The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
SPONDEE
Definition of SPONDEE
noun
A word or metrical foot of two syllables, either both long or both stressed.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Other senses
SPONDEE carries 4 further meanings.
noun
A metrical foot consisting of two long or stressed syllables.
noun
In ancient prosody, a foot consisting of two long times or syllables, one of which constitutes the thesis and the other the arsis: it is accordingly tetrasemic and isorrhythmic. The spondee is principally used as a substitute for a dactyl or an anapest. In the former case it is a dactylic spondee ( for ), in the latter an anapestic spondee ( for ). An irrational spondee represents a trisemic foot, trochee, or iambus ( for , or for ). It is found in the even places of trochaic lines and in the odd places of iambic lines, also in logaœdic verses, especially as representing the initial trochee (“basis”). A foot consisting of two spondees is called a dispondee.
noun
A poetic foot of two long syllables, as in the Latin word lēgēs.
noun
a metrical unit with stressed-stressed syllables
Where it comes from
From Latin spondēus (“spondee”), from Ancient Greek σπονδεῖος (spondeîos, “associated with a libation”) from σπονδή (spondḗ, “libation”): spondees were often used in melodies sung at libations.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- Latin
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.6%
of traced words share this origin (3,706)
branch · 12.6% of traced words
How it is built
SPONDEE in a sentence
“It's in a beat called iambic trimeter: da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM, which keeps it light-hearted, but generally when Kunitz uses the word "God" he does so in what's called a spondee, with two strong syllables in succession.”
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
SPONDEE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 64 boards so far. 125 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 35, 24 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 149, 16 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First ever to find it
on Day 35, 24 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
SPONDEE starts with S and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read DEENOPS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. E appears more than once, including a double letter.
Same letters, different word
One other word uses exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start SPONDE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 35
Could you have found SPONDEE?
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 35 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER