The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
OPTIMAL
Definition of OPTIMAL
adjective
The best, most favourable or desirable, especially under some restriction.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Latin optimus (“best”) + English -al.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Latin
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.6%
of traced words share this origin (24,726)
branch · 30.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, OPTIMAL · 3 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.
OPTIMAL in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 34 boards so far. 66 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 12, 1 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 162, 29 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First found by a player on Day 12, 1 June 2026.
Built from these letters
OPTIMAL starts with O and ends with L. Sorted, its letters read AILMOPT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start OPTIMA
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 12
Could you have found OPTIMAL?
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 12 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER