The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
CHECK
Definition of CHECK
noun
An inspection or examination.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English chek, chekke, borrowed from Old French eschec, eschek, eschac, from Medieval Latin scaccus, borrowed from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king or check at chess, shah”), borrowed from Classical Persian شَاه (šāh, “king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /šāh/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /xšāyaθiya/, “king”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kšáyati (“he rules, he has power over”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to gain power over, gain control over”). Compare Saterland Frisian Schak, Schach, Dutch schaak, German Schach, Danish skak, Swedish schack, Icelandic skák, French échec, Italian scacco. Doublet of chess and shah (“king of Persia or Iran”), from the same source, as well as thig, which derives from the Germanic cognate. All of the English senses developed from the chess sense.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
6 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
14.2%
of traced words share this origin (11,769)
How it is built
Same root, CHECK · 7 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Danish, Dutch, German, Icelandic, Italian, Swedish.
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.
CHECK in OUTLIER
It has fitted 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 153, 20 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 14 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 139, 6 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
CHECK starts with C and ends with K. Sorted, its letters read CCEHK - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. C appears more than once.
Words that start CHECK
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found CHECK?
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 153 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER