Word ladder answers for October 1, 2026
The daily ladder for Thursday, October 1, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was LINE to GIST, solvable in 3 steps, and the longest was HAM to ACCENT, 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: LINE to GIST
Show the solution
- E becomes T
- N becomes S
- L becomes G
Words in this ladder
- LINE noun
- a formation of people or things one beside another
- LINT noun
- fine ravellings of cotton or linen fibers
- LIST noun
- a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics)
- GIST noun
- the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work
Puzzle 2: FUEL to HEAL
Show the solution
- U becomes E
- F becomes H
- E becomes A
Words in this ladder
- FUEL noun
- a substance that can be consumed to produce energy
- FEEL noun
- an intuitive awareness; or
- HEEL noun
- the bottom of a shoe or boot; the back part of a shoe or boot that touches the ground and provides elevation
- HEAL verb
- heal or recover
Puzzle 3: DENS to ALONE
Show the solution
- E becomes O
- S becomes E
- D becomes L
- add A
Words in this ladder
- DENS noun
- the habitation of wild animals
- DONS noun
- a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
- DONE verb
- engage in
- LONE adjective
- lacking companions or companionship
- ALONE adjective
- isolated from others
Puzzle 4: CHAR to STARK
Show the solution
- R becomes D
- add R
- C becomes S
- D becomes K
- H becomes T
Words in this ladder
- CHAR noun
- a charred substance
- CHAD noun
- a small piece of paper that is supposed to be removed when a hole is punched in a card or paper tape
- CHARD noun
- beet lacking swollen root; grown as a vegetable for its edible leaves and stalks
- SHARD noun
- a broken piece of a brittle artifact
- SHARK noun
- any of numerous elongate mostly marine carnivorous fishes with heterocercal caudal fins and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales
- STARK adjective
- devoid of any qualifications or disguise or adornment
Puzzle 5: HAM to ACCENT
Show the solution
- M becomes T
- add E
- H becomes S
- A becomes N
- add C
- add A
- S becomes C
Words in this ladder
- HAM noun
- meat cut from the thigh of a hog (usually smoked)
- HAT noun
- headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
- HEAT noun
- a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature
- SEAT noun
- a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
- SENT noun
- 100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
- SCENT noun
- a distinctive odor that is pleasant
- ASCENT noun
- an upward slope or grade (as in a road)
- ACCENT noun
- distinctive manner of oral expression
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