Word Ladder DailyONE LETTER AT A TIME

The daily puzzle record

Daily Word Ladder for 2026-10-22

The daily puzzle for 2026-10-22 connects HELP to CARE. Change one letter at each step; a shortest route takes 5 moves. Play first, then open the hints below if you need them.

An earlier daily ladder

October 22, 2026

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Make it here
0 movesShortest path: 5
Your next word0 changed

Tap a letter, then choose its replacement.

One letter at a time. That’s how you get there.
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This date's word ladder

Starting word

Target word

Shortest route: 5 moves

This is a puzzle from Word Ladder Daily. Its hints and solutions use our dictionary and daily schedule. Playing an archived puzzle shares progress with that date’s daily board in this browser.

Progressive hints

Open only as much help as you want. Each hint follows the first step of one shortest solution from the starting word.

Hint 1: where to look

Focus on position 4 in HELP. The other three letters can stay unchanged for your first move.

Hint 2: a partial next word

_ _ _ D

Hint 3: the next word

HELD

The complete answer

This route uses 5 letter changes and 6 words, including both endpoints. Open the solution when you are ready for spoilers.

Reveal the full ladder and step explanations

One shortest route

HELP → HELD → HERD → HARD → CARD → CARE

  1. Step 1: HELP to HELD

    Replace P with D in position 4. The other three letters stay in place, so this is exactly one substitution.

  2. Step 2: HELD to HERD

    Replace L with R in position 3. The other three letters stay in place, so this is exactly one substitution.

  3. Step 3: HERD to HARD

    Replace E with A in position 2. The other three letters stay in place, so this is exactly one substitution.

  4. Step 4: HARD to CARD

    Replace H with C in position 1. The other three letters stay in place, so this is exactly one substitution.

  5. Step 5: CARD to CARE

    Replace D with E in position 4. The other three letters stay in place, so this is exactly one substitution.

Every word in this route is accepted by our curated four-letter dictionary. The route is shortest within that dictionary; another valid route may have the same number of moves.

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