The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
CLEANSE
Definition of CLEANSE
verb
To free from dirt; to clean, to purify.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English clensen, from Old English clǣnsian, from Proto-West Germanic *klainisōn, from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“clean”). Cognate with West Frisian klinzgje (“to clean, cleanse”), archaic Dutch kleinzen (“to clean, purify”), Middle Low German klênsen, kleinsen, clensen (“to purify”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Old English
- Middle English
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
7th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
3.7%
of traced words share this origin (2,853)
branch · 22.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, CLEANSE · 1 relative in the game
Its etymology also names Dutch, Middle Low German.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
CLEANSE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 12 boards so far. 22 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 31, 20 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 133, 30 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 22 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 31, 20 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
CLEANSE starts with C and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read ACEELNS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
3 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start CLEANS
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 31
Could you have found CLEANSE?
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 31 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER