The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
NEEDS
Definition of NEEDS
adverb
Either directly or indirectly preceded or followed by an auxiliary verb, often must: of necessity or need; necessarily, indispensably.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English nedes (“of necessity, necessarily; inevitably, unavoidably”) [and other forms], from Old English nēdes, nīedes (“of necessity; not willingly”), from nīed + -es (suffix forming adverbs from nouns). The English word is equivalent to need + -'s (possessive marker) and hence to need + -s (suffix forming adverbs).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Old English
- Middle English
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
6th
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
4.2%
of traced words share this origin (1,197)
branch · 22.4% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, NEED · 2 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.
NEEDS in OUTLIER
It has fitted 4 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 78, 6 August 2026. The most recent board was Day 134, 1 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 8 days.
First found by a player on Day 13, 2 June 2026.
Built from these letters
NEEDS starts with N and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read DEENS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once, including a double letter.
Same letters, different word
4 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Could you have found NEEDS?
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 78 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER