The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
SPHALERITE
Definition of SPHALERITE
noun
A yellow, brown or black, sometimes red, green white or colorless mineral with cubic crystals, of a chemical formula (Zn,Fe)S, often containing also minor metals, such as cadmium, gallium, germanium and indium.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Ancient Greek σφαλερός (sphalerós, “unstable, unsteady, precarious”) + -ite; named in 1847.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.4%
of traced words share this origin (10,094)
branch · 12.4% of traced words
How it is built
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
SPHALERITE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 31 boards so far. 32 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 40, 29 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 163, 30 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 40, 29 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
SPHALERITE starts with S and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read AEEHILPRST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once.
Words that start SPHALE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 40
Could you have found SPHALERITE?
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 40 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER