STARTING-WORD GUIDE

BIDE to POOP.

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

5minimum moves
2shortest routes
Easydistance-based rating

A shortest path from BIDE.

BIDE reaches POOP in 5 moves. The list includes 6 words because the starting position costs no move.

  1. StartBIDEThe starting word; no move used
  2. Move 1BIDSReplace E with S in position 4
  3. Move 2BODSReplace I with O in position 2
  4. Move 3BOOSReplace D with O in position 3
  5. Move 4BOOPReplace S with P in position 4
  6. Move 5POOPReplace B with P in position 1
Compare 2 shortest routes
  1. BIDE · BIDS · BODS · BOOS · BOOP · POOP
  2. BIDE · BODE · BODS · BOOS · BOOP · POOP

This list contains every shortest route in the checked word list.

Which first moves work?

2 next words keep you on a shortest route from BIDE: BIDS, BODE.

The table lists all 12 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 5-move minimum.

Next wordMoves remainingTotal via this wordResult
AIDE67Longer route
BADE56Longer route
BIDS45Shortest route
BIKE56Longer route
BILE56Longer route
BITE56Longer route
BODE45Shortest route
HIDE67Longer route
RIDE67Longer route
SIDE67Longer route
TIDE56Longer route
WIDE67Longer route

Why 5 moves is the minimum.

BIDE differs from POOP in 4 letter positions, so any route needs at least 4 changes. The accepted intermediate words require a longer route: the first complete connection in our search occurs at 5 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 BIDE with a different target or read the verification method.

More 5-move ladders.

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