The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ERGONOMICS
Definition of ERGONOMICS
noun
The science of the design of equipment, especially so as to reduce operator fatigue, discomfort and injury.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From ergo- (prefix indicating work) + -nomics (suffix indicating the rules of a discipline), probably modelled after Polish ergonomia (“ergonomics”) (used by Polish scientist Wojciech Jastrzębowski (1799–1882) in an 1857 article), from Ancient Greek ἔργον (érgon, “work”) + νόμος (nómos, “custom; law, ordinance”). The English word is widely regarded as having been introduced by British psychologist K. F. Hywel Murrell at a meeting at the Admiralty in London in July 1949, which led to the establishment of the Ergonomics Research Society (now The Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors) on 17 September 1949.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- Polish
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.6%
of traced words share this origin (3,724)
branch · 12.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, ERGONOMIC · 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.
ERGONOMICS in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 33 boards so far. 53 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 14, 3 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 148, 15 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 14, 3 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
ERGONOMICS starts with E and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read CEGIMNOORS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. O appears more than once.
Words that start ERGONO
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 14
Could you have found ERGONOMICS?
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 14 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER