The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
BEFORE
Definition of BEFORE
preposition
Earlier than (in time).
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English before / bifore, from Old English beforan, from be- + foran (“before”), from fore, from Proto-Germanic *furai, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“front”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian befoar (“before”), German Low German bevör (“before”), German bevor (“before”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
4 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
14.4%
of traced words share this origin (11,191)
How it is built
Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
BEFORE in OUTLIER
It has fitted 4 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 85, 13 August 2026. The most recent board was Day 153, 20 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First found by a player on Day 36, 25 June 2026.
Built from these letters
BEFORE starts with B and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read BEEFOR - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Words that start BEFORE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found BEFORE?
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 85 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER