The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
XYSTER
Definition of XYSTER
noun
A surgical instrument used to scrape bones.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Other senses
XYSTER carries 4 further meanings.
noun
A surgical instrument for scraping bones.
noun
A surgeons' instrument for scraping bones.
noun
[capitalized] [NL.] A genus of fishes.
noun
An instrument for scraping bones.
Where it comes from
From Ancient Greek ξυστήρ (xustḗr, “scraper”), from ξύω (xúō, “scrape”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Ancient Greek
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
12.6%
of traced words share this origin (3,600)
branch · 12.6% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, XYST · 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.
XYSTER in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 21 boards so far. 87 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 16, 5 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 131, 28 September 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 10 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 16, 5 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
XYSTER starts with X and ends with R. Sorted, its letters read ERSTXY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram. It uses X - among the least common letters in written English.
Words that start XYSTER
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 16
Could you have found XYSTER?
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 16 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER