The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
PREFECT
Definition of PREFECT
noun
An official of Ancient Rome who controlled or superintended a particular command, charge, department, etc.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English prefect and prefecte, from Old French prefect (Mod. French préfet), from Latin praefectus (“one placed in charge, overseer, director, prefect”), from praeficere (“to place in charge”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.7%
of traced words share this origin (23,951)
branch · 30.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, PREFECT · 3 relatives 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.
PREFECT in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 37 boards so far. 78 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 31, 20 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 154, 21 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 31, 20 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
PREFECT starts with P and ends with T. Sorted, its letters read CEEFPRT - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start PREFEC
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 31
Could you have found PREFECT?
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 31 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER