The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
DEFALCATE
Definition of DEFALCATE
verb
To misappropriate funds; to embezzle.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
First attested in the 1530s, in the sense “to lop off”; borrowed from Medieval Latin dēfalcātus, perfect passive participle of dēfalcō (“to cut or lop off”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin dē (“off”) + falx (“sickle, scythe, pruning hook”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Latin
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.6%
of traced words share this origin (24,817)
branch · 30.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, DEFALCATE · 4 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.
DEFALCATE 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 25, 14 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 163, 30 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First found by a player on Day 25, 14 June 2026.
Built from these letters
DEFALCATE starts with D and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read AACDEEFLT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E and A appear more than once.
Words that start DEFALC
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 25
Could you have found DEFALCATE?
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 25 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER