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MERCAPTAN
Definition of MERCAPTAN
noun
Any of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, ( R-SH ) where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. They tend to be foul-smelling. They are also termed thiols or thioalcohols.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from German Mercaptan, from Danish mercaptan; coined by organic chemist William Christopher Zeise in 1832 from mer(curius) (“mercury”) + captan(s) (“capturing”), because the thiolate group bonds very strongly with mercury compounds.
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.
MERCAPTAN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 7 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 27, 16 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 108, 5 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 12 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 27, 16 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Also on
Built from these letters
MERCAPTAN starts with M and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read AACEMNPRT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. A appears more than once.
Words that start MERCAP
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 27
Could you have found MERCAPTAN?
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 27 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER