The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
LIGAND
Definition of LIGAND
noun
A molecule or moiety (ion, functional group, or radical) that binds to another chemical entity to form a larger complex; as, especially: (coordination chemistry) Such an entity that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. Such an entity that forms a complex with a biomolecule to serve a biological purpose.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Latin ligandus, gerundive of ligo (“bind”).
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.
LIGAND in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 19 boards so far. 22 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 5, 26 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 108, 5 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 5, 26 May 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
LIGAND starts with L and ends with D. Sorted, its letters read ADGILN - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Also seen on Day 5
Could you have found LIGAND?
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 5 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER