The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
SKIRMISH
Definition of SKIRMISH
noun
A brief battle between small groups, usually part of a longer or larger battle or war.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English skirmish (as a verb), from Old French escarmouche (“skirmish”), from Italian scaramuccia, earlier schermugio. Doublet of escarmouche, Scaramouche, and Scaramucci.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
10th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
2%
of traced words share this origin (584)
branch · 15.4% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, SKIRMISH · 1 relative 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.
SKIRMISH in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far. 24 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 140, 7 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 11 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 140, 7 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
SKIRMISH starts with S and ends with H. Sorted, its letters read HIIKMRSS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. S and I appear more than once.
Words that start SKIRMI
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found SKIRMISH?
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 140 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER