The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
PAWN
Definition of PAWN
noun
The state of being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English paun, pawyn, pawnd, from Old French pan, pant (“pledge for a payment”), from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *pand (“deposit, security, pledge”), further origin uncertain. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Pound (“deposit, pledge, pawn”), West Frisian pân (“pawn”), Dutch pand (“pledge, pawn”), German Low German Pand (“deposit, pledge, pawn”), German Pfand (“deposit, pledge, pawn”), Swedish pant (“pledge, pawn”), Faroese pantur (“security, lien”), Icelandic pantur (“pledge, security, pawn”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
PAWN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 25 boards so far. 79 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 8, 29 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 114, 11 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 7 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 8, 29 May 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
PAWN starts with P and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read ANPW - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start PAWN
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 8
Could you have found PAWN?
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 8 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER