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Word ladder solver / CUMS
STARTING-WORD GUIDE

CUMS to POOP.

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

5minimum moves
10shortest routes
Easydistance-based rating

A shortest path from CUMS.

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

  1. StartCUMSThe starting word; no move used
  2. Move 1BUMSReplace C with B in position 1
  3. Move 2BUMPReplace S with P in position 4
  4. Move 3PUMPReplace B with P in position 1
  5. Move 4POMPReplace U with O in position 2
  6. Move 5POOPReplace M with O in position 3
Compare 10 shortest routes
  1. CUMS · BUMS · BUMP · PUMP · POMP · POOP
  2. CUMS · CAMS · CAMP · COMP · COOP · POOP
  3. CUMS · CAMS · CAMP · COMP · POMP · POOP
  4. CUMS · CUBS · COBS · COOS · COOP · POOP
  5. CUMS · CUPS · COPS · COOS · COOP · POOP
  6. CUMS · CUTS · COTS · COOS · COOP · POOP
  7. CUMS · HUMS · HUMP · PUMP · POMP · POOP
  8. CUMS · RUMS · RUMP · PUMP · POMP · POOP
  9. CUMS · RUMS · RUMP · ROMP · POMP · POOP
  10. CUMS · SUMS · SUMP · PUMP · POMP · POOP

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

Which first moves work?

8 next words keep you on a shortest route from CUMS: BUMS, CAMS, CUBS, CUPS, CUTS, HUMS, RUMS, SUMS.

The table lists all 13 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
BUMS45Shortest route
CAMS45Shortest route
CUBS45Shortest route
CUES56Longer route
CUPS45Shortest route
CURS56Longer route
CUSS56Longer route
CUTS45Shortest route
GUMS56Longer route
HUMS45Shortest route
MUMS56Longer route
RUMS45Shortest route
SUMS45Shortest route

Why 5 moves is the minimum.

CUMS 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 CUMS 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.