PoopleLadder

Poople Solver

The Poople solver finds the shortest word ladder from any four-letter word to POOP. Type a start word from the 2,033-word PoopleLadder list and you get the fewest steps, with every word on the way.

How the Poople Solver Works

When the site is built, the solver runs a breadth-first search over the whole word list, starting from POOP. That search visits every word in order of distance: first the words one letter away from POOP (like POOL, POOR, HOOP and PROP), then the words one letter away from those, and so on. For each word it stores the next step toward POOP. When you type a word, the solver just follows those stored steps, so the answer appears instantly and is always a shortest ladder.

What If There Is No Path?

Some real words have no ladder to POOP at all, because none of their one-letter neighbors lead anywhere useful in the word list. Others are simply not in the list, such as names, abbreviations and very rare words. In both cases the Poople solver tells you which one it is. Try a more common word, or change one letter yourself and solve from there.

Try an Example

TIRE to POOP in 6 steps

TIRE → TILE → PILE → PILL → POLL → POOL → POOP

  1. Starttire
  2. Step 1tile
  3. Step 2pile
  4. Step 3pill
  5. Step 4poll
  6. Step 5pool
  7. Step 6poop

MILK to POOP in 5 steps

MILK → MILL → PILL → POLL → POOL → POOP

  1. Startmilk
  2. Step 1mill
  3. Step 2pill
  4. Step 3poll
  5. Step 4pool
  6. Step 5poop

STAR to POOP in 5 steps

STAR → SOAR → BOAR → BOOR → POOR → POOP

  1. Startstar
  2. Step 1soar
  3. Step 2boar
  4. Step 3boor
  5. Step 4poor
  6. Step 5poop

Prefer to solve them yourself? Poople Unlimited deals random start words, and the daily Poople game has a new one every day.

Poople Solver FAQ

Does the Poople solver work for any start word?

It works for any four-letter word in the PoopleLadder word list. If a word is not in the list, or no chain of real words reaches POOP, the solver says so instead of guessing.

Is the solver path the only shortest one?

Not always. Many start words have several ladders of the same length. The solver shows one of them, picking the alphabetically first word at each step so the answer is always the same.

Can I use the solver for today's puzzle?

Yes, but if you only want a small nudge, the Poople hints page gives today's clues one at a time.

Which words does the solver accept?

About 2,000 common American English four-letter words, the same list the game uses. Names, abbreviations, rare words and rude words are left out.