The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
LADDER
Definition of LADDER
noun
A frame, usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, used for ascent and descent, consisting of two side pieces to which are fastened rungs (cross strips or rounds acting as steps).
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English ladder, laddre; from Old English hlǣder, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaidriju, from Proto-Germanic *hlaidrijō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlóydʰrom, from *ḱley- (“to lean”). Compare Scots ledder, North Frisian ladder, Saterland Frisian Laadere, West Frisian ljedder, Dutch ladder, German Leiter; also Old Irish clithar (“hedge”), and Umbrian 𐌊𐌋𐌄𐌈𐌓𐌀𐌌 (kleθram, “stretcher”). See lean, which is related to lid. Further cognates include Ashkun istrī, Kamkata-viri c̣ik, Prasuni čik, čix; Waigali c̣iř, Sanskrit श्रिति (śrití).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
4 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
9.1%
of traced words share this origin (2,383)
How it is built
Same root, LADDER · 2 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Dutch, Irish, Sanskrit, Scots.
Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
LADDER in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 131, 28 September 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First found by a player on Day 131, 28 September 2026.
Built from these letters
LADDER starts with L and ends with R. Sorted, its letters read ADDELR - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. D appears more than once, including a double letter.
Same letters, different word
2 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start LADDER
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found LADDER?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 131 - and most players walked straight past it.
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