The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
DEFOLIATION
Definition of DEFOLIATION
noun
The separation of ripened leaves from a branch or stem; the falling or shedding of the leaves.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From defoliate + -ion.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
How it is built
Same root, DEFOLIATION · 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.
DEFOLIATION in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 10 boards so far. 12 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 86, 14 August 2026. The most recent board was Day 128, 25 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 25 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 86, 14 August 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
DEFOLIATION starts with D and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read ADEFIILNOOT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. O and I appear more than once.
Words that start DEFOLIA
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found DEFOLIATION?
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 86 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER