British English vs American EnglishPin

British English vs American English: What are the Differences?

British English vs American English! What’s the difference between British English vs American English? English learners are often confused about the difference between American English vs British English. They are reflected primarily in the use of vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

British English vs American English

What are the differences between American English vs British English?

Most of the differences between the British English vs American English are in terms of vocabulary words and differences in pronunciation and spelling. Following are some main distinctions between British vs American English with example sentences. 

British vs American English Spelling

British English and American English often spell the same word differently, such as enthrall/ enthral, neighbor/ neighbour, canceled/ cancelled, centre/ center, labour/ labor, color/ colour, etc.

Here are some examples of British vs American spelling differences.

American English vs British English

PRACTICE vs PRACTISE

  • I need to practise my Italian before my business trip.
  • You must practice your scales every day.

DEFENCE vs DEFENSE

  • Our defense should be strengthened.
  • The defence budget was still growing.

GREY or GRAY

  • He was dressed in a dark grey suit.
  • The sky looks very gray.

LEARNT vs LEARNED

  • She recited a poem that she had learnt at school.
  • learned to drive when I was 17.

INQUIRY vs ENQUIRY

  • They’ve passed the inquiry over to the police.
  • We thank you for your enquiry.

TOWARDS vs TOWARD

  • All plants like to grow up towards the sunlight.
  • He put out his hand toward her.

COLOR vs COLOUR

  • The color of the leaves is green in summer.
  • What colour dress did you buy?

FAVORITE vs FAVOURITE

  • What is your favorite television program?
  • History is my favourite subject at school.

HONOR vs HONOUR

  • Would you honor me by dining with me tonight?
  • It is a great honour to be invited.

LABOR vs LABOUR

  • I felt bad about David, whose roots are in labor.
  • She was a lifelong member of the Labour party.

ANALYZE vs ANALYSE

  • Joe had never tried to analyze their relationship.
  • She still needs to analyse the data.

APOLOGIZE vs APOLOGISE

  • I have come to apologize to you.
  • I must apologise for my outrageous behavior.

REALIZE vs REALISE

  • Only later did she realize her mistake.
  • You don’t realise how aggravating you can be.

MODELLING vs MODELING

  • She earns a living by modelling.
  • They were modeling for wireless phone service.

TRAVELLED vs TRAVELED

  • We travelled to California for the wedding.
  • George traveled all over Europe last summer.

CENTER vs CENTRE

  • Our city is the industry center of the country.
  • The library is in the centre of the town.

THEATRE vs THEATER

  • Shall we go to the theatre on Friday?
  • Her mother never went to the theater.

British vs American English Vocabulary Words

Many words that have different meanings depending on whether they are used in British English vs American English context. Here is a list of commonly confused British vs American Words.

British English vs American English

CORIANDER vs CILANTRO

  • Chop the coriander leaves and mix with the ginger.
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro and pass the sour cream.

AUTUMN vs FALL

  • The leaves turn brown in autumn.
  • American people use fall to mean autumn.

SOCCER vs FOOTBALL

  • After school, we played soccer.
  • We have formed a football team.

CV vs RESUME

  • Send them a copy of your CV.
  • Please send your resume to the personnel department.

FACULTY vs STAFF

  • She is the new dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
  • The school’s teaching staff is excellent.

MAIZE vs CORN

  • There’s a field planted with maize behind the house.
  • The field has been seeded with corn.

PORRIDGE vs OATMEAL

  • She was feeding the baby with porridge.
  • She made a batch of her special oatmeal cookies.

SORBET vs SHERBET

  • She ordered a lemon sorbet.
  • I ordered ice cream, not sherbet.

WAISTCOAT vs VEST

  • Her tears had dampened his immaculate waistcoat.
  • You’d better wear a vest under a coat.

SOFA vs COUCH

  • He was sprawled out on the sofa.
  • After lunch, he reposed on the couch.

CURTAINS and DRAPES

  • The curtains had faded in the sun.
  • The room was curtained off by red drapes.

SWEETS vs CANDY

  • He bought me a bagful of sweets.
  • Take candy from the box.

TAXI vs CAB

  • Can you get me a taxi, please?
  • I took a cab to the airport.

UNDERGROUND vs SUBWAY

  • The house has an underground passage.
  • The subway is a public conveyance.

WARDROBE vs CLOSET

  • She stuffed her clothes in the wardrobe.
  • Hang your overcoat in the closet.

HANDBAG vs PURSE

  • The girl bought a nice handbag.
  • The lady put her wallet in her purse.

BILL vs CHECK

  • They sent us a bill for the work they had done.
  • She enclosed a check for $ 50 with the letter.

Difference between British English vs American English | Infographic

American English vs British English

British English vs American EnglishPin

British English vs American English

British English vs American EnglishPin

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LUCAS GARCIA
LUCAS GARCIA
4 years ago

Very interesting the difference between both languages.

Sagida
Sagida
1 year ago

Interesting and useful! Thank you for posting!

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