The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
POLEAXE
Definition of POLEAXE
noun
An ax having both a blade and a hammer face; used to slaughter cattle.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Other senses
POLEAXE carries 4 further meanings.
noun
a long-handled battle-ax, being a combination of ax, hammer and pike
verb
to fell someone with, or as if with, a poleaxe
verb
fell with or as if with a poleax
noun
an ax used to slaughter cattle; has a hammer opposite the blade
Where it comes from
From earlier pollax, from poll (“head”) + axe, with the spelling influenced by pole.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
How it is built
POLEAXE in a sentence
“Wretched brutes there at the cattlemarket waiting for the poleaxe to split their skulls open.”
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
POLEAXE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 15 boards so far. 66 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 32, 21 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 161, 28 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 32, 21 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
POLEAXE starts with P and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read AEELOPX - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once. It uses X - among the least common letters in written English.
Words that start POLEAX
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 32
Could you have found POLEAXE?
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 32 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER