Word Ladder Solver & Generator
Word ladders — invented by Lewis Carroll in 1877 as "doublets" — turn one word into another by changing a single letter at a time, with every rung a real word. The solver finds a provably shortest ladder between any two words of the same length (3-5 letters) using breadth-first search over a built-in dictionary of common words, like COLD → CORD → WORD → WARD → WARM. The generator deals a fresh puzzle whose shortest solution has exactly the advertised number of steps, from quick 3-step ladders to tough 7-step climbs. Solve it on the page with per-rung checking, reveal hint letters, print a puzzle sheet with blank rungs, or export it as PNG/SVG.
Runs 100% in your browser — your puzzles never leave your device.
Read the full guide to this tool
Notes
- Rules: change exactly one letter per step; every intermediate rung must be a real word. Any valid chain that reaches the end word in the given number of steps counts, not just the one shown by Show solution.
- The built-in dictionary holds about 2,700 common 3-5 letter English words, so ladders never pass through obscure crossword-ese; a word the tool does not know is reported with close alternatives.
- Generated puzzles are verified with breadth-first search: the advertised step count is exactly the length of the shortest possible ladder, never an estimate.
- Runs 100% in your browser — your words and puzzles never leave your device unless you publish an embed.
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