Lakeview eighth-grader Joey Constantine, winner of the 21WFMJ Annual Regional Spelling Bee in March, was knocked out of the National Spelling bee after incorrectly defining the meaning of the word 'diatribe,' which means "a forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something.'

Joey cleared the fourth round of the quarterfinals on Wednesday, correctly spelling 'amadelphous,' which means without a clearly defined shape or form.

Joey has made it through the first three rounds on Tuesday.

Joey started off facing off against 244 other spellers, all vying to be crowned the best speller in the US and win $50,000 and other prizes.

Constantine made it past the first two rounds on Tuesday, correctly spelling Carrickmacross and defining the word staid, which means boring or dull.

The 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee, which first began in 1925, is running through Thursday in Washington, DC.

Students from around the US, including Guam, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe, are participating this year.

The preliminary round began on Tuesday.

Quarterfinals started Wednesday at 8 am and will go through 12:45 pm. Semifinals pick up at 2:30 pm and continue until 6:30 pm.

The finals will air on Thursday from 8 pm to 10 pm.

The bee is being live-streamed online at spellingbee.com or can be watched on Ion Plus on Tuesday and Wednesday; semifinals on Ion Wednesday from 8 pm to 10 pm; and finals on Thursday, 8 pm to 10 pm.

Another Valley student competing to be the best speller is Salem seventh grader Marissa Gatewood. Gatewood misspelled the word agrypnia on Tuesday and was eliminated.