of money in Latvia
LATES noun
a genus of large percoid fishes of fresh and brackish water
LATER adjective
coming at a subsequent time or stage
LATHER noun
the froth produced by soaps or detergents
SLATHER verb
spread thickly
SLITHER verb
to pass or move unobtrusively or smoothly

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