The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
STYE
Definition of STYE
noun
A bacterial infection in the eyelash or eyelid.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
First recorded in the 17th century; probably a back-formation from Middle English styanye (first recorded in the 15th century), which in turn comes from Old English stīgend (“a small tumour on the edge of the eyelid, stye”), from the verb stīgan (“to climb, ascend, rise”) + Middle English eie (“eye”). Equivalent to sty + eye.
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.
STYE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 20 boards so far. 61 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 27, 16 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 94, 22 August 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First ever to find it
on Day 27, 16 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
STYE starts with S and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read ESTY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
3 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Also seen on Day 27
Could you have found STYE?
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 27 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER