The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
SHELTER
Definition of SHELTER
noun
Somewhere one can find protection. A place where a person or animal may find protection from the elements (especially rain, storms, or cold) sometimes as a place to sleep (such as a cave).
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English sheltron, sheldtrume (“roof or wall formed by locked shields”), from Old English sċildtruma, sċyldtruma (“a phalanx, company (of troops), a tortoise, a covering, shed, shelter”, literally “shield-troop”), from sċyld, sċield (“shield”) + truma (“a troop of soldiers”). Cognate with Scots schilthrum, schiltrum. More at shield, and Old English trymman (“to strengthen”), from trum (“strong, firm”) at trim. Doublet of sheltron (a kind of military formation), which is the more conservative of the two.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Old English
- Middle English
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
7th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
3.7%
of traced words share this origin (2,855)
branch · 22.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, SHELTER · 4 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Scots.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
SHELTER in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 17 boards so far. 18 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 28, 17 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 145, 12 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 12 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 28, 17 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
SHELTER starts with S and ends with R. Sorted, its letters read EEHLRST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Words that start SHELTE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 28
Could you have found SHELTER?
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