noun
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a person who spells words in the manner specified
a bad speller
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a book designed to teach or improve spelling
Etymology
Origin of speller
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at spell 1, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Although a passionate reader, he was a terrible speller, immortalizing “tea” as “tae” in a 1961 painting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
And I’m such a bad speller that even the most generous auto-correct can’t figure out that the word I’m trying to write is “mellifluous.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
The typical workload for a top-level speller: 3-4 hours of studying each weekday, and more on the weekends.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2023
Mr. Bailly, who won the competition in 1980, tries to make eye contact with the speller and humanize the moment.
From New York Times ● Jun. 1, 2023
She’d sit nowhere but at teacher’s desk, and she thought she owned the Webster speller.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
