The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ARCTOPHILIA
Definition of ARCTOPHILIA
noun
the love of teddy bears
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Ancient Greek ἄρκτος (árktos, “bear”) + φιλία (philía, “affection”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
12.6%
of traced words share this origin (3,702)
branch · 12.6% 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.
ARCTOPHILIA in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 6 boards so far. 10 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 92, 20 August 2026. The most recent board was Day 128, 25 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 21 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 92, 20 August 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
ARCTOPHILIA starts with A and ends with A. Sorted, its letters read AACHIILOPRT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. A and I appear more than once.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start ARCTOPH
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found ARCTOPHILIA?
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 92 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER