POOPLE #157 · 18 Jan 2026

ROTE to POOP.

A little help for this word ladder. Open only the hints you need.

5shortest moves

13shortest paths

Easyour distance-based rating

01A gentle nudgeJust the shortest length. No words revealed.

You can get from ROTE to POOP in 5 moves. That means 6 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 COTE. From there, you have 4 moves left.COTE

04The full answerReady? Reveal every step to POOP.

ROTE · COTE · COME · COMP · COOP · POOP

13 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.

All 13 equivalent shortest paths

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
ROTE	15	7	COTE, DOTE, ROLE, ROPE, ROSE, ROTS, TOTE
COTE	17	2	COME, COTS
COME	17	2	COMP, POME
COMP	8	2	COOP, POMP
COOP	14	1	POOP

Historical entry reconstructed from the official schedule available on 10 Nov 2026. Source and verification details.