The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
MERCES
Definition of MERCES
Wiktionary has no entry for MERCES itself. This is its base word, MERC.
noun
A mercenary.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
The origin recorded for MERC.
Clipping of mercenary. For the /k/ compare bike.
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.
MERCES in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 3 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 51, 10 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 74, 2 August 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 38 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 51, 10 July 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
MERCES starts with M and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read CEEMRS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
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 51
Could you have found MERCES?
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 51 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER