The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ESTER
Definition of ESTER
noun
A compound most often formed by the condensation of an alcohol and an acid, with elimination of water, which contains the functional group carbon-oxygen double bond (i.e., carbonyl) joined via carbon to another oxygen atom.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from German Ester, possibly a blend of Essig + Äther. See ether for more.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- German
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
8th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
3.1%
of traced words share this origin (923)
branch · 22.3% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, ESTER · 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.
ESTER in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 39 boards so far. 51 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 28, 17 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 152, 19 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
ESTER starts with E and ends with R. Sorted, its letters read EERST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
8 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start ESTER
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 28
Could you have found ESTER?
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