The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
COVER
Definition of COVER
noun
A lid.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English coveren, borrowed from Old French covrir, cueuvrir (modern French couvrir), from Late Latin coperire, from Latin cooperiō (“to cover completely”), from co- (intensive prefix) + operiō (“to close, cover”). Displaced native Middle English thecchen and bethecchen (“to cover”) (from Old English þeccan, beþeccan (“to cover”)), Middle English helen, (over)helen, (for)helen (“to cover, conceal”) (from Old English helan (“to conceal, cover, hide”)), Middle English wrien, (be)wreon (“to cover”) (from Old English (be)wrēon (“to cover”)), Middle English hodren, hothren (“to cover up”) (from Low German hudren (“to cover up”)). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the original sense of the verb and noun cover was “hide from view” as in its cognate covert. Except in the limited sense of “cover again”, the word recover is unrelated and is cognate with recuperate. Cognate with Spanish cubrir and Portuguese cobrir.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.5%
of traced words share this origin (24,890)
branch · 30.5% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, COVER · 10 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names German, Old English, Portuguese, Spanish.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
COVER in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 12 boards so far. 15 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 2, 23 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 154, 21 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 10 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 2, 23 May 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
COVER starts with C and ends with R. Sorted, its letters read CEORV - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start COVER
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 2
Could you have found COVER?
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 2 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER