Word ladder answers for November 4, 2026
The daily ladder for Wednesday, November 4, 2026 had 5 puzzles. The quickest was MAKES to FADES, solvable in 2 steps, and the longest was TRAP to ABREAST, which needs at least 7.
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: MAKES to FADES
Show the solution
- M becomes F
- K becomes D
Words in this ladder
- MAKES noun
- a recognizable kind
- FAKES noun
- something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
- FADES noun
- a golf shot that curves to the right for a right-handed golfer
Puzzle 2: LUCK to PUNK
Show the solution
- L becomes P
- C becomes N
Words in this ladder
- LUCK noun
- your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
- PUCK noun
- a mischievous sprite of English folklore
- PUNK noun
- an aggressive and violent young criminal
Puzzle 3: WASPS to BAKER
Show the solution
- W becomes G
- P becomes E
- G becomes B
- S becomes K
- S becomes R
Words in this ladder
- WASPS noun
- a white person of Anglo-Saxon ancestry who belongs to a Protestant denomination
- GASPS noun
- a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
- GASES noun
- the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity; relatively great expansion and contraction with changes in pressure and temperature; the ability to diffuse readily; and the spontaneous tendency to become distributed uniformly throughout any container
- BASES noun
- installation from which a military force initiates operations
- BAKES verb
- cook and make edible by putting in a hot oven
- BAKER noun
- someone who bakes commercially
Puzzle 4: MARRIED to CARRIERS
Show the solution
- D becomes S
- M becomes C
- add R
Words in this ladder
- MARRIED noun
- a person who is married
- MARRIES verb
- take in marriage
- CARRIES noun
- the act of carrying something
- CARRIERS noun
- someone whose employment involves carrying something
Puzzle 5: TRAP to ABREAST
Show the solution
- P becomes M
- R becomes E
- T becomes B
- M becomes T
- add S
- add R
- add A
Words in this ladder
- TRAP noun
- a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned
- TRAM noun
- a conveyance that transports passengers or freight in carriers suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers
- TEAM noun
- a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
- BEAM noun
- a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
- BEAT noun
- a regular route for a sentry or policeman
- BEAST noun
- a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
- BREAST noun
- the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
- ABREAST adjective
- being up to particular standard or level especially in being up to date in knowledge
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