Word ladder answers for November 1, 2026
The daily ladder for Sunday, November 1, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was TUG to RUT, solvable in 2 steps, and the longest was GOLDS to CAUSES, 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: TUG to RUT
Show the solution
- T becomes R
- G becomes T
Words in this ladder
- TUG noun
- a sudden abrupt pull
- RUG noun
- floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
- RUT noun
- a groove or furrow (especially one in soft earth caused by wheels)
Puzzle 2: MEME to HERB
Show the solution
- M becomes R
- M becomes H
- E becomes B
Words in this ladder
- MEME noun
- a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation)
- MERE noun
- a small pond of standing water
- HERE noun
- the present location; this place
- HERB noun
- a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
Puzzle 3: DOWRY to LAWNS
Show the solution
- R becomes N
- Y becomes S
- O becomes A
- D becomes L
Words in this ladder
- DOWRY noun
- money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage
- DOWNY adjective
- like down or as soft as down
- DOWNS noun
- soft fine feathers
- DAWNS noun
- the first light of day
- LAWNS noun
- a field of cultivated and mowed grass
Puzzle 4: HOOPS to JEANS
Show the solution
- H becomes L
- P becomes N
- O becomes A
- O becomes E
- L becomes J
Words in this ladder
- HOOPS noun
- a game played on a court by two opposing teams of 5 players; points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal hoop
- LOOPS noun
- fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines
- LOONS noun
- a worthless lazy fellow
- LOANS noun
- the temporary provision of money (usually at interest)
- LEANS noun
- the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical
- JEANS noun
- (usually plural) close-fitting trousers of heavy denim for manual work or casual wear
Puzzle 5: GOLDS to CAUSES
Show the solution
- G becomes C
- L becomes R
- D becomes E
- O becomes A
- R becomes S
- add U
Words in this ladder
- GOLDS noun
- coins made of gold
- COLDS noun
- a mild viral infection involving the nose and respiratory passages (but not the lungs)
- CORDS noun
- cotton trousers made of corduroy cloth
- CORES noun
- a small group of indispensable persons or things
- CARES noun
- the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
- CASES noun
- an occurrence of something
- CAUSES noun
- events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
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