The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
BESMEAR
Definition of BESMEAR
verb
To smear over, to smear all over, to daub.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English *bismerwen, from Old English besmirwan, besmierwan (“to besmear”), equivalent to be- + smear. Cognate with Dutch besmeren (“to besmear”), German beschmieren (“to besmear”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Old English
- Middle English
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
6th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
4.1%
of traced words share this origin (1,232)
branch · 22.3% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, BESMEAR · 1 relative in the game
Its etymology also names Dutch, German.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
BESMEAR in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 11 boards so far. 12 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 51, 10 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 147, 14 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 5 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 51, 10 July 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
BESMEAR starts with B and ends with R. Sorted, its letters read ABEEMRS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
2 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start BESMEA
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 51
Could you have found BESMEAR?
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 51 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER