The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
EXCEPT
Definition of EXCEPT
verb
To exclude; to specify as being an exception.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Middle French excepter, from Latin exceptus.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Latin
- Middle French
- English
2 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, EXCEPT · 2 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.
EXCEPT in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 6 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 32, 21 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 133, 30 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 32 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 32, 21 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
EXCEPT starts with E and ends with T. Sorted, its letters read CEEPTX - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once. It uses X - among the least common letters in written English.
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 EXCEPT
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 32
Could you have found EXCEPT?
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 32 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER