The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
MICROBE
Definition of MICROBE
noun
Any microorganism; especially, a harmful bacterium.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French microbe, from Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós, “small”) and βίος (bíos, “life”). By surface analysis, micro- + -obe.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- French
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.4%
of traced words share this origin (10,043)
branch · 12.4% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, MICROBE · 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.
MICROBE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 19 boards so far. 28 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 43, 2 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 158, 25 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 43, 2 July 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
MICROBE starts with M and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read BCEIMOR - 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 MICROB
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 43
Could you have found MICROBE?
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 43 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER