The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
SPHINCTER
Definition of SPHINCTER
noun
A ringlike band of muscle that surrounds a bodily opening (such as the anus or the openings of the stomach), constricting and relaxing as required for normal physiological functioning.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Late Latin sphinctēr (“the muscle of the anus”), from Ancient Greek σφῐγκτήρ (sphĭnktḗr, “lace, band; contractile muscle”), ultimately of Pre-Greek origin. Possibly related to sphinx (“the strangler”).
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.
SPHINCTER in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 38 boards so far. 96 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 7, 28 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 102, 30 August 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First found by a player on Day 7, 28 May 2026.
Built from these letters
SPHINCTER starts with S and ends with R. Sorted, its letters read CEHINPRST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start SPHINC
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 7
Could you have found SPHINCTER?
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 7 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER