The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
NICK
Definition of NICK
noun
A small cut in a surface. A particular place or point considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from Late Middle English nik (“notch, tally; nock of an arrow”). Its further etymology is unknown; a connection with nock (“notch in a bow to hold the bowstring; notch at the rear of an arrow that fits the bowstring; cleft in the buttocks”) has not been clearly established. The verb appears to be derived from the noun, though the available evidence shows that some of the verb senses predate the noun senses. No connection with words in Germanic languages such as Danish nikke (“to nod”), Middle Dutch nicken (“to bend; to bow”) (modern Dutch knikken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German nicken (“to bend over; to sink”), Middle High German nicken (“to bend; to depress”) (modern German nicken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German knicken (“to bend; to snap”) (modern German knicken (“to bend; to break”), Old Frisian hnekka (“to nod”), and Swedish nicka (“to nod”), has been clearly established.
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.
NICK in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 7 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 3, 24 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 121, 18 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 20, 9 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Also on
Built from these letters
NICK starts with N and ends with K. Sorted, its letters read CIKN - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start NICK
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 3
Could you have found NICK?
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 3 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER