Word ladder answers for October 2, 2026
The daily ladder for Friday, October 2, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was INK to HIND, solvable in 3 steps, and the longest was WHY to ABODE, which needs at least 6.
Solutions are folded away until you open them, so you can have a go first. We show one shortest path per puzzle. Plenty of ladders have two or three paths of the same length, so if yours doesn't match and has the same step count, it's just as good.
Puzzle 1: INK to HIND
Show the solution
- add W
- K becomes D
- W becomes H
Words in this ladder
- INK noun
- a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
- WINK noun
- a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
- WIND noun
- air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
- HIND noun
- any of several mostly spotted fishes that resemble groupers
Puzzle 2: MICE to JIVE
Show the solution
- M becomes D
- C becomes V
- D becomes J
Words in this ladder
- MICE noun
- any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
- DICE noun
- a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
- DIVE noun
- a cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall
- JIVE noun
- a style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s; flowing rhythms but less complex than later styles of jazz
Puzzle 3: INEPT to INTEND
Show the solution
- P becomes R
- add V
- R becomes N
- V becomes T
- T becomes D
Words in this ladder
- INEPT adjective
- not elegant or graceful in expression
- INERT adjective
- unable to move or resist motion
- INVERT verb
- make an inversion (in a musical composition)
- INVENT verb
- come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort
- INTENT noun
- an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
- INTEND verb
- have in mind as a purpose
Puzzle 4: MILD to BEARD
Show the solution
- I becomes E
- L becomes A
- M becomes B
- add R
Words in this ladder
- MILD adjective
- moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
- MELD noun
- a form of rummy using two decks of cards and four jokers; jokers and deuces are wild; the object is to form groups of the same rank
- MEAD noun
- United States anthropologist noted for her claims about adolescence and sexual behavior in Polynesian cultures (1901-1978)
- BEAD noun
- a small ball with a hole through the middle
- BEARD noun
- the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
Puzzle 5: WHY to ABODE
Show the solution
- H becomes A
- W becomes B
- A becomes O
- add D
- Y becomes E
- add A
Words in this ladder
- WHY noun
- the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase `the whys and wherefores'
- WAY noun
- how something is done or how it happens
- BAY noun
- an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
- BOY noun
- a youthful male person
- BODY noun
- the entire structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
- BODE verb
- indicate by signs
- ABODE noun
- any address at which you dwell more than temporarily
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