The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
PAUSE
Definition of PAUSE
verb
To take a temporary rest, take a break for a short period after an effort.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle French pause, from Latin pausa, from Ancient Greek παῦσις (paûsis), from Ancient Greek παύω (paúō, “stop”), of uncertain origin. Doublet of pausa.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.6%
of traced words share this origin (3,770)
branch · 12.6% of traced words
How it is built
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
PAUSE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 22 boards so far. 28 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 5, 26 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 151, 18 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First found by a player on Day 5, 26 May 2026.
Built from these letters
PAUSE starts with P and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read AEPSU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start PAUSE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 5
Could you have found PAUSE?
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 5 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER