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.
Contents
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
