The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
CAIRN
Definition of CAIRN
noun
A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Scots cairn, from Scottish Gaelic càrn, from Old Irish carn, from Proto-Celtic *karnos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”). Compare Welsh carn, Cornish carn. Doublet of carn and horn.
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
14.2%
of traced words share this origin (11,595)
How it is built
Same root, CAIRN · 6 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Welsh.
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.
CAIRN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 72 boards so far. 215 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 20, 9 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 163, 30 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 20, 9 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
CAIRN starts with C and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read ACINR - 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 CAIRN
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 20
Could you have found CAIRN?
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 20 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER