STARTING-WORD GUIDE

BURR 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 BURR.

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

  1. StartBURRThe starting word; no move used
  2. Move 1BURNReplace R with N in position 4
  3. Move 2BORNReplace U with O in position 2
  4. Move 3BOONReplace R with O in position 3
  5. Move 4BOOPReplace N with P in position 4
  6. Move 5POOPReplace B with P in position 1
Compare 2 shortest routes
  1. BURR · BURN · BORN · BOON · BOOP · POOP
  2. BURR · BURP · BUMP · PUMP · POMP · 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 BURR: BURN, BURP.

The table lists all 8 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
BURB56Longer route
BURG56Longer route
BURL56Longer route
BURN45Shortest route
BURP45Shortest route
BURS56Longer route
BURY56Longer route
PURR56Longer route

Why 5 moves is the minimum.

BURR 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 BURR 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.