Scripps National Spelling Bee | featured news

It'll take more than spelling to win this year's National Spelling Bee. The youngsters will have to know some definitions as well. For the first time, vocabulary will be a part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee when the competition is held next month near the nation's capital.

Snigdha Nadipati of San Diego clinched the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee title with the French word guetapens.

The youngest speller in National Spelling Bee history saiys she knew the word she misspelled during the competition but was too tired, bored and stressed out to concentrate.

A 6-year-old girl became the youngest participant ever to compete in the preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Wednesday, getting off to a successful start by spelling "dirigible.

It's what makes the spelling bee such gripping drama. Five competitors were left, and it appeared none of them would ever miss again. They correctly rolled off 21 words in a row. Hard ones, like "abhinaya" and "capoeira" and "cheongsam" and "opodeldoc." One of the spellers kept checking another one's watch. It was past bedtime, and long past the time slot that had been allotted by ESPN.

Anamika Veeramani spells 'stromuhr' to win, becoming the third consecutive Indian-American bee champion

With a touch of "serendipity," the search for a champion speller was under way the 83rd Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Thirteen-year-old Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, spelled "laodicean," Thursday night to take top honors in the 82nd annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Forty-one youngsters are competing for the title of national spelling champion.