The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
DESPOT
Definition of DESPOT
noun
A ruler with absolute power; a tyrant.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle French despote, from Old French despote, from Medieval Latin despota, from Ancient Greek δεσπότης (despótēs, “lord, master, owner”). Cognate with Sanskrit दम्पति (dámpati).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
4 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.2%
of traced words share this origin (9,465)
branch · 12.2% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, DESPOT · 2 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Sanskrit.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
DESPOT in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 53 boards so far. 101 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 20, 9 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 155, 22 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First found by a player on Day 20, 9 June 2026.
Built from these letters
DESPOT starts with D and ends with T. Sorted, its letters read DEOPST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
4 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start DESPOT
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 20
Could you have found DESPOT?
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 20 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER