The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ANKUS
Definition of ANKUS
noun
The hooked goad that is used in India to control elephants.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Hindi अंकुस (aṅkus)/अंकुश (aṅkuś), from Sanskrit अङ्कुश (aṅkuśa).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
14th
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
0.9%
of traced words share this origin (252)
branch · 1.4% of traced words
How it is built
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
ANKUS in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 8 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 47, 6 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 147, 14 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 47, 6 July 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
ANKUS starts with A and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read AKNSU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start ANKUS
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 47
Could you have found ANKUS?
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 47 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER