The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
LADDERING
Definition of LADDERING
verb
present participle and gerund 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
Word DNA
LADDERING inherits its ancestry from its root, LADDER.
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.
LADDERING 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 ever to find it
on Day 131, 28 September 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
LADDERING starts with L and ends with G. Sorted, its letters read ADDEGILNR - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. D appears more than once, including a double letter.
Words that start LADDER
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found LADDERING?
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.
Play today's OUTLIER