The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
BONSAI
Definition of BONSAI
noun
A tree or plant that has been miniaturized by planting it in a small pot, restricting its roots, and by careful pruning.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Japanese 盆栽 (bonsai), from Middle Chinese 盆 (MC bwon, “bowl”) + 栽 (MC tsoj|dzojH, “to plant”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
BONSAI in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 17 boards so far. 42 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 8, 29 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 100, 28 August 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First found by a player on Day 8, 29 May 2026.
Built from these letters
BONSAI starts with B and ends with I. Sorted, its letters read ABINOS - 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.
Also seen on Day 8
Could you have found BONSAI?
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 8 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER