POOPLE #254 · 25 Apr 2026
NERD to POOP.
A little help for this word ladder. Open only the hints you need.
6shortest moves
5shortest paths
Moderateour distance-based rating
01A gentle nudgeJust the shortest length. No words revealed.
You can get from NERD to POOP in 6 moves. That means 7 words, including the start.
02A little more directionFind out which letter to change first.
One shortest route starts by changing letter 1. You do not have to match a letter in POOP on every move.
03Your first stepping stoneReveal the first word of a shortest route.
Try HERD. From there, you have 5 moves left.HERD
04The full answerReady? Reveal every step to POOP.
NERD · HERD · HEED · HOED · HOOD · HOOP · POOP
- StartNERDYour starting word
- Move 1HERDN — H · letter 1
- Move 2HEEDR — E · letter 3
- Move 3HOEDE — O · letter 2
- Move 4HOODE — O · letter 3
- Move 5HOOPD — P · letter 4
- Move 6POOPH — P · letter 1
5 shortest paths in the checked word list. View the full explanation
Every step, explained.
Full solution below. Stop here if you want to keep solving.
- StartNERDYour starting word
- Move 1HERDN — H · letter 1
- Move 2HEEDR — E · letter 3
- Move 3HOEDE — O · letter 2
- Move 4HOODE — O · letter 3
- Move 5HOOPD — P · letter 4
- Move 6POOPH — P · letter 1
All 5 equivalent shortest paths
- NERD · HERD · HEED · HOED · HOOD · HOOP · POOP
- NERD · HERD · HELD · HOLD · HOOD · HOOP · POOP
- NERD · NEED · HEED · HOED · HOOD · HOOP · POOP
- NERD · NEED · PEED · PEEP · PREP · PROP · POOP
- NERD · NEED · PEED · PLED · PLOD · PLOP · POOP
Choices at every step
Legal choices change one letter. Shortest-route choices also reduce the remaining distance by one; the counts below refer to the route shown above.
| Word | Legal choices | On a shortest route | Next words on a shortest route |
|---|---|---|---|
| NERD | 2 | 2 | HERD, NEED |
| HERD | 9 | 2 | HEED, HELD |
| HEED | 14 | 1 | HOED |
| HOED | 8 | 1 | HOOD |
| HOOD | 11 | 1 | HOOP |
| HOOP | 9 | 1 | POOP |
Historical entry reconstructed from the official schedule available on 10 Nov 2026. Source and verification details.