spelling bee

American

noun

a spelling competition won by the individual or team spelling the greatest number of words correctly; spelldown.

spelling bee British

noun

a contest in which players are required to spell words according to orthographic conventions

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of spelling bee

First recorded in 1870–75

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.

Science experiments were performed, Latin verbs conjugated, multiplication tables recited, and spelling bees held.

From Literature

On the other side sits Ainsley, who would lose a grade-school spelling bee to a bag of hair extensions yet manages to get into college as a cheerleading squad walk-on.

From Salon

Also worth noting: I won my grade-wide spelling bee in first grade by correctly spelling "hamburger."

From Salon

Cashore credits his parents for helping him prepare for his trip to Washington, D.C., for the spelling bee.

From Seattle Times

Aliyah Alpert, who finished ninth in 2022, missed the bee entirely last year because she flubbed the word “recoup” in the Yavapai County spelling bee in her home state of Arizona.

From Seattle Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023