The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
PHILATELY
Definition of PHILATELY
noun
Stamp collecting.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
First use appears c. 1865. Borrowed from French philatélie, coined by French stamp collector Georges Herpin in 1864 (in Le Collectionneur de Timbres-poste, Nov. 15, 1864), from Ancient Greek φιλέω (philéō, “I love”) + ἀτέλεια (atéleia), the closest word he could find in Ancient Greek to the concept of "postage stamp", from ἀ- (a-, “without”) + τέλος (télos, “tax”). This word serves as a reminder of the original function of postage stamps, now often forgotten: the cost of letter-carrying formerly was paid by the recipient; stamps indicated it had been prepaid by the sender, and thus the letters were "carriage-free".
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.
PHILATELY in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far. 33 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 110, 7 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 110, 7 September 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
PHILATELY starts with P and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read AEHILLPTY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. L appears more than once.
Words that start PHILAT
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found PHILATELY?
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 110 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER