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Daily Word Ladder for 2026-10-26

The daily puzzle for 2026-10-26 connects BATH to THEN. Change one letter at each step; a shortest route takes 6 moves. Play first, then open the hints below if you need them.

An earlier daily ladder

October 26, 2026

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Make it here
0 movesShortest path: 6
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: 6 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 BATH. The other three letters can stay unchanged for your first move.

Hint 2: a partial next word

_ _ _ S

Hint 3: the next word

BATS

The complete answer

This route uses 6 letter changes and 7 words, including both endpoints. Open the solution when you are ready for spoilers.

Reveal the full ladder and step explanations

One shortest route

BATH → BATS → BETS → BEES → BEEN → TEEN → THEN

  1. Step 1: BATH to BATS

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

  2. Step 2: BATS to BETS

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

  3. Step 3: BETS to BEES

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

  4. Step 4: BEES to BEEN

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

  5. Step 5: BEEN to TEEN

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

  6. Step 6: TEEN to THEN

    Replace E with H in position 2. 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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