Tool to generate word ladders, a sequence of words to pass from one word to another by modifying only one letter at each stage.
Word Ladder - dCode
Tag(s) : Word Games
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A Word Ladder is a set of letters starting from an initial word and arriving at a final word, while making a chain of step words each of which differs from the previous one by only one letter.
The game has other names like Doublet, Word golf, Word link, Laddergram or stepword.
The principle of word ladders is to create a sequence/list of words by changing only one letter between each.
The number of letters in the two words must therefore be identical (because word length must remain the same throughout the ladder).
Each intermediate word must be a valid word (present in the dictionary).
Ideally, there is the shortest possible sequence of words that connects the two given words.
Example:
DCODE |
DECOY |
CYDER |
CREPY |
CRYPT |
According to the variants, the shuffling of letters is authorized or not (as an option on this ladder maker/creator).
To create a word ladder automatically, dCode generates lists from the 2 words. The result is not guaranteed.
To create a word ladder semi-automatically, use the tool for changing letters in a word.
To go from WORD1 to WORD2 through WORD3, then create a ladder between WORD1 and WORD3 then another between WORD3 and WORD2 and connect the 2.
To go from one word to another, N steps are needed where N is the number of different letters (not common) to the two words.
Example: CODE and WORD have 2 different letters to change (and 2 letters in common: O and D) so it takes 2 steps to go from one to the other.
To have more steps, go through a 3rd word with the number of uncommon letters of your choice (see the changing letters tool).
Doublets is the name given to this ladder principle of words in a newspaper by Lewis Carroll, this is one of the first written records of this game.
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Cite as source (bibliography):
Word Ladder on dCode.fr [online website], retrieved on 2024-12-02,