The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
PATTERN
Definition of PATTERN
noun
Model, example. Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From earlier patten, paterne, from Middle English patron (“patron; example”), from Old French patron, from Medieval Latin patrōnus (“patron”). Doublet of padrone, patron, Patronus, and patroon.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.7%
of traced words share this origin (26,450)
branch · 30.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, PATTERN · 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.
PATTERN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 2 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 117, 14 September 2026. The most recent board was Day 154, 21 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 24 days.
First found by a player on Day 117, 14 September 2026.
Built from these letters
PATTERN starts with P and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read AENPRTT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. T appears more than once, including a double letter.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start PATTER
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found PATTERN?
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 117 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER