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

  1. StartNERDYour starting word
  2. Move 1HERDN — H · letter 1
  3. Move 2HEEDR — E · letter 3
  4. Move 3HOEDE — O · letter 2
  5. Move 4HOODE — O · letter 3
  6. Move 5HOOPD — P · letter 4
  7. 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.

  1. StartNERDYour starting word
  2. Move 1HERDN — H · letter 1
  3. Move 2HEEDR — E · letter 3
  4. Move 3HOEDE — O · letter 2
  5. Move 4HOODE — O · letter 3
  6. Move 5HOOPD — P · letter 4
  7. Move 6POOPH — P · letter 1
All 5 equivalent shortest paths
  1. NERD · HERD · HEED · HOED · HOOD · HOOP · POOP
  2. NERD · HERD · HELD · HOLD · HOOD · HOOP · POOP
  3. NERD · NEED · HEED · HOED · HOOD · HOOP · POOP
  4. NERD · NEED · PEED · PEEP · PREP · PROP · POOP
  5. 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.

WordLegal choicesOn a shortest routeNext words on a shortest route
NERD22HERD, NEED
HERD92HEED, HELD
HEED141HOED
HOED81HOOD
HOOD111HOOP
HOOP91POOP

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