The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
PHOTONICS
Definition of PHOTONICS
noun
The science and technology of generating and controlling photons, particularly in the visible and near infrared light spectrum.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From photon + -ics.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
How it is built
Same root, PHOTONIC · 1 relative 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.
PHOTONICS in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 45 boards so far. 185 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 41, 30 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 147, 14 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 41, 30 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
PHOTONICS starts with P and ends with S. Sorted, its letters read CHINOOPST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. O appears more than once.
Words that start PHOTON
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 41
Could you have found PHOTONICS?
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 41 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER