The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
COLTAN
Definition of COLTAN
noun
A metallic ore, (Fe,Mn)(Ta,Nb)2O6, from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Blend of columbite + tantalite.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
How it is built
Same root, COLTAN · 1 relative 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.
COLTAN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 12 boards so far. 12 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 88, 16 August 2026. The most recent board was Day 150, 17 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 18 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 88, 16 August 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
COLTAN starts with C and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read ACLNOT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Could you have found COLTAN?
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 88 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER