STARTING-WORD GUIDE

BEEP to POOP.

A reusable word-ladder guide, rather than a dated daily puzzle. Every move below changes exactly one letter.

4minimum moves
1shortest route
Easydistance-based rating

A shortest path from BEEP.

BEEP reaches POOP in 4 moves. The list includes 5 words because the starting position costs no move.

  1. StartBEEPThe starting word; no move used
  2. Move 1PEEPReplace B with P in position 1
  3. Move 2PREPReplace E with R in position 2
  4. Move 3PROPReplace E with O in position 3
  5. Move 4POOPReplace R with O in position 2

There is exactly one shortest route in this checked word list.

Which first moves work?

One next word keeps you on a shortest route from BEEP: PEEP.

The table lists all 10 accepted one-letter neighbors. “Moves remaining” starts after that first move. “Total via this word” includes it, so you can compare that choice with the 4-move minimum.

Next wordMoves remainingTotal via this wordResult
BEEF56Longer route
BEEN56Longer route
BEER56Longer route
BEES56Longer route
BEET56Longer route
DEEP45Longer route
KEEP45Longer route
PEEP34Shortest route
SEEP45Longer route
WEEP45Longer route

Why 4 moves is the minimum.

BEEP differs from POOP in 3 letter positions, so any route needs at least 3 changes. The accepted intermediate words require a longer route: the first complete connection in our search occurs at 4 moves.

The solver searches the checked word graph in distance order. It reaches every word one move away before trying two moves, then continues until it reaches POOP. The minimum applies to this word list; another game or dictionary may accept different connections.

Our Easy label uses distance only: up to 5 moves is Easy, 6 is Moderate, 7 is Tricky, 8 is Hard, and 9 or more is Expert. It does not measure how familiar you will find each word.

Try BEEP with a different target or read the verification method.

More 4-move ladders.

These starting words have the same shortest distance to POOP in the checked list.