Word Panelists

Official of the National Spelling Bee

Mr. James G. Lowe, Word Panelist

You can blame Merriam-Webster's Senior Editor Jim Lowe for coming up with those words that stump the young competitors each year at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. He's held his position as one of the competition's three Word Panelists for twenty-two years now, working throughout the year to select the words that will challenge the spelling champions as they converge on Washington, D.C. for the 81st Annual National Spelling Bee at the end of May.

At Merriam-Webster, Jim has the special responsibility of keeping a close eye on new words and meanings which are emerging in the language as well as determining which ones should be considered for entry in our dictionaries. He has also served as an editor for many Merriam-Webster publications, including:

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition
• Merriam-Webster's Crossword Puzzle Dictionary, Third Edition
• Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage
• The Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition
• 12,000 Words (the supplement to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged