The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
ROOKIE
Definition of ROOKIE
noun
An inexperienced recruit, especially in the police or armed forces.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Thought to be an alteration of recruit + -ie, or from rook (“a cheat”) + -ie. Another possible origin is Dutch broekie (short for broekvent (“a boy still in short trousers”)), a common term for a shipmate. Also suggested is Irish rúca (“an inexperienced person”).
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.
ROOKIE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 5 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 22, 11 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 93, 21 August 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 18 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 22, 11 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
ROOKIE starts with R and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read EIKOOR - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. O appears more than once, including a double letter.
Words that start ROOKIE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 22
Could you have found ROOKIE?
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 22 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER