The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
DIRECTION
Definition of DIRECTION
noun
A theoretical line (physically or mentally) followed from a point of origin or towards a destination. May be relative (e.g. up, left, outbound, dorsal), geographical (e.g. north), rotational (e.g. clockwise), or with respect to an object or location (e.g. toward Boston).
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English direccioun, from Old French direccion, from Latin dīrēctiō. Equivalent to direct + -ion.
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
30.6%
of traced words share this origin (25,170)
branch · 30.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, DIRECTION · 3 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.
DIRECTION in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 9 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 29, 18 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 113, 10 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 53 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 29, 18 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
DIRECTION starts with D and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read CDEIINORT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. I appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start DIRECT
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 29
Could you have found DIRECTION?
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 29 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER