The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
CISTERN
Definition of CISTERN
noun
A reservoir or tank for holding water, especially for catching and holding rainwater for later use.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English cisterne, from Old French cisterne (Modern French citerne) from Latin cisterna, from cista (“box”), from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, “box”). Doublet of cisterna.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
4 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
12.6%
of traced words share this origin (3,672)
branch · 12.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, CISTERN · 2 relatives in the game
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
CISTERN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 67 boards so far. 227 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 11, 31 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 144, 11 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First found by a player on Day 11, 31 May 2026.
Built from these letters
CISTERN starts with C and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read CEINRST - 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 CISTER
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 11
Could you have found CISTERN?
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 11 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER