The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
KEEN
Definition of KEEN
adjective
Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English kene (“bold, brave, sharp”), from Old English cēne (“keen, fierce, bold, brave, warlike, powerful; learned, clever, wise”), from Proto-Germanic *kōniz (“knowledgeable, skilful, experienced, clever, capable”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”). Cognate with Danish køn (“handsome, pretty”), Dutch kien (“smart, wise, able”), koen (“daring, valiant, doughty, courageous”), German kühn (“bold, daring, audacious, hardy, valiant, venturesome”), Icelandic kænn (“wise, crafty, clever, able”), Faroese kønur (“expert (in, on), experienced, skilful, able, capable”), Scots keen (“lively, brisk; avaricious”). Related to Old English cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”). More at cunning, can.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
KEEN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 32 boards so far. 110 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 13, 2 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 112, 9 September 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 19, 8 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
KEEN starts with K and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read EEKN - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once, including a double letter.
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 KEEN
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found KEEN?
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 13 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER