The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
LURCH
Definition of LURCH
noun
A sudden or unsteady movement.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Originally a nautical term, found in lee-larches (“the sudden and violent rolls of a ship to the leeward in high seas”), of unknown origin. Possibly the same as lurch (“to move stealthily, evade by stooping”) (see below), or from French lâcher (“to let go”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- French
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
5th
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
7.2%
of traced words share this origin (2,062)
branch · 15.4% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, LURCH · 4 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.
LURCH in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 22 boards so far. 33 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 25, 14 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 142, 9 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 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
LURCH starts with L and ends with H. Sorted, its letters read CHLRU - 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.
Words that start LURCH
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 25
Could you have found LURCH?
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