The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
AMBUSH
Definition of AMBUSH
noun
The act of concealing oneself and lying in wait to attack or kill by surprise.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English enbuschen, from Old French enbuscier, anbuchier (verb) (whence Middle French embusche (noun)), from Old French en- + Vulgar Latin boscus (“wood”) (whence also bouquet), from Frankish *busk (“bush”), from Proto-Germanic *buskaz (“bush, heavy stick”). Compare ambuscade. The change to am- from earlier forms in en- is unexplained. More at bush.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
6 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
6th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
4.7%
of traced words share this origin (3,888)
branch · 22.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, AMBUSH · 6 relatives 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.
AMBUSH in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 15 boards so far. 17 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 27, 16 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 165, 1 November 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 27, 16 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
AMBUSH starts with A and ends with H. Sorted, its letters read ABHMSU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start AMBUSH
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 27
Could you have found AMBUSH?
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 27 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER