The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
FORMICATE
Definition of FORMICATE
verb
To move like ants.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Latin formīca (“ant”) + English -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Latin
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.7%
of traced words share this origin (24,343)
branch · 30.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, FORMICATE · 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.
FORMICATE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 21 boards so far. 30 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 28, 17 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 155, 22 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 5 days.
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
FORMICATE starts with F and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read ACEFIMORT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start FORMIC
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 28
Could you have found FORMICATE?
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