The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
OPERATION
Definition of OPERATION
noun
The method by which a device performs its function.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English operacioun, from Old French operacion, from Latin operātiō, from the verb operor (“to work”), from opus, operis (“work”). Equivalent to operate + -ion.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
33.1%
of traced words share this origin (9,595)
branch · 33.1% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, OPERATION · 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.
OPERATION in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 10 boards so far. 10 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 29, 18 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 115, 12 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 30 days.
First found by a player on Day 29, 18 June 2026.
Built from these letters
OPERATION starts with O and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read AEINOOPRT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. O appears more than once.
Words that start OPERAT
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 29
Could you have found OPERATION?
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 29 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER