The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
DEFT
Definition of DEFT
adjective
Quick and neat in action; skillful.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English defte, daft (“gentle”), from Old English dæfte (“mild, gentle, meek”), from Proto-West Germanic *daftī (“fitting, suitable”), derived from *dabaną (“to be suitable”). Near cognates include Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌳𐍉𐍆𐍃 (gadōfs, “suitable”), West Frisian deftich (“distinguished”), Dutch deftig (“distinguished”), German deftig (“coarse”). Further cognates include Russian добро (dobro, “wealth, good”) and Latin faber (“craftsman; skillful”). Doublet of daft.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
DEFT in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 19 boards so far. 37 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 10, 30 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 101, 29 August 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 10, 30 May 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
DEFT starts with D and ends with T. Sorted, its letters read DEFT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start DEFT
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 10
Could you have found DEFT?
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 10 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER