AUGH to POOP.
A reusable word-ladder guide, rather than a dated daily puzzle. Every move below changes exactly one letter.
A shortest path from AUGH.
AUGH reaches POOP in 11 moves. The list includes 12 words because the starting position costs no move.
- StartAUGHThe starting word; no move used
- Move 1ARGHReplace U with R in position 2
- Move 2ARCHReplace G with C in position 3
- Move 3ARCSReplace H with S in position 4
- Move 4ARKSReplace C with K in position 3
- Move 5IRKSReplace A with I in position 1
- Move 6IRISReplace K with I in position 3
- Move 7BRISReplace I with B in position 1
- Move 8BROSReplace I with O in position 3
- Move 9BOOSReplace R with O in position 2
- Move 10BOOPReplace S with P in position 4
- Move 11POOPReplace B with P in position 1
Compare 8 shortest routes
- AUGH · ARGH · ARCH · ARCS · ARKS · IRKS · IRIS · BRIS · BROS · BOOS · BOOP · POOP
- AUGH · ARGH · ARCH · ARCS · ARKS · IRKS · IRIS · BRIS · BROS · PROS · PROP · POOP
- AUGH · ARGH · ARCH · ARCS · ARMS · AIMS · AIDS · BIDS · BODS · BOOS · BOOP · POOP
- AUGH · ARGH · ARCH · ARCS · ARMS · AIMS · DIMS · DIME · DOME · POME · POMP · POOP
- AUGH · ARGH · ARCH · ARCS · ARMS · AIMS · DIMS · DOMS · DOME · POME · POMP · POOP
- AUGH · ARGH · ARCH · ARCS · ARMS · AIMS · RIMS · RAMS · RAMP · ROMP · POMP · POOP
- AUGH · ARGH · ARCH · ARCS · ARMS · AIMS · RIMS · RUMS · RUMP · PUMP · POMP · POOP
- AUGH · ARGH · ARCH · ARCS · ARMS · AIMS · RIMS · RUMS · RUMP · ROMP · POMP · POOP
This list contains every shortest route in the checked word list.
Which first moves work?
One next word keeps you on a shortest route from AUGH: ARGH.
The table lists all 1 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 11-move minimum.
| Next word | Moves remaining | Total via this word | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARGH | 10 | 11 | Shortest route |
Why 11 moves is the minimum.
AUGH 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 11 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 Expert 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 AUGH with a different target or read the verification method.
More expert ladders.
These starting words share the same distance-based rating. Their individual minimum move counts are shown below.