The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
THUMB
Definition of THUMB
noun
The shortest and thickest digit of the hand that for humans has the most mobility and can be made to oppose (moved to touch) all of the other fingers.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
Derived from Middle English thombe, thoume, thoumbe (“thumb”), from Old English þūma (“thumb”), from Proto-West Germanic *þūmō (“thumb”), from Proto-Germanic *þūmô (“thumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *tūm- (“to grow”). Cognate with West Frisian tomme (“thumb”), Dutch duim (“thumb”), Low German Duum (“thumb”), German Daumen (“thumb”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk tomme (“inch”), Norn tum (“thumb”), Swedish tumme (“thumb”), tum (“inch”), Russian дюйм (djujm, “inch”), Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “burial mound”). Also compare Welsh tyfu (“to grow”), Latin tumēre (“to swell”), Lithuanian tumėti (“to thicken, clot”), Avestan 𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙 (amūt, “strong”), Sanskrit तुम्र (túmra, “strong, thick”). The parasitic ‐b has existed since the late 13th century. Doublet of tomb.
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.
THUMB in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 15 boards so far. 13 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 20, 9 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 103, 31 August 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 19 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 20, 9 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
THUMB starts with T and ends with B. Sorted, its letters read BHMTU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start THUMB
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 20
Could you have found THUMB?
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 20 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER