The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
BESTOW
Definition of BESTOW
verb
To apply or make use of (someone or something); to employ, to use. To apply (money) for some purpose; to expend, to spend.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English bestowen, bistouen, bistowen (“to give, bestow; to apply (something to something else); to arrange or have control over (something); to place (someone) in a position; to use (for some purpose); (reflexive) to find (oneself) a place to live or shelter”) [and other forms], from bi- (prefix forming verbs, often with a completive, figurative, or intensive meaning) + stouen, stowen (“to pack (cargo) in a ship, stow; to place (someone) in a certain position; to provide quarters for, lodge; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to place; to stand (up)”)). The English word is analysable as be- (intensifying prefix forming verbs) + stow (“to put (something) away in a suitable place; etc.”). The noun is derived from the verb.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
14.4%
of traced words share this origin (11,223)
How it is built
Same root, BESTOW · 7 relatives in the game
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.
BESTOW in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 34 boards so far. 60 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 9, 29 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 156, 23 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First found by a player on Day 9, 29 May 2026.
Built from these letters
BESTOW starts with B and ends with W. Sorted, its letters read BEOSTW - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
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 BESTOW
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found BESTOW?
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 9 - and most players walked straight past it.
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