The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
CHAIN
Definition of CHAIN
noun
A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English cheyne, chaine, from Old French chaeine, chaene (“chain”), from Latin catēna (“chain”), from Proto-Indo-European *kat- (“to braid, twist; hut, shed”). Doublet of catena. Displaced native Middle English rakil and rakent (from Old English racente (“chain”)); see rackan.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
4 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
8.9%
of traced words share this origin (2,625)
How it is built
Same root, CHAIN · 4 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Old English.
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.
CHAIN in OUTLIER
It has fitted 1 board so far. 33 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 111, 8 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 39 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 34, 23 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
CHAIN starts with C and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read ACHIN - 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 CHAIN
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found CHAIN?
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 111 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER