STARTING-WORD GUIDE

BINS to POOP.

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

5minimum moves
4shortest routes
Easydistance-based rating

A shortest path from BINS.

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

  1. StartBINSThe starting word; no move used
  2. Move 1BIASReplace N with A in position 3
  3. Move 2BOASReplace I with O in position 2
  4. Move 3BOOSReplace A with O in position 3
  5. Move 4BOOPReplace S with P in position 4
  6. Move 5POOPReplace B with P in position 1
Compare 4 shortest routes
  1. BINS · BIAS · BOAS · BOOS · BOOP · POOP
  2. BINS · BIBS · BOBS · BOOS · BOOP · POOP
  3. BINS · BIDS · BODS · BOOS · BOOP · POOP
  4. BINS · BITS · BOTS · BOOS · BOOP · POOP

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

Which first moves work?

4 next words keep you on a shortest route from BINS: BIAS, BIBS, BIDS, BITS.

The table lists all 14 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
BANS56Longer route
BIAS45Shortest route
BIBS45Shortest route
BIDS45Shortest route
BIND56Longer route
BITS45Shortest route
BUNS56Longer route
FINS67Longer route
GINS67Longer route
KINS67Longer route
PINS56Longer route
SINS56Longer route
TINS56Longer route
WINS67Longer route

Why 5 moves is the minimum.

BINS 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 BINS 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.