11 nerve-wracking images from the National Spelling Bee

Vismaya Kharkar reacts with relief after correctly spelling a word, her ticket to the final round. — (Image credit: REUTERS/Larry Downing)

As if spelling words like bacciferous wasn't difficult enough, contestants in the Scripps National Spelling Bee are required for the first time in the competition's 88-year history to also define the vexing words given to them by judges.

The annual four-day competition, which comes to an end tonight, starts off with nearly 300 spellers from around the world, ranging in age from 8 to 14, and culminates in a final in which only one out-spells the rest in front of a national audience. The champion will win a $30,000 cash prize, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond, collections of dictionaries and encyclopedias, an engraved trophy, and serious bragging rights among middle schoolers and adults alike.

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First, a test.

On May 28, North America's top students sat side-by-side in a crowded room to take a preliminary test. First, they spelled a series of words, then moved onto the vocabulary section, in which they defined words using multiple choice. All under 45 minutes.

Some 280 players passed the test. But the rounds leading up to the final were to be the most harrowing.

Lauren Hansen produces The Weekâ€™s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.