Word ladder answers for August 28, 2026
The daily ladder for Friday, August 28, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was CAN to CHAIR, solvable in 3 steps, and the longest was DOXY to LIMA, 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: CAN to CHAIR
Show the solution
- N becomes R
- add H
- add I
Words in this ladder
- CAN noun
- airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.
- CAR noun
- a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
- CHAR noun
- a charred substance
- CHAIR noun
- a seat for one person, with a support for the back
Puzzle 2: DOC to TEN
Show the solution
- C becomes N
- O becomes E
- D becomes T
Words in this ladder
- DOC noun
- a licensed medical practitioner
- DON noun
- a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
- DEN noun
- the habitation of wild animals
- TEN noun
- the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
Puzzle 3: CALM to MAIN
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- M becomes L
- C becomes M
- L becomes I
- L becomes N
Words in this ladder
- CALM noun
- steadiness of mind under stress
- CALL noun
- a telephone connection
- MALL noun
- a public area set aside as a pedestrian walk
- MAIL noun
- the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
- MAIN noun
- any very large body of (salt) water
Puzzle 4: ZESTY to LEAKS
Show the solution
- Y becomes S
- Z becomes B
- S becomes A
- T becomes K
- B becomes L
Words in this ladder
- ZESTY adjective
- having an agreeably pungent taste
- ZESTS noun
- vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
- BESTS noun
- the supreme effort one can make
- BEATS noun
- a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
- BEAKS noun
- beaklike mouth of animals other than birds (e.g., turtles)
- LEAKS noun
- an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape
Puzzle 5: DOXY to LIMA
Show the solution
- X becomes Z
- Y becomes E
- Z becomes M
- O becomes I
- D becomes L
- E becomes A
Words in this ladder
- DOXY noun
- a woman who cohabits with an important man
- DOZY adjective
- half asleep
- DOZE noun
- a light fitful sleep
- DOME noun
- a concave shape whose distinguishing characteristic is that the concavity faces downward
- DIME noun
- a United States coin worth one tenth of a dollar
- LIME noun
- a caustic substance produced by heating limestone
- LIMA noun
- capital and largest city and economic center of Peru; located in western Peru; was capital of the Spanish empire in the New World until the 19th century
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