The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
CATERPILLAR
Definition of CATERPILLAR
noun
The larva of a butterfly or moth; leafworm.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English catirpel, catirpeller, probably from Old Northern French catepeluse (Modern French chatte + pileuse (“hairy cat”)), from Late Latin catta + pilōsa. The sense "rapacious, extortionate person" arose by association with obsolete piller (“plunderer”). See Modern Norman cattepeleuse. Displaced native kaleworm, from Middle English cowle worm, cale worme (“caterpillar, corn weevil”), from Old English cawelwyrm, cawelwurm (“caterpillar”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Latin
- French
- Middle English
- English
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.7%
of traced words share this origin (26,276)
branch · 30.7% of traced words
How it is built
Its etymology also names Old English.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
CATERPILLAR in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 154, 21 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 20 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 154, 21 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
CATERPILLAR starts with C and ends with R. Sorted, its letters read AACEILLPRRT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. A, R and L appear more than once, including a double letter.
Words that start CATERPI
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found CATERPILLAR?
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 154 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER