The 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee took place between May 26–28, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

Competition

There were a record 293 spellers this year (the all-time record until the Bee's rules greatly expanded the field in 2018). 41 spellers made it to the final day of competition on Thursday. The winner was Kavya Shivashankar. Her winning word was Laodicean. She was sponsored by The Olathe News. She won $35,000 in cash and more than $5,000 in prizes. The runners-up were Aishwarya Pastapur, who misspelled menhir, and Tim Ruiter, who misspelled Maecenas. This was Kavya's fourth appearance in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Six of the top ten spellers, including the winner, were Indo-American. The standings were as follows:

TV coverage

The Championship Finals aired live on ABC from 8:00 PM to shortly after 10:00 p.m. EDT and were hosted by Tom Bergeron.

Word list championship round

• avalement • omphaloskepsis • pogonip • deipnosophist • scilicet • hydrargyrum • Reykjavík • herniorrhaphy • ophelimity • Anasazi • psittacosis • geusioleptic • conchyliated • avoirdupois • tagliatelle • gyascutus • blancmange • apodyterium • derriengue • simnel • passacaglia • axolotl • plaidoyer • goombay • hypallage • baignoire • arrhostia • byssinosis • iliopsoas • oeillade • xebec • grisaille • huisache • Neufchâtel • cretonne • amarevole • becquerel • Caerphilly • palatschinken • ecossaise • fackeltanz • jacqueminot • schizaffin • wisent • diacoele • reredos • antonomasia • bouquiniste • oriflamme • guayabera • isagoge • sophrosyne • menhir • phoresy • Maecenas • Laodicean