The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
TAPHONOMY
Definition of TAPHONOMY
noun
The study of the fate of the remains of organisms after they die, especially the study of fossilization.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From tapho- (from Ancient Greek τάφος (táphos, “grave”)) + -nomy.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
12.7%
of traced words share this origin (3,825)
branch · 12.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, TAPHONOMY · 1 relative in the game
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
TAPHONOMY in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 14 boards so far. 17 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 38, 27 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 147, 14 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 6 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 38, 27 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
TAPHONOMY starts with T and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read AHMNOOPTY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. O appears more than once.
Words that start TAPHON
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 38
Could you have found TAPHONOMY?
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 38 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER