The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
OMBUDSMAN
Definition of OMBUDSMAN
noun
An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints, generally on behalf of individuals such as consumers or taxpayers, against institutions such as companies and government departments.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Swedish ombudsman (equivalent to ombud (“representative, proxy”) + man), from Old Norse umboðsmaðr.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
14th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
1%
of traced words share this origin (853)
branch · 22.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, OMBUDSMAN · 1 relative 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.
OMBUDSMAN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 2 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 166, 2 November 2026. The most recent board was Day 172, 8 November 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 166, 2 November 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
OMBUDSMAN starts with O and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read ABDMMNOSU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. M appears more than once.
Words that start OMBUDS
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found OMBUDSMAN?
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 166 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER