Word ladder answers for October 29, 2026
The daily ladder for Thursday, October 29, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was ERAS to BRAN, solvable in 2 steps, and the longest was QUAD to SPOUT, 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: ANT to START
Show the solution
- N becomes R
- add T
- add S
Words in this ladder
- ANT noun
- social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
- ART noun
- the products of human creativity; works of art collectively
- TART noun
- a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money
- START noun
- the beginning of anything
Puzzle 2: ERAS to BRAN
Show the solution
- E becomes B
- S becomes N
Words in this ladder
- ERAS noun
- a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event
- BRAS noun
- an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts
- BRAN noun
- broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the flour by sifting
Puzzle 3: WILT to YARN
Show the solution
- T becomes E
- L becomes R
- I becomes A
- E becomes N
- W becomes Y
Words in this ladder
- WILT noun
- any plant disease characterized by drooping and shriveling; usually caused by parasites attacking the roots
- WILE noun
- the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
- WIRE noun
- ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
- WARE noun
- articles of the same kind or material; usually used in combination: `silverware', `software'
- WARN verb
- notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
- YARN noun
- the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
Puzzle 4: SWAB to CLEAN
Show the solution
- W becomes L
- B becomes P
- S becomes C
- P becomes N
- add E
Words in this ladder
- SWAB noun
- implement consisting of a small piece of cotton that is used to apply medication or cleanse a wound or obtain a specimen of a secretion
- SLAB noun
- block consisting of a thick piece of something
- SLAP noun
- a blow from a flat object (as an open hand)
- CLAP noun
- a sudden very loud noise
- CLAN noun
- group of people related by blood or marriage
- CLEAN noun
- a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then jerked overhead
Puzzle 5: QUAD to SPOUT
Show the solution
- A becomes I
- D becomes T
- Q becomes S
- U becomes P
- I becomes O
- add U
Words in this ladder
- QUAD noun
- one of four children born at the same time from the same pregnancy
- QUID noun
- the basic unit of money in Great Britain and Northern Ireland; equal to 100 pence
- QUIT verb
- put an end to a state or an activity
- SUIT noun
- a set of garments (usually including a jacket and trousers or skirt) for outerwear all of the same fabric and color
- SPIT noun
- a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea
- SPOT noun
- a point located with respect to surface features of some region
- SPOUT noun
- an opening that allows the passage of liquids or grain
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