The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ALECOST
Definition of ALECOST
noun
The plant costmary (Tanacetum balsamita), formerly much used for flavoring ale.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From ale + Latin costus (“an aromatic plant”). Compare costmary.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Latin
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.7%
of traced words share this origin (23,981)
branch · 30.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, ALECOST · 1 relative in the game
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
ALECOST in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 6 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 54, 13 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 148, 15 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 10 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 54, 13 July 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
ALECOST starts with A and ends with T. Sorted, its letters read ACELOST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
4 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Also seen on Day 54
Could you have found ALECOST?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 54 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER