Word ladder answers for October 26, 2026
The daily ladder for Monday, October 26, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was RELAX to REPAY, solvable in 2 steps, and the longest was PEP to BLANK, 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: DEBTS to GENES
Show the solution
- B becomes N
- D becomes G
- T becomes E
Words in this ladder
- DEBTS noun
- the state of owing something (especially money)
- DENTS noun
- an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening)
- GENTS noun
- informal abbreviation of `gentleman'
- GENES noun
- (genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity
Puzzle 2: RELAX to REPAY
Show the solution
- X becomes Y
- L becomes P
Words in this ladder
- RELAX verb
- become less tense, rest, or take one's ease
- RELAY noun
- the act of passing something along from one person or group to another
- REPAY verb
- pay back
Puzzle 3: AVID to ORES
Show the solution
- V becomes R
- D becomes A
- I becomes E
- A becomes S
- A becomes O
Words in this ladder
- AVID adjective
- (often followed by `for') ardently or excessively desirous
- ARID adjective
- lacking sufficient water or rainfall
- ARIA noun
- an elaborate song for solo voice
- AREA noun
- a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
- ARES noun
- (Greek mythology) Greek god of war; son of Zeus and Hera; identified with Roman Mars
- ORES noun
- a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined
Puzzle 4: PROM to CHIRP
Show the solution
- M becomes P
- P becomes C
- R becomes H
- O becomes I
- add R
Words in this ladder
- PROM noun
- a formal ball held for a school class toward the end of the academic year
- PROP noun
- a support placed beneath or against something to keep it from shaking or falling
- CROP noun
- the yield from plants in a single growing season
- CHOP noun
- the irregular motion of waves (usually caused by wind blowing in a direction opposite to the tide)
- CHIP noun
- a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
- CHIRP noun
- a sharp sound made by small birds or insects
Puzzle 5: PEP to BLANK
Show the solution
- P becomes T
- E becomes A
- add N
- add L
- T becomes K
- P becomes B
Words in this ladder
- PEP noun
- liveliness and energy
- PET noun
- a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
- PAT noun
- the sound made by a gentle blow
- PANT noun
- the noise made by a short puff of steam (as from an engine)
- PLANT noun
- buildings for carrying on industrial labor
- PLANK noun
- a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes
- BLANK noun
- a blank character used to separate successive words in writing or printing
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