Word ladder answers for October 17, 2026
The daily ladder for Saturday, October 17, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was RIND to MAID, solvable in 3 steps, and the longest was COOKER to DIAPER, 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: RIND to MAID
Show the solution
- I becomes A
- N becomes I
- R becomes M
Words in this ladder
- RIND noun
- the natural outer covering of food (usually removed before eating)
- RAND noun
- the basic unit of money in South Africa; equal to 100 cents
- RAID noun
- a sudden short attack
- MAID noun
- a female domestic
Puzzle 2: OWL to EYE
Show the solution
- L becomes E
- O becomes E
- W becomes Y
Words in this ladder
- OWL noun
- nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
- OWE verb
- be obliged to pay or repay
- EWE noun
- a member of a people living in southern Benin and Togo and southeastern Ghana
- EYE noun
- the organ of sight
Puzzle 3: HOG to REUSE
Show the solution
- G becomes E
- add S
- add U
- H becomes R
- O becomes E
Words in this ladder
- HOG noun
- a person regarded as greedy and pig-like
- HOE noun
- a tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle
- HOSE noun
- socks and stockings and tights collectively (the British include underwear)
- HOUSE noun
- a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
- ROUSE verb
- become active
- REUSE verb
- use again after processing
Puzzle 4: IRONY to PRUNE
Show the solution
- I becomes C
- Y becomes E
- C becomes P
- O becomes U
Words in this ladder
- IRONY noun
- witty language used to convey insults or scorn; ; ; --Jonathan Swift
- CRONY noun
- a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
- CRONE noun
- an ugly evil-looking old woman
- PRONE adjective
- having a tendency (to); often used in combination
- PRUNE noun
- dried plum
Puzzle 5: COOKER to DIAPER
Show the solution
- K becomes P
- O becomes P
- C becomes T
- O becomes I
- T becomes D
- P becomes A
Words in this ladder
- COOKER noun
- a utensil for cooking
- COOPER noun
- United States industrialist who built the first American locomotive; founded Cooper Union in New York City to offer free courses in the arts and sciences (1791-1883)
- COPPER noun
- a ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element; occurs in various minerals but is the only metal that occurs abundantly in large masses; used as an electrical and thermal conductor
- TOPPER noun
- a worker who makes or adds the top to something
- TIPPER noun
- a person who leaves a tip
- DIPPER noun
- a ladle that has a cup with a long handle
- DIAPER noun
- garment consisting of a folded cloth drawn up between the legs and fastened at the waist; worn by infants to catch excrement
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