Scripps National Spelling Bee

178 years ago today – on September 24, 1847 – Merriam-Webster's New and Revised Edition was released! It was just four years after Noah Webster's death in 1843, when all rights to the name "Webster" were purchased by George and Charles Merriam. #dictionary

In 1992, Ned Andrews finished 15th at the Bee. He came back in 1993 and improved to 14th. Then in 1994? He spelled his way to the trophy. 🏆 Ned later served on the Bee’s competition staff for six years. This past May, he returned to D.C. to celebrate our 100th anniversary. ❤️

In 1985, Balu Natarajan became the first Indian American to win the Bee, paving the way for the wave of Indian Americans who have dominated the competition ever since. 🏆 In May, we were honored to welcome Balu back for our 100th anniversary celebration. 🐝💯 #legend

It's the 20th anniversary of that time speller Dominic Ranz Ebarle Errazo from South Carolina dropped his best Napoleon Dynamite impression just before correctly spelling his word at the 2005 Bee. 🧨 After all, girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. 😁 Classic.

On this Fashion Day, we celebrate the bouffant and also take this opportunity to submit our vote to change it to the bee-ffant. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the official dictionary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. #wordoftheweek #spellingbee

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July from your friends at the Bee! 🇺🇸

Our Word of the Week is in honor of "I Forgot Day." Which we missed yesterday. Because we forgot. @MerriamWebster, the official dictionary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. #wordoftheweek #spellingbee

Julie Grant competed in the 1995 Bee. 🐝 Since then she's become a lawyer, worked as a reporter and was even a cheerleader for the NHL’s @penguins. Today, she's a @CourtTV host and part of the Bee's TV coverage team. Thanks @JulieCourtTV for being one of our biggest fans! ❤️

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." – Ralph Waldo Emerson #MotivationMonday

🐝 Fun Fact: When Bee Pronouncer Dr. Jacques Bailly was born on January 28, 1966, the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart was "We Can Work It Out" by The Beatles. Seems fitting for someone who would go on to spend so much time studying word origins and spelling. 😁

Kerry Close won the 2006 Bee after four failed attempts, and to this day she continues to put in the effort to do hard things! ❤️ In April, Kerry ran a phenomenal time of 3:21 at the @BostonMarathon! She also joined us at our 100th anniversary last month. 🐝 #champion

Nice 💯

Third-place finisher, Sarv Dharavane, turned in an astonishing performance as a 5th grader, effortlessly spelling "dhaura" in Round 1️⃣7️⃣ of the Finals! 🐝 @MerriamWebster, the official dictionary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. #wordoftheweek #spellingbee #thebeeturns100

After Raga Ramachandran won the 1988 Bee, she raced through high school in three years, won a $10,000 Westinghouse Science Talent Search scholarship at 15, started @Stanford at 16 and is now Professor of Clinical Pathology at the University of California San Francisco. 🐝

On this day 98 years ago—June 23, 1927—17 students gathered at the National Museum in Washington, D.C., for the 3rd ever National Spelling Bee! 🐝 1st place went to 13-year-old Dean Lucas of Ohio, who nailed the word "abrogate" to clinch it (Dean also competed at the 1926 Bee).

On his way to the 2025 Bee Championship, Faizan Zaki nailed 19 different words: viaticum imperious appertain tête-à-tête anenterous comprador sidereal ayapana coterell Politique sapience daimiate radicicolous adytum olona Symlin Cupar Chaldee éclaircissement 🏆 Not too shabby.

John Capehart of Tulsa correctly spelled “smaragdine” to win the 1961 Bee and become the first champion from Oklahoma! He was just continuing a family tradition–John's brother Mark placed 12th in 1958! John returned to Bee Week 2025 to help celebrate our 100th anniversary! 🐝💯