Try your luck at spelling some of the tricky words that recent winners have conquered to seal their victories.

Texas teen Faizan Zaki spelled his way to victory in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee with a word most adults can't even pronounce. His winning word? Éclaircissement. Here's how the 13-year-old claimed the title — and $50,

While the origin of the word "bee" is still disputed, according to Merriam-Webster — which has been involved with the competition since 1957 — the word bee is an alteration of a word that meant "voluntary help given by neighbors toward the accomplishment of a particular task," and comes from the Middle English word bene.