Scripps National Spelling Bee 2023 Results: Winner, Finalists and Reaction

Some spelling bee contestants ask about a word's origin or its use in a sentence. Many would certainly raise these questions about "bathypitotmeter."

Not Dev Shah from Florida, however.

When given the term during the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals Thursday night, Shah spelled the 15-letter behemoth of a word with no hesitation.

Minutes later, Shah spelled "psammophile" correctly to become the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.

"It's surreal," Shah said after the contest. "My legs are still shaking."

Earlier that night, 11 finalists took the stage in National Harbor, Maryland, for the final rounds of the 2023 bee. All had made it unscathed through eight rounds (five of spelling, three of vocabulary.)

Two spellers were eliminated in Round 9, when 11-year-old Sarah Fernandes from Nebraska was marked incorrect on "leguleian" and Pranav Anandh from Pennsylvania on "querken."

In Round 10, which is a word-meaning round, Tarini Nandakumar from Texas was out on "chthonic."

Arth Dalsania from California was eliminated on "katuka," Dhruv Subramanian from California on "crenel," Vikrant Chintanaboina from California on "pataca," and Aryan Khedkar from Michigan on "pharetrone."

Shradha Rachamreddy from California missed "orle" in the 13th round, before Surya Kapu spelled "kelep" incorrectly to leave Shah and Charlotte Walsh from Virginia as the final two competitors of 2023.

Kapu, an eighth-grader in his last year of eligibility, ranked fifth in 2022. This year, his correctly spelled words included "nunnari" and "Bloemfontein" on his way to finishing tied for third. He was congratulated on his performances by the judges and high-fived Shah and Walsh before leaving the stage.

That's when Shah impressed viewers with his quick, unhesitant spelling of "bathypitotmeter."

Walsh spelled "daviely" incorrectly before Shah spelled his final word, making her the 2023 runner-up and the winner of $25,000. Her 13 correctly spelled words throughout the competition included "akuammine," "collembolous," "rescissible" and "sorge."

As the 2023 champion, Shah will take home a $50,000 cash prize and the Scripps Cup.