The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
HANDFAST
Definition of HANDFAST
noun
A hold, grasp; custody, power of confining or keeping.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English hondfast, past participle of Middle English hondfesten (“to betroth”), from Old Norse handfesta (“to strike a bargain, pledge”), itself from hönd (“hand”) + festa (“to fasten, fix, affirm”), perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European root *pHst-.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
8.9%
of traced words share this origin (2,656)
How it is built
Same root, HANDFAST · 2 relatives in the game
Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
HANDFAST in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 30 boards so far. 61 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 25, 14 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 149, 16 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 4 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 25, 14 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
HANDFAST starts with H and ends with T. Sorted, its letters read AADFHNST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. A appears more than once.
Words that start HANDFA
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 25
Could you have found HANDFAST?
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 25 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER