British vs American Spelling Differences ESL Learners Should Know

British vs American Spelling! What’s the difference between British vs American spelling? Learn the difference between British vs American spelling with examples and ESL infographics.

Learn more with a big list of differences between British vs American words in English. 

British vs American Spelling

British English vs American English often spells the same word differently. Following is a useful list of British vs American spelling differences that you should know to improve your English.

British vs American Spelling Differences List with Example Sentences.

CENTRE vs CENTER

• The shopping center has a fascination for him.
• The wheel revolved on its centre.

GREY or GRAY

• Her face was gaunt and grey.
• He was a tall, stout man with gray hair.

COLOUR vs COLOR

• She differs from her sister in the color of her eyes.
• My hair soon grew back to its natural colour.

PRACTISE vs PRACTICE

• He usually wants to practise his English on me.
• It takes a lot of practice to play the piano well.

THEATRE vs THEATER

• They gave me theatre tickets as a present.
• Let’s go to the theater.

DEFENCE vs DEFENSE

• He was the then secretary of Defense.
• We steered a correct defence policy.

HONOUR vs HONOR

• It’s an honor for me to meet you.
• We fought for the honour of our country.

LEARNT vs LEARNED

• We learnt about the structure of the brain today.
• We have not yet learned to punctuate correctly.

TRAVELLING vs TRAVELING

• They are traveling to France by way of London.
• The car was travelling at a very slow speed.

ENQUIRY vs INQUIRY

• What was the nature of his inquiry?
• I want to make an enquiry about train times.

MODELLING vs MODELING

• She was being offered a modelling contract.
• She made living modeling for art classes.

TOWARDS vs TOWARD

• I was very disobedient towards my father.
• Which train is going toward Shinjuku?

FAVOURITE vs FAVORITE

• His favorite toy is a rubber ball.
• Her favourite subject at school is metalwork.

LABOUR vs LABOR

• You need to rest from your labor, you look very tired.
• Labour is the capital of our working men.

ANALYSE vs ANALYZE

• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.
• The first step is to define and analyse the problem.

APOLOGISE vs APOLOGIZE

• I must apologize for not being able to meet you.
• She must apologise for her outrageous behavior.

REALISE vs REALIZE

• I don’t think you realize how important this is to her.
• They didn’t realise that we’d broken their secret code.

TRAVELLED vs TRAVELED

• They travelled across the snow in a sleigh.
• He has traveled in southern cities.

CANCELLED or CANCELED

• The game is canceled because of the rain.
• All flights have been cancelled because of fog.

CATALOGUE vs CATALOG

• He spent hours perusing the catalog.
• The catalogue is updated every year.

AX or AXE

• He whittled a new handle for his ax.
• Be careful with that sharp axe.

ARMOUR or ARMOR

• He has been disencumbered of his armor.
• The police should be protected by body armour.

SAVIOUR or SAVIOR

• Many regarded him as a savior of the country.
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.

BEHAVIOUR vs BEHAVIOR

• I must apologise for my outrageous behaviour.
• Mary denounced her husband for bad behavior.

DIALOGUE vs DIALOG

• Select an option from the dialog box.
• Most plays are written in dialogue.

AGEING or AGING

• John lives with his ageing mother.
• She thought of him as an aging hippy.

DRAUGHT vs DRAFT

• I was sitting in a draught.
• He avoided the draft because of a foot injury.

AEROPLANE vs AIRPLANE

• He flew the aeroplane over to France.
• I’m scared to fly in an airplane.

SULPHUR vs SULFUR

• Sulphur gases were emitted by the volcano.
• Sulfur dioxide is a compound of sulfur and oxygen.

PLOUGH vs PLOW

• He yoked the oxen to the plough.
• Never put the plow before the oxen.

MUM vs MOM

• Mum tried to anticipate all my needs.
• Mom, can I go over to Lisa’s house?

BURNT vs BURNED

• The crust of the bread is burnt.
• The fire has burned down to a spark.

DREAMT vs DREAMED

• I often dreamt about my hometown.
• He dreamed to be an officer.

OFFENCE vs OFFENSE

• Driving without a licence is an offence.
• Harboring criminals is an offense in law.

LICENCE vs LICENSE

• You need a licence to fish in this river.
• The policeman asked to see his driving license.

JEWELLERY vs JEWELRY

• The police recovered the stolen jewellery.
• I spend a lot on expensive jewelry and clothing.

ANAEMIA vs ANEMIA

• The doctor analysed the blood sample for anaemia.
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.

SOMBRE vs SOMBER

• He wore a sombre black suit.
• She was dressed in somber black.

LITRE vs LITER

• He drank up a whole litre of beer.
• The bottle can hold a liter of beer.

SIGNALLING vs SIGNALING

• He pointed to a chair, signalling for her to sit.
• He’d been signaling his desire to leave for over a year.

VIGOUR vs VIGOR

• She was full of vim and vigour.
• He embraced it ardently and used it with vigor.

ODOUR vs ODOR

• The house was filled with a foul odour.
• I smelled the odor of money.

FLAVOUR vs FLAVOR

• This salad has a sharp peppery flavour.
• This cake has an unusual flavor.

PARALYSE vs PARALYZE

• If we try to remove it, it could paralyse him.
• Strict regulations that paralyze economic activity.

PRETENCE vs PRETENSE

• It was all an elaborate pretence.
• You can’t keep up the pretense any longer.

SCEPTRE vs SCEPTER

• The sceptre is the king’s badge of office.
• A scepter is the attribute of power.

WOOLLEN vs WOOLEN

• He was perspiring in his thick woollen suit.
• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.

ENROL vs ENROLL

• Is it too late to enrol at the college?
• You try to enroll early for that class.

CRITICISE vs CRITICIZE

• It’s easy to criticise with the benefit of hindsight.
• You were quite right to criticize him.

ORGANISE vs ORGANIZE

• He has the ability to organise.
• They will organize a Bridge Club.

SYMBOLISE vs SYMBOLIZE

• What does this strange mark symbolise?
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.

PROGRAMME vs PROGRAM

• My favourite serial is on the programme.
• We are all faithful listeners to the program.

CARAT vs KARAT

• She has a four-carat stone in her ring.
• These are rings of 18 and 24 karat gold.

MOUSTACHE vs MUSTACHE

• He’s trying to grow a moustache.
• I need to trim my mustache.

NOUGHT vs NAUGHT

• Nought is another way of saying zero.
• His crime has gained him naught.

APPETISER vs APPETIZER

• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser.
• Some green olives make a simple appetizer.

British vs American Spelling Differences | Infographic

Difference between British vs American Spelling

British vs American Spelling Differences

British vs American Spelling – What’s the Difference?

British vs American Spelling