The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ESCROW
Definition of ESCROW
noun
A contractual arrangement whereby money or assets are held in trust by an independent agent by the agreement of the parties, which can only be released to the relevant party once certain contractual conditions have been fulfilled.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Law French escrowe, from Old French escroe (“register, note; bit of parchment; piece”), from Frankish *skrōda (“piece”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudō, derivative of Proto-Germanic *skraudaną (“to shred”). Doublet of scrow and shred and partially scroll.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
7th
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
3.3%
of traced words share this origin (980)
branch · 22.3% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, ESCROW · 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.
ESCROW in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 39 boards so far. 72 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 28, 17 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 147, 14 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 28, 17 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
ESCROW starts with E and ends with W. Sorted, its letters read CEORSW - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
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 ESCROW
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 28
Could you have found ESCROW?
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 28 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER