The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
BOUNCE
Definition of BOUNCE
verb
To change the direction of motion after hitting an obstacle.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English bounsen, bunsen (“to beat, thump”), cognate with Scots bunce, bonce (“to bounce”). Of uncertain origin. Perhaps imitative, related to bump, or related to Middle English bonchen (“to pound, beat”) and Dutch bonken (“to bump”). Compare Saterland Frisian bumzje (“to pound, bang, bounce”), West Frisian bûnzje (“to throb, bounce, pulsate”), Dutch bonzen (“to thump, knock, throb, bounce”), German Low German bunsen, bumsen (“to beat, bounce”), German bumsen (“to thud, bang, pound”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Middle English
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
4th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
6.1%
of traced words share this origin (4,784)
branch · 22.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, BOUNCE · 8 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Dutch, German, Scots.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
BOUNCE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 13 boards so far. 19 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 7, 28 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 156, 23 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 11, 31 May 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
BOUNCE starts with B and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read BCENOU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start BOUNCE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 7
Could you have found BOUNCE?
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 7 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER