This is a list of British English words that have different American English spellings, for example, colour (British English) and color (American English).
Word pairs are listed with the British English version first, in italics, followed by the American English version:
spelt, spelled
Derived words often, but not always, follow their root. Thus "neighbour/neighbor" give "neighbourly/neighborly", "neighbouring/neighboring" etc. (but "licensing" is used everywhere, in spite of "licence/license"). Plurals and verb forms almost always follow even though not listed here: "analyses/analyzes", "analysed/analyzed" etc. (but note "analysis" is universal).
Some usages identified as American English are common in British English; e.g., disk for disc. A few listed words are more different words than different spellings: "aeroplane/airplane", "mum/mom".
connexion, connection - but connection is now universally more common except in a few British situations, e.g. the Methodist Church or "affine connexion" in mathematics
gaol, jail – but "jail" is common in British English now
gasses, gases
generalise, generalize
glycerine, glycerin
glueing, gluing
grey, gray
gynaecology, gynecology
H
haemophilia, hemophilia
haematology, hematology
haem, heme
harbour, harbor
harmonise, harmonize
harmonisation, harmonization
homologue, homolog
honour, honor
humour, humor
I
industrialise, industrialize
instalment, installment
italicise, italicize – and derived words.
J
jewellery, jewelry
judgement, judgment
K
kerb, curb – both dialects use "curb" for the verb
kilometre, kilometer
L
labour, labor
leapt /lɛpt/, leaped /liːpt/
learnt /lɜːrnt/, learned /ˈlɜːrnɪd/ – past tense of to learn; an educated person is always learned
leukæmia, leukemia
licence (noun), license – but always licensing - see practice
liquorice, licorice
lit, lighted
litre, liter
lodgment, lodgement
M
manoeuvre, maneuver
marvellous, marvelous
maths, math - as abbreviations for mathematics
meagre, meager
metre, meter – for the unit of length. In British English a meter is a measuring device
modelling, modeling
milliard, billion – 'billion' is now much more common in British English than 'milliard' (see
Long and short scales)
mould, mold
mollusc, mollusk
moult, molt
mum, mom
monologue, monolog
moustache, mustache
moisturiser, moisturizer
N
neighbour, neighbor – and derived words
O
oenology, enology
oesophagus, esophagus
oestrogen, estrogen
odour, odor
offence, offense
omelette, omelet
organisation, organization
orthologue, ortholog
orthopaedic, orthopedic
P
paediatric, pediatric
paedophile, pedophile
paralyse, paralyze
parlour, parlor
pedagogue, pedagog
plough, plow
practise, practice – as a verb
pretence, pretense
prise, prize – the verb, meaning to lever
programme, program – when not speaking of a computer program
pyjamas, pajamas
Q
quarrelled, quarreled
quarrelling, quarreling
R
realise, realize
realisation, realization
recognise, recognize – including ~ed/~ing/... variants
rigour, rigor
routeing, routing – defeating completely is always routing
rumour, rumor
S
sabre, saber
saviour, savior
savoury, savory
sceptic, skeptic
signalling, signaling
skilful, skillful
speciality, specialty
spelt, spelled
spoilt, spoiled – but note that in American and Canadian English, spoiled is both a past-tense verb (e.g. the milk spoiled) and a past-participial adjective (the spoiled milk). In British English, spoiled is usually the past-tense verb (the milk spoiled), and spoilt is usually the past-participial adjective (the spoilt milk)[1]
This is a list of British English words that have different American English spellings, for example, colour (British English) and color (American English).
Word pairs are listed with the British English version first, in italics, followed by the American English version:
spelt, spelled
Derived words often, but not always, follow their root. Thus "neighbour/neighbor" give "neighbourly/neighborly", "neighbouring/neighboring" etc. (but "licensing" is used everywhere, in spite of "licence/license"). Plurals and verb forms almost always follow even though not listed here: "analyses/analyzes", "analysed/analyzed" etc. (but note "analysis" is universal).
Some usages identified as American English are common in British English; e.g., disk for disc. A few listed words are more different words than different spellings: "aeroplane/airplane", "mum/mom".
connexion, connection - but connection is now universally more common except in a few British situations, e.g. the Methodist Church or "affine connexion" in mathematics
gaol, jail – but "jail" is common in British English now
gasses, gases
generalise, generalize
glycerine, glycerin
glueing, gluing
grey, gray
gynaecology, gynecology
H
haemophilia, hemophilia
haematology, hematology
haem, heme
harbour, harbor
harmonise, harmonize
harmonisation, harmonization
homologue, homolog
honour, honor
humour, humor
I
industrialise, industrialize
instalment, installment
italicise, italicize – and derived words.
J
jewellery, jewelry
judgement, judgment
K
kerb, curb – both dialects use "curb" for the verb
kilometre, kilometer
L
labour, labor
leapt /lɛpt/, leaped /liːpt/
learnt /lɜːrnt/, learned /ˈlɜːrnɪd/ – past tense of to learn; an educated person is always learned
leukæmia, leukemia
licence (noun), license – but always licensing - see practice
liquorice, licorice
lit, lighted
litre, liter
lodgment, lodgement
M
manoeuvre, maneuver
marvellous, marvelous
maths, math - as abbreviations for mathematics
meagre, meager
metre, meter – for the unit of length. In British English a meter is a measuring device
modelling, modeling
milliard, billion – 'billion' is now much more common in British English than 'milliard' (see
Long and short scales)
mould, mold
mollusc, mollusk
moult, molt
mum, mom
monologue, monolog
moustache, mustache
moisturiser, moisturizer
N
neighbour, neighbor – and derived words
O
oenology, enology
oesophagus, esophagus
oestrogen, estrogen
odour, odor
offence, offense
omelette, omelet
organisation, organization
orthologue, ortholog
orthopaedic, orthopedic
P
paediatric, pediatric
paedophile, pedophile
paralyse, paralyze
parlour, parlor
pedagogue, pedagog
plough, plow
practise, practice – as a verb
pretence, pretense
prise, prize – the verb, meaning to lever
programme, program – when not speaking of a computer program
pyjamas, pajamas
Q
quarrelled, quarreled
quarrelling, quarreling
R
realise, realize
realisation, realization
recognise, recognize – including ~ed/~ing/... variants
rigour, rigor
routeing, routing – defeating completely is always routing
rumour, rumor
S
sabre, saber
saviour, savior
savoury, savory
sceptic, skeptic
signalling, signaling
skilful, skillful
speciality, specialty
spelt, spelled
spoilt, spoiled – but note that in American and Canadian English, spoiled is both a past-tense verb (e.g. the milk spoiled) and a past-participial adjective (the spoiled milk). In British English, spoiled is usually the past-tense verb (the milk spoiled), and spoilt is usually the past-participial adjective (the spoilt milk)[1]