The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
PHOTOLYSIS
Definition of PHOTOLYSIS
noun
Any chemical reaction in which a compound is decomposed after absorbing a photon.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Ancient Greek φωτ- (phōt-), root of φῶς (phôs, “light”) + λύσις (lúsis, “decomposition”). By surface analysis, photo- + -lysis.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.4%
of traced words share this origin (10,104)
branch · 12.4% 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.
PHOTOLYSIS in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far.
It first turned up on Day 162, 29 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 162, 29 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
PHOTOLYSIS starts with P and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read HILOOPSSTY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. O and S appear more than once.
Words that start PHOTOL
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found PHOTOLYSIS?
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 162 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER