The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
SPRAIN
Definition of SPRAIN
verb
To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Origin unknown. Noun attested since 1601; verb attested 1622. Possibly borrowed from Middle French espraindre (“to squeeze or press out”), from Latin exprimere (“to squeeze out, express”), in which case cognate to express.
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.
SPRAIN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 3 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 47, 6 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 88, 16 August 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 14 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 47, 6 July 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
SPRAIN starts with S and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read AINPRS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
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 SPRAIN
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 47
Could you have found SPRAIN?
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 47 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER