The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
SHEAF
Definition of SHEAF
noun
A quantity of the stalks and ears of wheat, rye, or other grain, bound together; a bundle of grain or straw.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English scheef, from Old English sċēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *skaub, from Proto-Germanic *skauba- (“sheaf”). Akin to West Frisian skeaf (“sheaf”), Dutch schoof (“sheaf”), German Schaub, Old Norse skauf (“a fox's tail”). Compare further Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐍆𐍄 (skuft, “hair of the head”), German Schopf (“tuft”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
6th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
4.7%
of traced words share this origin (3,679)
branch · 22.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, SHEAF · 3 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Dutch, Old Norse.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
SHEAF in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 42 boards so far. 80 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 28, 17 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 155, 22 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First found by a player on Day 28, 17 June 2026.
Built from these letters
SHEAF starts with S and ends with F. Sorted, its letters read AEFHS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start SHEAF
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 28
Could you have found SHEAF?
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 28 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER