Winning word: psammophile. 14-year-old from Florida wins national spelling bee

Transcript

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The winner of the country's biggest spelling bee is Dev Shah, an eighth grader from Largo, Fla.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

You know, Leila, the Scripps National Spelling Bee kind of reminds me of how spelling in public makes me all anxious.

FADEL: Does it? OK. A, here's a chance to prove yourself. Try spelling the word that earned Dev the win. It's psammophile.

MARTÍNEZ: Definition, please.

FADEL: Psammophile, an organism that prefers or thrives in sandy soil or areas.

MARTÍNEZ: Psammophile, S-A...

FADEL: No, no, no. Listen to Dev do it.

(SOUNDBITE OF 2023 SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE)

DEV SHAH: P-S-A-M-M-O-P-H-I-L-E, psammophile.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: That is correct.

MARTÍNEZ: Oh, my gosh.

FADEL: You were really wrong.

MARTÍNEZ: That's more therapy for me.

FADEL: Dev gets to take home more than $50,000 and the championship trophy.

(SOUNDBITE OF PHILANTHROPE AND THE FIELD TAPES' "PEACHES") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.