The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
COOTIE
Definition of COOTIE
noun
A louse (Pediculus humanus).
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Probably from Malay kutu (“flea, louse”) (and/or Tagalog/Māori). First attested in English in 1917 as British army slang during World War I.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Malay
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
28th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
0.3%
of traced words share this origin (100)
branch · 0.5% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, COOTIE · 1 relative in the game
Its etymology also names Tagalog.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
COOTIE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 15 boards so far. 13 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 9, 29 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 129, 26 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 23 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 29, 18 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
COOTIE starts with C and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read CEIOOT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. O appears more than once, including a double letter.
Also seen on Day 9
Could you have found COOTIE?
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 9 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER