American and British English spelling differences

{{Short description|none}} {{Broader|Comparison of American and British English}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}} {{mim |width1=406 |image1=Defence Defense Labour Labor British American spelling by country.svg |class1=bg-transparent |caption1=British and American spellings around the world: {{legend|red|British ''analyse/{{wbr}}crystallise'' (''crystallize'' in Oxford spelling)''/{{wbr}}centre/{{wbr}}defence/{{wbr}}labour/{{wbr}}programme'' (except for ''computer program'') dominant; English is an official or majority language}} {{legend|royalblue|American ''analyze/crystallize'' (less commonly ''crystalize'')''/{{wbr}}center'' (except for some place names, e.g. ''Centre County'')''/{{wbr}}defense/{{wbr}}labor/{{wbr}}program'' dominant; English is an official or majority language}} {{legend|#aa32d2|Canadian ''analyze/{{wbr}}crystallize/{{wbr}}centre/{{wbr}}defence/{{wbr}}labour/{{wbr}}program'' dominant; English is one of two official languages along with French}} {{legend|#f2ab38|Australian ''analyse/{{wbr}}crystallise/{{wbr}}centre/{{wbr}}defence/{{wbr}}labour'' (except for ''Labor Party'')''/{{wbr}}program'' dominant; English is an official or majority language}} {{legend|#ff9b8f|English is not an official or majority language; British spelling is dominant}} {{legend|lightsteelblue|English is not an official or majority language; American spelling is dominant}} {{legend|#ffee80|English is not an official or majority language; inconsistent use of American and British spelling}} }}

Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable variations being British and American spelling. Many of the differences between American and British or Commonwealth English date back to a time before spelling standards were developed. For instance, some spellings seen as "American" were once commonly used in the United Kingdom, and some spellings seen as "British" were once commonly used in the United States.

A "British standard" began to emerge following the 1755 publication of Samuel Johnson's ''A Dictionary of the English Language'', and an "American standard" started following the work of Noah Webster and, in particular, his ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', first published in 1828.<ref name="Micklethwait2005">{{cite book|author=David Micklethwait|title=Noah Webster and the American Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIRCsrMwhroC&pg=PA137|date=1 January 2005|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-2157-2|page=137}}</ref> Webster's efforts at spelling reform were effective in his native country, resulting in certain well-known patterns of spelling differences between the American and British varieties of English.

==Historical origins==

right|thumb|An 1814 American medical text showing British spellings that were still in use (''tumours'', ''colour'', ''centres'')|class=skin-invert-image In the early 18th century, English spelling was inconsistent. These differences became noticeable after the publication of influential dictionaries. British English spellings mostly follow Johnson's ''A Dictionary of the English Language'' (1755), while many American English spellings follow Webster's ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' ("ADEL", "Webster's Dictionary", 1828).<ref>{{cite book |last=Scragg |first=Donald |title=A history of English spelling |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester, England |year=1974 |pages=82–83 |quote=Johnson's dictionary became the accepted standard for private spelling ... of a literate Englishman ... during the nineteenth century ... Webster had more success in influencing the development of American usage than Johnson had with British usage. |isbn=9780719005534}}</ref>

Webster was a proponent of English spelling reform for reasons both philological and nationalistic. In ''A Companion to the American Revolution'' (2008), John Algeo notes: <blockquote>it is often assumed that characteristically American spellings were invented by Noah Webster. He was very influential in popularizing certain spellings in the United States, but he did not originate them. Rather [...] he chose already existing options such as ''center, color'' and ''check'' for the simplicity, analogy or etymology.<ref>{{cite book |last=Algeo |first=John |chapter=The Effects of the Revolution on Language |title=A Companion to the American Revolution |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2008 |page=599}}</ref></blockquote> William Shakespeare's first folios, for example, used spellings such as ''center'' and ''color'' as much as ''centre'' and ''colour''.<ref name="etymology_or">{{cite web |url=http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=-or&allowed_in_frame=0 |title=-or |website=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref><ref name="Venezky1999">{{Cite book|title=The American way of spelling : the structure and origins of American English orthography|last=Venezky|first1=Richard L.|date=1999|publisher=Guilford Press|isbn=1-57230-469-3|pages=26|oclc=469790290}}</ref> Webster did attempt to introduce some reformed spellings, as did the Simplified Spelling Board in the early 20th century, but most were not adopted. In the United Kingdom, the influence of those who preferred the Norman (or Anglo-French) spellings of words proved to be decisive.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} Later spelling adjustments in the United Kingdom had little effect on American spellings and vice versa.

{{Multiple image | width = 120 | image1 = Webster Orthography 1828 (4-14).png | image2 = Webster Orthography 1828 (15).png | footer = Extract from the Orthography section of the first edition (1828) of Webster's "ADEL", which popularized the "American standard" spellings of ''-er'' (6); ''-or'' (7); the dropped ''-e'' (8); ''-se'' (11); and the doubling of consonants with a suffix (15). }} For the most part, the spelling systems of most Commonwealth countries and Ireland closely resemble the British system. In Canada, the spelling system can be said to follow both British and American forms,<ref name="Clark, 2009">{{cite book| last = Clark| first = Joe| date = 2009| title = Organizing Our Marvellous Neighbours: How to Feel Good About Canadian English| url = http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/003/008/099/003008-disclaimer.html?orig=/100/200/300/joe_clark/organizing_marvellous/index.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200727040533/https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/003/008/099/003008-disclaimer.html?orig=/100/200/300/joe_clark/organizing_marvellous/index.html| archive-date = 27 July 2020| edition = e-book, version 1.1| isbn = 978-0-9809525-0-6}}</ref> and Canadians are somewhat more tolerant of foreign spellings than are other English-speaking nationalities.<ref name="Chambers1998">{{cite book| last = Chambers| first = J.K.| year = 1998| chapter = Canadian English: 250 Years in the Making| title = The Canadian Oxford Dictionary| edition = 2nd| page = xi}}</ref> Australian English mostly follows British spelling norms but has strayed slightly, with some American spellings incorporated as standard.<ref name="Fourth Edition 2005">{{cite book|title = The Macquarie Dictionary|edition = 4th|publisher = The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd|year = 2005|isbn = 9781876429140}}</ref> New Zealand English is almost identical to British spelling, except in the word ''fiord'' (instead of ''fjord''). There is an increasing use of macrons in words that originated in Māori and an unambiguous preference for ''-ise'' endings (see below).

==Latin-derived spellings (often through Romance)== ===''-our'', ''-or''=== Most words ending in an unstressed ''‑our'' in British English (e.g., {{lang|en-GB|''behaviour'', ''colour'', ''favour'', ''flavour'', ''harbour'', ''honour'', ''humour'', ''labour'', ''neighbour'', ''rumour'', ''splendour''|italic=unset}}) end in ''‑or'' in American English ({{lang|en-US|''behavior'', ''color'', ''favor'', ''flavor'', ''harbor'', ''honor'', ''humor'', ''labor'', ''neighbor'', ''rumor'', ''splendor''|italic=unset}}). Wherever the vowel is unreduced in pronunciation (e.g., ''devour'', ''contour'', ''flour'', ''hour'', ''paramour'', ''tour'', ''troubadour'', and ''velour''), the spelling is uniform everywhere.

Most words of this kind came from Latin, where the ending was spelled ''‑or''. They were first adopted into English from early Old French, and the ending was spelled ''‑our'', ''‑or'' or ''‑ur''.<ref name="Webster's Third, p. 24a">{{Cite book|title=Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language|editor-last=Gove|editor-first=Philip|publisher=Merriam-Webster|location=Springfield, Massachusetts|year=1989|pages=24a|chapter=-or/-our|isbn=978-0-87779-302-1|editor-link=Philip Babcock Gove}}</ref> After the Norman Conquest, the ending became ''‑our'' to match the later Old French spelling.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''colour, color''.</ref> The ''‑our'' ending was used not only in new English borrowings, but was also applied to the earlier borrowings that had used ''‑or''.<ref name="Webster's Third, p. 24a"/> However, ''‑or'' was still sometimes found.<ref name="SOED_1987">{{Cite book|editor=Onions, CT |title=The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary |orig-year=1933 |edition=Third Edition (1933) with corrections (1975) |year=1987 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-861126-9 |page=370}}</ref> The first three folios of Shakespeare's plays used both spellings before they were standardised to ''‑our'' in the Fourth Folio of 1685.<ref name="etymology_or"/>

After the Renaissance, new borrowings from Latin were taken up with their original ''‑or'' ending, and many words once ending in ''‑our'' (for example, ''chancellour'' and ''governour'') reverted to ''‑or''. A few words of the ''‑our/or'' group do not have a Latin counterpart that ends in ''‑or''; for example, ''armo(u)r'', ''behavio(u)r'', ''harbo(u)r'', ''neighbo(u)r''; also ''arbo(u)r'', meaning "shelter", though senses "tree" and "tool" are always ''arbor'', a false cognate of the other word. The word ''arbor'' would be more accurately spelled ''arber'' or ''arbre'' in the US and the UK, respectively, the latter of which is the French word for "tree". Some 16th- and early 17th-century British scholars indeed insisted that ''‑or'' be used for words from Latin (e.g., ''{{lang|en-US|color}}'')<ref name="SOED_1987"/> and ''‑our'' for French loans; however, in many cases, the etymology was not clear, and therefore some scholars advocated ''‑or'' only and others ''‑our'' only.<ref name="Peters">{{Cite book |last = Peters |first= Pam |year = 2004 |title = The Cambridge Guide to English Usage |location = Cambridge, England |publisher = Cambridge University Press |isbn = 0-521-62181-X |title-link = The Cambridge Guide to English Usage }}</ref>

Webster's 1828 dictionary had only ''-or'' and is given much of the credit for the adoption of this form in the United States. By contrast, Johnson's 1755 (pre-US independence and establishment) dictionary used ''-our'' for all words still so spelled in the United Kingdom (like ''colour''), but also for words where the ''u'' has since been dropped: ''ambassadour'', ''emperour'', ''errour'', ''governour'', ''horrour'', ''inferiour'', ''mirrour'', ''perturbatour'', ''superiour'', ''tenour'', ''terrour'', ''tremour''. Johnson, unlike Webster, was not an advocate of spelling reform, but chose the spelling best derived, as he saw it, from among the variations in his sources. He preferred French over Latin spellings because, as he put it, "the French generally supplied us".<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Samuel |title=A Dictionary of the English Language: In which the Words are Deduced from their Originals, and Illustrated in their Different Significations by Examples from the Best Writers. To which are Prefixed, a History of the Language, and an English Grammar |date=1755-04-15 |location=London |publisher=Printed by W. Strahan, for J. and P. Knapton; T. and T. Longman; C. Hitch and L. Hawes; A. Millar; and R. and J. Dodsley |chapter=Preface |page=10|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofengl01johnuoft/page/n10/mode/1up}}</ref> English speakers who moved to the United States took these preferences with them. In the early 20th century, H. L. Mencken notes that "''{{lang|en-US|honor}}'' appears in the 1776 Declaration of Independence, but it seems to have been put there rather by accident than by design". In Jefferson's original draft it is spelled "honour".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mencken |first=Henry Louis |author-link=H. L. Mencken |title=The American Language; An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States; Supplement I |publisher=Knopf |year=1975 |orig-year=1945 |location=New York |isbn=0-394-40076-3}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, examples of {{lang|en-US|''behavior'', ''color'', ''flavor'', ''harbor'', and ''neighbor''|italic=unset}} rarely appear in Old Bailey court records from the 17th and 18th centuries, whereas there are thousands of examples of their ''-our'' counterparts.<ref>{{cite web |last= Staff |title= The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674–1913 |publisher= Humanities Research Institute, University of Sheffield |url= http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ |access-date= 19 June 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080723112732/http://www.oldbaileyonline.org./ |archive-date= 23 July 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> One notable exception is ''{{lang|en-US|honor}}''. ''{{lang|en-US|Honor}}'' and ''{{lang|en-GB|honour}}'' were equally frequent in the United Kingdom until the 17th century;<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''honour, honor''.</ref> ''honor'' only exists in the UK now as the spelling of ''Honor Oak'', a district of London, and of the occasional given name Honor.

====Derivatives and inflected forms==== In derivatives and inflected forms of the ''-our/or'' words, British usage depends on the nature of the suffix used. The ''u'' is kept before English suffixes that are freely attachable to English words (for example in {{lang|en-GB|''humourless'', ''neighbourhood'', and ''savoury''|italic=unset}}) and suffixes of Greek or Latin origin that have been adopted into English (for example in {{lang|en-GB|''behaviourism'', ''favourite'', and ''honourable''|italic=unset}}). However, before Latin suffixes that are not freely attachable to English words, the ''u'': * may be dropped, for example in ''honorary'', ''honorific'', ''humorist'', ''humorous'', ''invigorate'', ''laborious'', and ''vigorous''; * may be either dropped or kept, for example in ''colo(u)ration'' and ''colo(u)rize ''or ''colo(u)rise''; or * may be kept, for example in ''{{lang|en-GB|colourist}}''.<ref name="Webster's Third, p. 24a"/>

In American usage, derivatives and inflected forms are built by simply adding the suffix in all cases (for example, ''{{lang|en-US|favorite}}'', ''{{lang|en-US|savory}}'' etc.) since the ''u'' is absent to begin with.

====Exceptions==== American usage, in most cases, keeps the ''u'' in the word ''glamour'', which comes from Scots, not Latin or French. ''{{lang|en-US|Glamor}}'' is sometimes used in imitation of the spelling reform of other ''-our'' words to ''-or''. Nevertheless, the adjective ''glamorous'' often drops the first "u". ''{{lang|en-GB|Saviour}}'' is a somewhat common variant of ''{{lang|en-US|savior}}'' in the US. The British spelling is very common for ''{{lang|en-GB|honour}}'' (and ''{{lang|en-GB|favour}}'') in the formal language of wedding invitations in the US.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Letitia Baldrige's Complete Guide to the New Manners for the '90s: A Complete Guide to Etiquette |first=Letitia |last=Baldrige |author-link=Letitia Baldrige |year=1990 |publisher=Rawson |isbn=0-89256-320-6 |page=214}}</ref> The name of the {{lang|en-GB|Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''|italic=unset}} has a ''u'' in it because the spacecraft was named after British Captain James Cook's ship, {{lang|en-GB|HMS ''Endeavour''|italic=unset}}. The (former) special car on Amtrak's ''Coast Starlight'' train is known as the Pacific Parlour car, not ''Pacific Parlor''. Proper names such as ''Pearl Harbor'' or ''Sydney Harbour'' are usually spelled according to their native-variety spelling vocabulary.

The name of the herb ''savory'' is spelled thus everywhere, although the related adjective ''savo(u)ry'', like ''savo(u)r'', has a ''u'' in the UK. ''Honor'' (the name) and ''arbor'' (the tool) have ''-or'' in the United Kingdom, as mentioned above, as does the word ''pallor''. As a general noun, ''rigour'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɪ|ɡ|ər}} has a ''u'' in the UK; the medical term ''rigor'' (sometimes {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|aɪ|ɡ|ər}})<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rigor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721013950/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rigor|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 July 2012|title=rigor – definition of rigor in English – Oxford Dictionaries}}</ref> does not, such as in ''rigor mortis'', which is Latin. Derivations of ''rigour''/''rigor'' such as ''rigorous'', however, are typically spelled without a ''u'', even in the UK. Words with the ending ''-irior'', ''-erior'' or similar are spelled thus everywhere. ''Junior'' and ''senior'' were borrowed directly from Latin in the 13th century (as adjectives for father-son namesakes), and have never had ''-our'' forms anywhere.

The word ''armour'' was once somewhat common in American usage but has disappeared except in some brand names such as Under Armour.

The agent suffix ''-or'' (''separator'', ''elevator'', ''translator'', ''animator'', etc.) is spelled thus both in American and British English.

====Commonwealth usage==== Commonwealth countries normally follow British usage. Canadian English most commonly uses the ''-our'' ending and ''-our-'' in derivatives and inflected forms. However, owing to the close geographic, historic, economic, and cultural relationship with the United States, ''-or'' endings are also sometimes used. Throughout the late 19th and early to mid-20th century, most Canadian newspapers chose to use the American usage of ''-or'' endings, originally to save time and money in the era of manual movable type.<ref name=OC31Mar1990>{{cite news |title=Practical concerns spelled the end for -our |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=31 March 1990 |page=B3 |first=William |last=MacPherson }}</ref> However, in the 1990s, the majority of Canadian newspapers officially updated their spelling policies to the British usage of ''-our''. This coincided with a renewed interest in Canadian English, and the release of the updated ''Gage Canadian Dictionary'' in 1997 and the first ''Canadian Oxford Dictionary'' in 1998. Historically, most libraries and educational institutions in Canada have supported the use of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' rather than the American ''Webster's Dictionary''. The use of a distinctive set of Canadian English spellings is viewed by many Canadians as one of the unique aspects of Canadian culture (especially when compared to the United States).{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

In Australia, ''-or'' endings enjoyed some use throughout the 19th century and in the early 20th century. Like Canada, though, most major Australian newspapers have switched from "''-or''" endings to "''-our''" endings. The "''-our''" spelling is taught in schools nationwide as part of the Australian curriculum. The most notable countrywide use of the ''-or'' ending is for one of the country's major political parties, the {{lang|en-US|Australian Labor Party}}, which was originally called "the Australian Labour Party" (name adopted in 1908), but was frequently referred to as both "Labour" and "Labor". The "Labor" spelling was adopted from 1912 onward due to the influence of the {{lang|en-US|American labor movement}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Australian Labor: History|url=http://www.alp.org.au/australian-labor/labor-history/|work=ALP.org.au|access-date=6 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617043320/http://www.alp.org.au/australian-labor/labor-history/|archive-date=17 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> and King O'Malley. On top of that, some place names in South Australia such as Victor Harbor, Franklin Harbor or Outer Harbor are usually spelled with the -or spellings. Aside from that, ''-our'' is now almost universal in Australia but the ''-or'' endings remain a minority variant. New Zealand English, while sharing some words and syntax with Australian English, follows British usage.

==={{Anchor|re_er|er re|-re -er|-er -re}}''-re'', ''-er''=== In British English, some words from French, Latin or Greek end with a consonant followed by an unstressed ''-re'' (pronounced {{IPA|/ə(r)/}}). In modern American English, most of these words have the ending ''-er''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Venezky|first=Richard L.|title=The Cambridge History of the English Language|editor=Algeo, John |publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, England|year=2001|volume=VI: English in North America|page=353|chapter=''-re'' versus ''-er''|isbn=0-521-26479-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Howard |first=Philip |title=The State of the Language—English Observed |year=1984 |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |location=London |page=148| isbn= 0-241-11346-6}}</ref> The difference is most common for words ending in ''-bre'' or ''-tre'': British spellings {{lang|en-GB|''calibre'', ''centre'', ''fibre'', ''goitre'', ''litre'', ''lustre'', ''manoeuvre'', ''meagre'', ''metre (length)'', ''mitre'', ''nitre'', ''ochre'', ''reconnoitre'', ''sabre'', ''saltpetre'', ''sepulchre'', ''sombre'', ''spectre'', ''theatre'' (see exceptions) and ''titre''|italic=unset}} all have ''-er'' in American spelling.

In the United Kingdom, both ''-re'' and ''-er'' spellings were common before Johnson's 1755 dictionary was published. Following this, ''-re'' became the most common usage in the United Kingdom. In the United States, following the publication of ''Webster's Dictionary'' in the early 19th century, American English became more standardized, exclusively using the ''-er'' spelling.<ref name="Venezky1999" />

In addition, the spelling of some words have been changed from ''-re'' to ''-er'' in both varieties. These include ''amber'', ''blister'', ''cadaver'', ''canister'', ''chamber'', ''chapter'', ''charter'', ''cider'', ''coffer'', ''coriander'', ''cover'', ''cucumber'', ''cylinder'', ''December'', ''diaper'', ''disaster'', ''enter'', ''fever'', ''filter'', ''gender'', ''leper'', ''letter'', ''lobster'', ''master'', ''member'', ''meter'' (measuring instrument), ''minister'', ''monster'', ''murder'', ''November'', ''number'', ''October'', ''offer'', ''order'', ''oyster'', ''powder'', ''proper'', ''render'', ''semester'', ''September'', ''sequester'', ''sinister'', ''sober'', ''surrender'', ''tender'', and ''tiger''. Words using the ''-meter'' suffix (from Ancient Greek -μέτρον ''métron'', via French ''-mètre'') normally had the ''-re'' spelling from earliest use in English but were superseded by ''-er''. Examples include ''thermometer'' and ''barometer''.

The ''e'' preceding the ''r'' is kept in American-inflected forms of nouns and verbs, for example, {{lang|en-US|''fibers'', ''reconnoitered'', ''centering''|italic=unset}}, which are {{lang|en-GB|''fibres'', ''reconnoitred'', and ''centring''|italic=unset}} respectively in British English. According to the ''OED'', ''{{lang|en-GB|centring}}'' is a ''"word ... of 3 syllables (in careful pronunciation)"''<ref>(Oxford English Dictionary: Second edition).</ref> (i.e., {{IPA|/ˈsɛntərɪŋ/}}), yet there is no vowel in the spelling corresponding to the second syllable ({{IPA|/ə/}}). The OED third edition (revised entry of June 2016) allows either two or three syllables. On the Oxford Dictionaries Online website, the three-syllable version is listed only as the American pronunciation of ''centering''. The ''e'' is dropped for other derivations, for example, ''central'', ''fibrous'', ''spectral''. However, the existence of related words without ''e'' before the ''r'' is not proof for the existence of an ''-re'' British spelling: for example, ''entry'' and ''entrance'' come from ''enter'', which has not been spelled ''entre'' for centuries.<ref>From the ''OED'' cites, Chaucer used both forms, but the last usages of the "re" form were in the early 18th century. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'': 1989 edition.</ref>

The difference relates only to root words; ''-er'' rather than ''-re'' is universal as a suffix for agentive (''reader'', ''user'', ''winner'') and comparative (''louder'', ''nicer'') forms. One outcome is the British distinction of ''meter'' for a measuring instrument from ''{{lang|en-GB|metre}}'' for the unit of length. However, while "{{lang|en-GB|poetic metre}}" is often spelled as ''-re'', pentameter, hexameter, etc. are always ''-er''.<ref>Except in a 1579 usage (Oxford English Dictionary: 1989 edition).</ref>

====Exceptions==== Many other words have ''-er'' in British English. These include Germanic words, such as ''anger'', ''mother'', ''timber'' and ''water'', and such Romance-derived words as ''danger'', ''quarter'' and ''river''.

The ending ''-cre'', as in ''acre'',<ref name="acre/louvre">Although ''acre'' was spelled ''æcer'' in Old English and ''aker'' in Middle English, the ''acre'' spelling of Middle French was introduced in the 15th century. Similarly, ''loover'' was respelled in the 17th century by influence of the unrelated Louvre. (See ''OED'', s.v. ''acre'' and ''louvre'')</ref> ''lucre'', ''massacre'', and ''mediocre'', is used in both British and American English to show that the ''c'' is pronounced {{IPA|/k/}} rather than {{IPA|/s/}}. The spellings ''euchre'' and ''ogre'' are also the same in both British and American English.

{{Anchor|Theatre}} ''{{lang|en-US|Theater}}'' is the prevailing American spelling used to refer to both the dramatic arts and buildings where stage performances and screenings of films take place (i.e., "{{lang|en-US|movie theaters}}").<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2ChiO2yEZ0C&q=Theater+Theatre+spelling+%22American+English%22&pg=PA435 |title=The Columbia Guide to Standard American English |author= Wilson, Kenneth G. |authorlink=Kenneth G. Wilson (author) |year=1993 |chapter=theater, theatre |page=435 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-231-06989-2 }}</ref> National US newspapers such as ''The New York Times'' use ''{{lang|en-US|theater}}'' in their entertainment sections, the ''Times'' even corrects proper names from ''theatre'' to ''theater.''<ref name="WK15">{{cite magazine |last1=Weinert-Kendt |first1=Rob |title=Re: the 'Re' in Theatre |url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2015/07/20/re-the-re-in-theatre/ |access-date=20 December 2025 |magazine=American Theatre|publisher=Theatre Communications Group |date=20 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Robin Pogrebin|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EED9173BF93AA3575AC0A9659C8B63|title=Proposing an American Theater Downtown|work=The New York Times (Arts section)|publisher=The New York Times Company|date=3 September 2003|access-date=22 September 2008}}</ref><ref name=ANT>{{cite web|url=http://www.americannationaltheatre.org/|title=The American National Theatre (ANT)|publisher=ANT|date=2008–2009|access-date=22 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907010602/http://www.americannationaltheatre.org/| archive-date= 7 September 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> The spelling ''theatre'' was previously more common, prevailing into at least the 1960s, with organizations such as Theatre Communications Group, founded 1961, and The Guthrie Theater, founded 1963, using it.<ref name="WK15"/> ''The New York Times'' switched to using ''theater'' in 1962,<ref>{{cite news|title=Theatre: Words and Music by Richard Rodgers; Diahann Carroll and Richard Kiley Star 'No Strings' Opens at the 54th Street|date=16 March 1962|last=Taubman|first=Howard|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/03/16/archives/theatre-words-and-music-by-richard-rodgers-diahann-carroll-and.html|work=The New York Times|accessdate=17 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Theater: Albee's 'Who's Afraid'; Dramatist's First Play on Broadway Opens|date=15 October 1962|last=Taubman|first=Howard|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/10/15/archives/the-theater-albees-whos-afraid-dramatists-first-play-on-broadway.html|work=The New York Times|accessdate=17 December 2025}}</ref> The Guthrie changed its spelling in 1971,<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Story {{!}} Guthrie Theater |url=https://www.guthrietheater.org/about-us/our-story/ |website=www.guthrietheater.org |access-date=20 December 2025 |language=en}}</ref> and the spelling has become increasingly common since.<ref name="WK15"/>

The spelling ''theatre'' is a variant in American English.<ref>{{cite book |title=Merriam–Webster's Collegiate Dictionary |last= |first= |authorlink=|year=2003 |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc |location=Springfield, Mass |isbn=0-87779-809-5 |edition=11th}}</ref> It appears frequently in names, such as those of many New York City theatres on Broadway,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language|editor-last=Gove|editor-first=Philip|publisher=Merriam-Webster|location=Springfield, Massachusetts|year=1989|volume=2|pages=24a|chapter=-er/-re|isbn=978-0-87779-302-1|editor-link=Philip Babcock Gove}}</ref> especially of things named when it was still the prevailing spelling.<ref name="WK15"/> (In British English a "theatre" is where stage performances take place but not film screenings – these take place in a cinema,{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} or "picture theatre" in Australia.)<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=W.S. |editor-last=Ramson |title=The Australian National Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1988 |isbn=0-19-554736-5}} also Macquarie dicts</ref>

It is sometimes claimed that, in the US, these two spellings have different meanings, with ''theatre'' referring to dramatic arts and ''theater'' referring to buildings.<ref name="WK15"/> However, the trade magazine ''American Theatre'' described this as a "popular myth" writing, "not only is there no etymological basis for this rather arbitrary distinction, it’s also not borne out empirically in usage."<ref name="WK15"/>

Some placenames in the United States use ''Centre'' in their names. Examples include the villages of Newton Centre and Rockville Centre, the city of Centreville, Centre County and Centre College. Sometimes, these places were named before spelling changes but more often the spelling serves as an affectation. Proper names are usually spelled according to their native-variety spelling vocabulary; so, for instance, although ''Peter'' is the usual form of the male given name, as a surname both the spellings ''Peter'' and ''Petre'' (the latter notably borne by a British lord) are found.

For British ''{{lang|en-GB|accoutre}}'', the American practice varies: the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' prefers the ''-re'' spelling,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=accouter |title=accoutre |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> but ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' prefers the ''-er'' spelling.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/61/46/A0044600.html accouter]</ref>

More recent French loanwords keep the ''-re'' spelling in American English. These are not exceptions when a French-style pronunciation is used ({{IPA|/rə/}} rather than {{IPA|/ə(r)/}}), as with ''double entendre'', ''genre'' and ''oeuvre''. The unstressed {{IPA|/ə(r)/}} pronunciation of an ''-er'' ending is used either as the most common variant or an alternative pronunciation with some words, including ''cadre'', ''macabre'', ''maître d''', Notre Dame, ''piastre'', and ''timbre''.

====Commonwealth usage==== The ''-re'' endings are mostly standard throughout the Commonwealth. The ''-er'' spellings are recognized as minor variants in Canada, partly due to US influence. They are sometimes used in proper names (such as Toronto's controversially named Centerpoint Mall).<ref name="Peters"/>

==={{Anchor|ce_se}}''-ce'', ''-se''=== For ''advice''/''advise'' and ''device''/''devise'', American English and British English both keep the noun–verb distinction both graphically and phonetically (where the pronunciation is -{{IPA|/s/}} for the noun and -{{IPA|/z/}} for the verb). For ''licence/license'' or ''practice/practise'', British English also keeps the noun–verb distinction graphically (although phonetically the two words in each pair are homophones with -{{IPA|/s/}} pronunciation). On the other hand, American English uses ''license'' and ''practice'' for both nouns and verbs (with -{{IPA|/s/}} pronunciation in both cases too).

American English has kept the Anglo-French spelling for ''defense'' and ''offense'', which are ''defence'' and ''offence'' in British English. Likewise, there are the American ''pretense'' and British ''pretence''; but derivatives such as ''defensive'', ''offensive'', and ''pretension'' are always thus spelled in both systems.

Australian<ref>Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers of Australian Government Publications, Third Edition, Revised by John Pitson, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1978, page 10, "In general, follow the spellings given in the latest edition of the ''Concise Oxford Dictionary.''</ref> and Canadian usages generally follow British usage.

==={{Anchor|xion ction}}''-xion'', ''-ction''=== The spelling ''connexion'' is now rare in everyday British usage, its use lessening as knowledge of Latin attenuates,<ref name="Peters"/> and it has almost never been used in the US: the more common ''connection'' has become the standard worldwide. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the older spelling is more etymologically conservative, since the original Latin word had ''-xio-''. The American usage comes from Webster, who abandoned ''-xion'' and preferred ''-ction''.<ref>1989 ''Oxford English Dictionary:connexion, connection.''</ref> ''Connexion'' was still the house style of ''The Times'' of London until the 1980s and was still used by Post Office Telecommunications for its telephone services in the 1970s, but had by then been overtaken by ''connection'' in regular usage (for example, in more popular newspapers). ''Connexion'' (and its derivatives ''connexional'' and ''connexionalism'') is still in use by the Methodist Church of Great Britain to refer to the whole church as opposed to its constituent districts, circuits and local churches, whereas the US-based United Methodist Church uses ''Connection''.

''Complexion'' (from ''complex'') is the standard form worldwide, though ''complection'' does exist as an uncommon variant.<ref>{{cite web |title=Complection |website=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complection |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Complection definition and meaning |website=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=HarperCollins |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/complection |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> The adjective ''complected'' (as in "dark-complected"), although sometimes proscribed, is on equal footing in the United States with ''complexioned.''<ref>{{cite book|title=Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English usage|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersd00merr|chapter-url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc|location=Springfield, Mass|isbn=0-87779-132-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersd00merr/page/271 271]|chapter=complected|quote=not an error...simply an Americanism}}</ref> It is not used in this way in the UK, although there exists a rare alternative meaning of ''complicated''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary|chapter=complect, v.|title-link=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref>

==Greek-derived and Latin-derived spellings== ==={{anchor|ae_oe|æ|ae|œ|oe|ligatures}}''ae'' and ''oe''=== {{See also|English orthography#Ligatures}} Many words, especially medical words, that are written with ''ae/æ'' or ''oe/œ'' in British English are written with just an ''e'' in American English.<ref>{{cite book | last=Peters | first=Pam | title=The Cambridge Guide to English Usage | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=29 April 2004 | isbn=978-0-521-62181-6 |pages=389}}</ref> The sounds in question are {{IPA|/iː/}} or {{IPA|/��/}} (or, unstressed, {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/ɪ/}} or {{IPA|/ə/}}). Examples (with non-American letter in '''bold'''): '''''a'''eon'', ''an'''a'''emia'', ''an'''a'''esthesia'', ''c'''a'''ecum'', ''c'''a'''esium'', ''c'''o'''eliac'', ''diarrh'''o'''ea'', ''encyclop'''a'''edia'', ''f'''a'''eces'', ''f'''o'''etal'', ''gyn'''a'''ecology'', ''h'''a'''emoglobin'', ''h'''a'''emophilia'', ''leuk'''a'''emia'', '''''o'''esophagus'', '''''o'''estrogen'', ''orthop'''a'''edic'',{{NoteTag|name=orthopaedic|The majority of American college, university, and residency programs, and even the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, still use the spelling with the digraph ae, though hospitals usually use the shortened form.}} ''pal'''a'''eontology'', ''p'''a'''ediatric'', ''p'''a'''edophile''.

Words that can be spelled either way in American English include '''''a'''esthetics'', ''am'''o'''eba'' and ''arch'''a'''eology'' (which usually prevail over ''esthetics'', ''ameba'' and ''archeology''),<ref name="Peters"/> as well as ''p'''a'''ean''<ref>{{cite web |title=pean |work=Collins English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/pean}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=pean |work=Dictionary.com |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/pean}}</ref>, ''pal'''a'''estra''<ref>{{cite web |title=palaestra |work=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palestra}}</ref>, ''ph'''o'''enix''<ref>{{cite web |title=Phenix |work=Collins English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/phenix}}</ref>, ''subp'''o'''ena''<ref>{{cite web |title=subpoena |work=Merriam-Webster Legal Dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subpoena#legalDictionary}}</ref>. ''Oenology'' is acceptable in American English but is deemed a minor variant of ''enology''. The chemical ''haem'' (named as a shortening of ''h'''a'''emoglobin'') is spelled ''heme'' in American English, to avoid confusion with ''hem''.

Words that can be spelled either way in British English include ''cham'''a'''eleon'', ''encyclop'''a'''edia'', ''hom'''o'''eopathy'', ''medi'''a'''eval'' (a minor variant in both AmE and BrE<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medieval |title = Definition of MEDIEVAL |date = 15 August 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |title=The American Heritage Dictionary entry: medieval |url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=medieval&submit.x=35&submit.y=30 |website=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=HarperCollins}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/medieval |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160928054017/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/medieval |url-status = dead |archive-date = 28 September 2016 |title = medieval – definition of medieval in English – Oxford Dictionaries }}</ref>), ''f'''o'''etid'' and ''f'''o'''etus''. The spellings ''f'''o'''etus'' and ''f'''o'''etal'' are Britishisms based on a mistaken etymology.<ref name=BMJ>{{cite journal |last=Aronson |first=Jeff |title = When I use a word...:Oe no! |journal=British Medical Journal |volume=315 |issue=7102 |date=26 July 1997 |url = http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/315/7102/0/h |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050420182905/http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/315/7102/0/h |archive-date=20 April 2005 |doi = 10.1136/bmj.315.7102.0h |s2cid=71675333 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The etymologically correct original spelling ''fetus'' reflects the Latin original and is the standard spelling in medical journals worldwide;<ref>New Oxford Dictionary of English.</ref> the Oxford English Dictionary notes that "In Latin manuscripts both ''fētus'' and ''foetus'' are used".<ref>fetus, n.". OED Online. March 2017. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/72389?redirectedFrom=foetus (accessed 10 April 2017).</ref>

The Ancient Greek diphthongs <αι> and <οι> were transliterated into Latin as <ae> and <oe>. The ligatures æ and œ were introduced when the sounds became monophthongs, and were later applied to words not of Greek origin in both Latin (for example, ''cœli''{{--)}}) and French (for example, ''œuvre''). In English, which has adopted words from all three languages, it is now usual to replace ''Æ/æ'' with ''Ae/ae'' and ''Œ/œ'' with ''Oe/oe''. In many words, the digraph has been reduced to a lone ''e'' in all varieties of English: for example, '''''a'''edifice'', '''''a'''emulate'', '''''a'''equal'', '''''a'''equator'', '''''a'''equinox'', '''''a'''era'', '''''a'''esteem'', '''''a'''eternal'', ''f'''o'''ederal'', '''''o'''economy'', ''pr'''a'''emium'', ''trag'''o'''edy''.<ref>Webster's Third, p. 23a.</ref> The spelling ''aenigma'', while uncommon in modern English, is recorded as a recognized variant spelling in ''Merriam‑Webster.com Dictionary''.<ref>{{cite web |title=aenigma |website=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aenigma |access-date=11 April 2026}}</ref> In other cases, the digraph is retained across all varieties. Despite ''phoenix'' and ''subpoena'' being the most common spellings in American English, the uncommon variants ''phenix''<ref>{{cite web |title=Phenix |work=Collins English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/phenix}}</ref> and ''subpena''<ref>{{cite web |title=subpoena |work=Merriam-Webster Legal Dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subpoena#legalDictionary}}</ref> are occasionally used, with ''Phenix'' in Virginia illustrating the variant spelling. The retention of the digraph is especially common in names: ''Aegean'' (the sea), ''Caesar'', ''Oedipus'', ''Phoebe'', etc., although "caesarean section" may be spelled as "cesarean section". There is no reduction of Latin -ae plurals (e.g., ''larv'''ae'''''); nor where the digraph <ae>/<oe> does not result from the Greek-style ligature as, for example, in ''maelstrom'' or ''toe''; the same is true for the British form ''aeroplane'' (compare other ''aero-'' words such as ''aerosol''{{--)}}. The now chiefly North American ''airplane'' is not a respelling but a recoining, modelled after ''airship'' and ''aircraft''. The word ''airplane'' dates from 1907,<ref>''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary'', ''airplane''.</ref> at which time the prefix ''aero-'' was trisyllabic, often written ''aëro-''.

Canadian English mostly follows American English in this respect. While ''e'' is generally preferred over ''oe'' and often over ''ae'',{{Citation needed|date=September 2009|reason=I absolutely disagree...I rarely see anyone up here not preferring ae to e.}} ''oe'' and ''ae'' are sometimes found in academic, scientific and official publications (for example, the fee schedule of the Ontario Health Insurance Plan), and in words such as ''palaeontology'' or ''aeon''.<ref name="Macquarie Dictionary 8th Edition" />

''Pediatrician'' is preferred roughly 10 to 1 over ''paediatrician'', while ''foetal'' and ''oestrogen'' are similarly uncommon. Canadian English is split on ''gynecology'' (e.g., the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada vs. the Canadian Medical Association's Canadian specialty profile of ''Obstetrics/gynecology''). While British and American English both use the spelling ''"pal'''ae'''olithic"'', the standard Canadian English spelling is usually ''"pal'''e'''olithic"'', which is one of the very few instances where the Canadian spelling of a word differs from both the British and American spellings of that word.<ref>{{cite web | title=Canadian, British and American Spelling | url=http://www.lukemastin.com/testing/spelling/cgi-bin/database.cgi?action=view_category&database=spelling&category=P#:~:text=pean-,paleolithic,palaeolithic,-panelled/panelling }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Canadian / American Spelling Differences ... Does Your Blog Speak to the Proper Market? | date=24 June 2009 | url=https://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/canadian-american-spelling-differences-does-your-blog-speak-to-the-proper-market.html#:~:text=paleolothic,palaeolothic }}</ref>

In Australia, it can go either way, depending on the word: ''medieval'', ''eon'' and ''fetus'' follow the American usage with ''e'' rather than ''ae'' or ''oe''; ''oestrogen'' and ''paediatrician'' are spelled the British way.<ref name="Macquarie Dictionary 8th Edition">"The Macquarie Dictionary", 8th Edition. Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, 2020.</ref> ''Manoeuvre'' is the only spelling in Australia, and the most common one in Canada, where ''maneuver'' and ''manoeuver'' are also sometimes found.<ref name="Peters"/> Elsewhere, the British usage prevails, but the spellings with just ''e'' are increasingly used worldwide. With the exception of ''manoeuvre'', most British and American spellings are usually considered acceptable variants.<ref name="Peters"/><ref name="Fourth Edition 2005"/>

==Greek-derived spellings (often through Latin and Romance)== ==={{Anchor|ise-ize|iseize|ise ize}}''-ise'', ''-ize'' (''-isation'', ''-ization'')=== {{See also|Oxford spelling}}

====Origin and recommendations==== The ''-ize'' spelling is often incorrectly seen in the United Kingdom as an Americanism. It has been in use since the 15th century, predating the ''-ise'' spelling by over a century.<ref name="IZE">{{cite web|url=https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/03/28/ize-or-ise/|title=-Ize or -ise?|date=28 March 2011|work=OxfordWords|publisher=Oxford University Press|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717013219/https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/03/28/ize-or-ise/|archive-date=17 July 2018|access-date=5 September 2018}}</ref> The verb-forming suffix ''-ize'' comes directly from Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|-ίζειν}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|-ízein}}) or Late Latin {{lang|la|-izāre}}, while ''-ise'' comes via French {{lang|fr|-iser}}, which itself stems from the same Greek suffix.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rissanen|first=Matti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wKEpVqTKOusC&pg=PA244|title=Corpus-based Studies of Diachronic English|date=2006|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-3-03910-851-0|pages=244|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' ({{italics correction|''OED''}}) recommends ''-ize'' and lists the ''-ise'' form as an alternative.<ref name=":1">''Oxford English Dictionary'' "-ise1"</ref>

Publications by Oxford University Press (OUP)—such as Henry Watson Fowler's ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'', ''Hart's Rules'',<ref name="hhart">{{Cite book|title=''Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford''|author=Hart, Horace|year=1983|edition=39|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=0-19-212983-X|url-access=registration|url=http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50007899?query_type=word&queryword=analyse&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=2&search_id=7gvQ-NMAtlc-2599&hilite=50007899}}</ref> and ''The Oxford Guide to English Usage''<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Oxford Guide to English Usage|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetoeng00wein_682|url-access=limited|last1=Weiner|first1=E.S.C.|last2=Delahunty|first2=Andrew|type=paperback|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1994|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetoeng00wein_682/page/n31 32]|isbn=978-0-19-280024-4}}</ref>—also recommend ''-ize''. However, Robert Allan's ''Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage'' considers either spelling to be acceptable anywhere but the US.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage|editor=Allen, Robert|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|page=354|quote=may be legitimately spelled with either -ize or -ise throughout the English-speaking world (except in America, where -ize is always used).|year=2008|isbn=978-0-19-923258-1}}</ref>

====Usage==== American spelling avoids ''-ise'' endings in words like ''organize'', ''realize'' and ''recognize''.<ref name=AOZ>{{cite web|year = 2006|url = http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/ize?view=uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204084547/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/ize?view=uk|archive-date=4 February 2007|url-status=dead|title =Are spellings like 'privatize' and 'organize' Americanisms?|website=AskOxford.com}}</ref>

British spelling mostly uses ''-ise'' (''organise'', ''realise'', ''recognise''), though ''-ize'' is sometimes used.<ref name=AOZ/> The ratio between ''-ise'' and ''-ize'' stood at 3:2 in the British National Corpus up to 2002.<ref>Peters, p. 298: "[With] contemporary British writers the '''ise''' spellings outnumber those with '''ize''' in the ratio of about 3:2" (emphasis as original)</ref> The spelling ''-ise'' is more commonly used in UK mass media and newspapers,<ref name=AOZ/> including ''The Times'' (which switched conventions in 1992),<ref name=Dixon2004>Richard Dixon, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110604174926/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article993612.ece "Questions answered"], ''The Times'', 13 January 2004.</ref> ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Economist'' and the BBC. The Government of the United Kingdom additionally uses ''-ise'', stating "do not use Americanisms" justifying that the spelling "is often seen as such".<ref>{{cite web|title=A to Z – Style Guide – Gov.uk|work=gov.uk|url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/style-guide/a-to-z-of-gov-uk-style|access-date=16 July 2019}} ''See "Americanisms" in section A''</ref> The ''-ize'' form is known as Oxford spelling and is used in publications of the Oxford University Press, most notably the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', and of other academic publishers<ref>{{cite book|author=Modern Humanities Research Association|year=2013|title=MHRA Style Guide: A Handbook for Authors and Editors|edition=3rd|page=20|publisher=Modern Humanities Research Association |isbn=978-1-78188-009-8|url=http://www.mhra.org.uk/pdf/MHRA-Style-Guide-3rd-Edn.pdf|author-link=Modern Humanities Research Association}}</ref> such as ''Nature'', the ''Biochemical Journal'' and ''The Times Literary Supplement''. It can be identified using the IETF language tag '''en-GB-oxendict''' (or, historically, by '''en-GB-oed''').<ref>[https://www.iana.org/assignments/language-subtag-registry/language-subtag-registry IANA language subtag registry], IANA, with "en-GM-oed" marked as added 9 July 2003 as grandfathered, and deprecated effective 2015-04-17, with "en-GB-oxendict" preferred (accessed 2015-08-08).</ref>

In Ireland, India, Australia, and New Zealand<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stack |first1=Marja |title=New Zealand English: ''-ise'' vs ''-ize'' endings |url=http://www.clearlingo.co.nz/blog/nz-english-ise-vs-ize-endings |website=Clearlingo Proofreading and Editing |access-date=11 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref> ''-ise'' spellings strongly prevail: the ''-ise'' form is preferred in Australian English at a ratio of about 3:1 according to the ''Macquarie Dictionary''.

In Canada, the ''-ize'' ending is more common, although the ''Ontario Public School Spelling Book''<ref>''Ontario Public School Spelling Book'', Authorized by Minister of Education, (Toronto The Ryerson Press)</ref> spelled most words in the ''-ize'' form, but allowed for duality with a page insert as late as the 1970s, noting that, although the ''-ize'' spelling was in fact the convention used in the ''OED'', the choice to spell such words in the ''-ise'' form was ''a matter of personal preference''; however, a ''pupil'' having made the decision, one way or the other, thereafter ought to write uniformly not only for a given word, but to apply that same uniformity consistently for all words where the option is found. Just as with ''-yze'' spellings, however, in Canada the ''ize'' form remains the preferred or more common spelling, though both can still be found, yet the ''-ise'' variation, once more common amongst older Canadians, is employed less and less often in favour of the ''-ize'' spelling. (The alternate convention offered as a matter of choice may have been due to the fact that although there were an increasing number of American- and British-based dictionaries with Canadian Editions by the late 1970s, these were largely only supplemental in terms of vocabulary with subsequent definitions. It was not until the mid-1990s<ref>Dictionaries of Canadian English: the First Century 1912–2017 by Stefan Dollinger|https://www.academia.edu/36780450/Dictionaries_of_Canadian_English_the_first_century_1912_2017_rev_</ref><ref>1977–2012 Overall Canadian Dictionaries, Overall American Dictionaries, Overall British Dictionaries: Graphic.|https://html.scribdassets.com/3fc0pwlolc6mdn3g/images/7-73a016eddd.png</ref> that Canadian-based dictionaries became increasingly common.)

Worldwide, ''-ize'' endings prevail in scientific writing and are commonly used by many international organizations, such as United Nations Organizations (such as the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization) and the International Organization for Standardization (but not by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The European Union's style guides require the usage of -''ise''.<ref name="EUStyleGuide">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/styleguide_english_dgt_en.pdf|title=English Style Guide. A handbook for authors and translators in the European Commission|chapter=3.2 -is-/-iz- spelling|edition=8th|page=14|date=26 August 2016}}</ref> Proofreaders at the EU's Publications Office ensure consistent spelling in official publications such as the ''Official Journal of the European Union'' (where legislation and other official documents are published), but the ''-ize'' spelling may be found in other documents.

The same applies to inflections and derivations such as ''colonised''/''colonized'' and ''modernisation''/''modernization''.

====Exceptions==== * Some verbs take only an ''-ize'' form worldwide. In these, ''-ize'' is not a suffix, so does not ultimately come from Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|-ίζειν}}: for example, ''capsize'', ''seize'' (except in the legal phrases ''to be seised of'' or ''to stand seised to''), ''size'' and ''prize'' (meaning ''value'', as opposed to the ''prise'' that means ''pry''). * Some verbs take only ''-s-'' worldwide. In these, ''-ise'' is not a suffix, but part of the English, French or Latin stems ''-rise, -vise, -mis-'', etc.: ''advise'', ''arise'', ''chastise'', ''circumcise'', ''compromise'', ''demise'', ''despise'', ''devise'', ''disguise'', ''excise'', ''exercise'', ''franchise'', ''guise'', ''improvise'', ''incise'', ''promise'', ''reprise'', ''revise'', ''rise'', ''surmise'', ''televise'', and ''wise''. Less common ''-ize'' variants such as ''advertize''<ref>{{cite web|title=Advertize|website=Collins Dictionary|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/advertize}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Advertize|website=Dictionary.com|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/advertize}}</ref>, ''comprize''<ref>{{cite web|title=Comprize|website=Collins Dictionary|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/comprize}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Comprize|website=Dictionary.com|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/comprize}}</ref>, and ''surprize''<ref>{{cite web|title=Surprise|website=Merriam-Webster Dictionary|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surprise}}</ref> do exist in American English, but are rarer than the ''-ise'' forms. * Some words spelled with ''-ize'' in American English are not used in British English. For example, from the noun ''burglar'', the usual verb is formed by suffixation in American English (''burglarize'') but back-formation in British English (''burgle'').<ref>{{cite book|last=Garner|first=Bryan|title=A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=2nd|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn_0/page/122 122]|isbn=978-0-19-514236-5|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn_0|url-access=registration|access-date=18 December 2009|year=2001}}</ref> * Conversely, the verb ''to prise'' (meaning "to force" or "to lever") is rarely used in North American English:<ref name="Peters"/> ''pry'' is instead used, a back-formation from or alteration of ''prise'' to avoid confusion with the more common noun "prize". When it is used in Canada, it is spelled with an ''s'', just as it is in British, Irish, Indian, New Zealand and European English, where its use is more common. However, the rare occurrences in the US have the spelling as ''prize'' even though it does not contain a suffix, so does not derive from {{lang|grc|-ίζειν}}.<ref>"prize". ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged.'' Merriam-Webster, 2002. Also, "prize". ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Ed.''</ref><ref>According to ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Ed.'': ''prise'' is a "chiefly Brit var of PRIZE".</ref> * The spelling ''enterprize'' was the dominant spelling throughout the 18th century<ref>[https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=enterprise%2Centerprize&year_start=1700&year_end=1799&corpus=en&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=true Google Books Ngram Viewer: enterprise, enterprize (1700–1799)]</ref>; Royal Navy vessels such as HMS Enterprize (1743) also used this spelling. However, ''enterprize'' is now considered archaic and is no longer used in either British or American English.

==={{Anchor|yse_yze}}''-yse'', ''-yze''=== The ending ''-yse'' is now British and ''-yze'' is American. Thus, in British English ''analyse'', ''catalyse'', ''hydrolyse'' and ''paralyse'', but in American English ''analyze'', ''catalyze'', ''hydrolyze'' and ''paralyze''.

Either ending is derived from the Greek noun stem ''{{lang|el|λύσις}}'' ''lysis'' ("release") with the ''-ize/-ise'' suffix added to it, and not the original verb form, whose stem is ''λυ- ly-'' without the ''-s/z-'' segment. The Oxford English Dictionary states on that matter: <ref>(Oxford English Dictionary: Second edition).</ref>

{{Blockquote |text=On Greek analogies the verb would have been ''analysize,'' French ''analysiser,'' of which [French] ''analyser'' was practically a shortened form, since, though following the analogy of pairs like ''annexe, annexe-r,'' it rested chiefly on the fact that by form-association it appeared already to belong to the series of factitive verbs in French -''iser,'' English ''-ize'', = Latin -''īzāre,'' from Greek -ίζ-ειν, to which in sense it belonged. Hence from the first it was commonly written in Eng. ''analyze,'' the spelling accepted by Johnson, and historically quite defensible.}}

Alongside the authoritative Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary, 1755, the spelling ''analyze'' was also preferred by John Kersey's of 1702 and Nathan Bailey's of 1721, both published in London. It is also given (alongside with ''analyse'') as one of the two equally significant "main forms" in the first (published 1884-1928) and second (published 1989) editions of the Oxford English Dictionary.

In Canada, ''-yze'' is now generally preferred<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Oxford University Press|title=The Canadian Oxford Dictionary|date=2004|isbn=978-0-19-173521-9|edition=2nd}}</ref>, but ''-yse'' is also very common. In South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, ''-yse'' is the prevailing form.

==={{Anchor|ogue_og}}''-ogue'', ''-og''=== British and other Commonwealth English use the ending ''-logue'' while American English commonly uses the ending ''-log'' for words like ''analog(ue)'', ''catalog(ue)'', ''homolog(ue)'', etc., etymologically derived from Greek {{lang|el|-λόγος}} ''-logos'' ("one who speaks (in a certain manner)"). The ''-gue'' spelling, as in ''catalogue'', is used in the US, but ''catalog'' is more common. In contrast, ''dialogue'', ''epilogue'', ''prologue'', and ''monologue'' are extremely common spellings compared to ''dialog'' etc. in American English, although both forms are treated as acceptable ways to spell the words<ref>Both the ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'' and ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' have "catalog" as the main headword and "catalogue" as an equal variant.</ref> (thus, the inflected forms, ''cataloged'' and ''cataloging'' vs. ''catalogued'' and ''cataloguing'').

In American English, ''analog'' is the standard spelling for the adjective (e.g., ''analog signal''), while ''analogue'' is sometimes preferred for the noun. According to ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'', ''analog'' is listed as the primary adjective form, and ''analogue'' as the principal noun form, with ''analog'' being labeled as a variant.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analog|title=Analog|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=30 September 2025}}</ref>

In Australia, ''analog'' is standard for the adjective,{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} but both ''analogue'' and ''analog'' are current for the noun; in all other cases the ''-gue'' endings strongly prevail,<ref name="Peters"/> for example ''monologue'', except for such expressions as ''dialog box'' in computing,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.forms.openfiledialog.aspx |title=MSDN C#.NET OpenFileDialog Class |publisher=Msdn.microsoft.com |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> which are also used in other Commonwealth countries. In Australia, ''analog'' is used in its technical and electronic sense, as in ''analog electronics''.<ref name="Fourth Edition 2005"/> In Canada and New Zealand, ''analogue'' is used, but ''analog'' has some currency as a technical term<ref name="Peters"/> (e.g., in electronics, as in "analog electronics" as opposed to "digital electronics" and some video-game consoles might have an ''analog stick''). The ''-ue'' is absent worldwide in related words like ''analogy'', ''analogous'', and ''analogist''.

Words such as ''demagogue'', ''pedagogue'', and ''synagogue'', from the Greek noun {{lang|el|ἀγωγός}} ''agōgos'' ("guide"), are more commonly spelled with ''‑ue'' in American English, though the shorter forms ''demagog'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Demagog |website=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demagog |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> ''pedagog'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Pedagog |website=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pedagog |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> and ''synagog''<ref>{{cite web |title=Synagog |website=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/synagog |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> also exist and are accepted variants.

Both British and American English use the spelling ''-gue'' with a silent ''-ue'' for certain words that are not part of the ''-ogue'' set, such as ''tongue'', ''plague'', ''vague'', and ''league.'' In addition, when the ''-ue'' is not silent, as in the words ''argue,'' ''ague'' and ''segue,'' all varieties of English use ''-gue.''

==Doubled consonants== The plural of the noun ''bus'' is usually ''buses'', with ''busses'' a minor American variant.<ref name="bus_cald"/> Conversely, inflections of the verb ''bus'' usually double the ''s'' in British usage (''busses, bussed, bussing'') but not American usage (''buses, bused, busing'').<ref name="bus_cald">{{cite web |title=bus |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bus?q=bus_1 |website=Cambridge English Dictionary |access-date=19 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In Australia, both are common, with the American usage slightly more common.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Macquarie Dictionary |url=https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/bus/ |access-date=27 February 2022 |website=www.macquariedictionary.com.au}}</ref>

===Doubled in British English=== The final consonant of an English word is sometimes doubled in both American and British spelling when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, for example ''strip/stripped'', which prevents confusion with ''stripe/striped'' and shows the difference in pronunciation (see digraph). Generally, this happens only when the word's final syllable is stressed and when it also ends with a lone vowel followed by a lone consonant. In British English, however, a final ''-l'' is often doubled even when the final syllable is unstressed.<ref name="Peters"/> This exception is no longer usual in American English, seemingly because of Noah Webster.<ref>Cf. Oxford English Dictionary, ''traveller, traveler''.</ref> The ''-ll-'' spellings are nevertheless still deemed acceptable variants by both Merriam-Webster Collegiate and American Heritage dictionaries. * The British English doubling is used for all inflections (''-ed'', ''-ing'', ''-er'', ''-est''{{--)}} and for the noun suffixes ''-er'' and ''-or''. Therefore, British English usage is ''cancelled'', ''counsellor'', ''cruellest'', ''labelled'', ''modelling'', ''quarrelled'', ''signalling'', ''traveller'', and ''travelling''. Americans typically use ''canceled'', ''counselor'', ''cruelest'', ''labeled'', ''modeling'', ''quarreled'', ''signaling'', ''traveler'', and ''traveling''. However, for certain words such as ''cancelled'', the ''-ll-'' spelling is acceptable in American English as well. ** The word ''parallel'' keeps a single ''-l-'' in British English, as in American English (''paralleling'', ''unparalleled''{{--)}}, to avoid the cluster ''-llell-''. ** Words with two vowels before a final ''l'' are also spelled with ''-ll-'' in British English before a suffix when the first vowel either acts as a consonant (''equalling'' and ''initialled''; in the United States, ''equaling'' or ''initialed''{{--)}}, or belongs to a separate syllable (British ''di•alled'' and ''fu•el•ling''; American ''di•aled'' and ''fue•ling''). *** British ''woollen'' is a further exception due to the double vowel (American: ''woolen''). Also, ''wooly'' is accepted in American English, though ''woolly'' prevails in both systems.<ref name="Peters" /> *** The verb ''surveil'', a back-formation from ''surveillance'', always makes ''surveilled'', ''surveilling''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surveil|title=Surveil|work=Merriam-Webster|access-date=3 January 2018}}; {{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/surveil|title=British & World English > surveil|work=OxfordDictionaries.com|access-date=3 January 2018|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104013619/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/surveil|url-status=dead}}</ref> * Endings ''-ize''/''-ise'', ''-ism'', ''-ist'', ''-ish'' usually do not double the ''l'' in British English; for example, ''devilish'', ''dualism'', ''normalise'', and ''novelist''. ** Exceptions: ''duellist'', ''medallist'', ''panellist'', ''tranquillise'', and sometimes ''triallist'' in British English. * For ''-ous'', British English has a single ''l'' in ''scandalous'' and ''perilous'', but the "ll" in ''libellous'' and ''marvellous''. * For ''-ee'', British English has ''libellee''. * For ''-age'', British English has ''pupillage'' but ''vassalage''. * American English sometimes has an unstressed ''-ll-'', as in the UK, in some words where the root has ''-l''. These are cases where the change happens in the source language, which was often Latin. (Examples: ''bimetallism'', ''cancellation'', ''chancellor'', ''crystallize'', ''excellent'', ''raillery'', and ''tonsillitis''.) * All forms of English have ''compelled'', ''excelling'', ''propelled'', ''rebelling'' (stressed ''-ll-''); ''revealing'', ''fooling'' (double vowel before the ''l''{{--)}}; and ''hurling'' (consonant before the ''l''{{--)}}. * Canadian and Australian English mostly follow British usage.<ref name="Peters"/>

Among consonants other than ''l'', practice varies for some words, such as where the final syllable has secondary stress or an unreduced vowel. In the United States, the spellings ''kidnaped'' and ''worshiped'', which were introduced by the ''Chicago Tribune'' in the 1920s,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spellingsociety.org/news/media/chicago2.php |title=Errant Spelling: Moves for simplification turn Inglish into another langwaj |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=8 June 1997 |pages=Section 3A page 14 |access-date=17 March 2007 |first=Eric |last=Zorn |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703161726/http://www.spellingsociety.org/news/media/chicago2.php |archive-date=3 July 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> are common, but ''kidnapped'' and ''worshipped'' prevail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kidnapped|title=Definition of KIDNAPPED|date=6 April 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worshipped|title=Definition of WORSHIPPED|date=30 March 2024 }}</ref> ''Kidnapped'' and ''worshipped'' are the only standard British spellings. However, ''focused'' is the predominant spelling in both British and American English, ''focussed'' being just a minor variant in British English.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/focused |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223220011/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/focused |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 December 2017 |title = FOCUSED {{!}} Meaning & Definition for UK English {{!}} Lexico.com}}</ref>

Miscellaneous: * British ''calliper'' or ''caliper''; American ''caliper''. * British ''jewellery''; American ''jewelry''. The word originates from the Old French word ''jouel''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lazarosoho.com/Jewelry-vs-Jewellery_b_54.html | title=Jewelry vs. Jewellery | publisher=Lazaro Soho | access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref> (whose contemporary French equivalent is ''joyau'', with the same meaning). The standard pronunciation {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|uː|ə|l|r|i}}<ref>''Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary'', [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=42648&ph=on jewellery UK, American jewelry]</ref> does not reflect this difference, but the non-standard pronunciation {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|uː|l|ər|i}} (which exists in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, hence the Cockney rhyming slang word ''tomfoolery'' {{IPAc-en|t|ɒ|m|ˈ|f|uː|l|ər|i}}) does. According to Fowler, ''jewelry'' used to be the "rhetorical and poetic" spelling in the UK, and was still used by ''The Times'' into the mid-20th century. Canada has both, but ''jewellery'' is more often used. Likewise, the Commonwealth (including Canada) has ''jeweller'' and the US has ''jeweler'' for a jewel(le)ry seller.

===Doubled in American English=== Conversely, there are words where British writers prefer a single ''l'' and Americans a double ''l''. In American usage, the spelling of words is usually not changed when they form the main part (not prefix or suffix) of other words, especially in newly formed words and in words whose main part is in common use. Words with this spelling difference include ''appall'', ''enrollment'', ''fulfillment'', ''installment'', ''skillful'', ''thralldom'', ''willful''. These words have monosyllabic cognates always written with ''-ll'': ''pall'' (verb), ''roll'', ''fill'', ''stall'', ''skill'', ''thrall'', ''will''. Cases where a single ''l'' nevertheless occurs in both American and British English include ''null''→''annul'', ''annulment''; ''till''→''until'' (although some prefer ''til'' to reflect the single ''l'' in ''until'', sometimes using a leading apostrophe (''{{`}}til''{{--)}}; this should be considered a hypercorrection as ''till'' predates the use of ''until''{{--)}}; and others where the connection is not clear or the monosyllabic cognate is not in common use in American English (e.g., ''null'' is used mainly as a technical term in law, mathematics, and computer science).

In the UK, a single ''l'' is generally preferred over American forms ''distill'', ''enroll'', ''enthrall'', and ''instill'', although ''ll'' was formerly used;<ref>''OED'' Second Edition</ref> these are always spelled with ''ll'' in American usage. The former British spellings ''dulness'', ''fulness'', and ''instal'' are now quite rare.<ref name="Peters"/> The Scottish ''tolbooth'' is cognate with ''tollbooth'', but it has a distinct meaning.

In both American and British usages, words normally spelled ''-ll'' usually drop the second ''l'' when used as prefixes or suffixes, for example ''all''→''almighty'', ''altogether''; ''full''→''handful'', ''useful''; ''well''→''welcome'', ''welfare''; ''chill''→''chilblain''.

Both the British ''fulfil'' and the American ''fulfill'' never use ''-ll-'' in the middle (i.e., *''fullfill'' and *''fullfil'' are incorrect).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fulfil?showCookiePolicy=true |title=fulfil |work=Collins English Dictionary |access-date=3 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{OED|fulfil}}</ref>

Johnson wavered on this issue. His dictionary of 1755 lemmatizes ''distil'' and ''instill'', ''downhil'' and ''uphill''.<ref name="Peters"/>

==Dropped "e"== British English sometimes keeps a silent "e" when adding suffixes where American English does not. Generally speaking, British English drops it in only some cases in which it is needed to show pronunciation whereas American English only uses it where needed. * British prefers ''ageing'',<ref name="Peters"/> American usually ''aging'' (compare ''ageism'', ''raging''). For the noun or verb "route", British English often uses ''routeing'',<ref>Peters, p. 480. Also National Routeing Guide</ref> but in the US, ''routing'' is used. The military term ''rout'' forms ''routing'' everywhere. However, all of these words form "router", whether used in the context of carpentry, data communications, or the military. (e.g., "Attacus was the router of the Huns at ....")

Both forms of English keep the silent "e" in the words ''dyeing'', ''singeing'', and ''swingeing''<ref>In American English, ''swingeing'' is sometimes spelled ''swinging'' [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/swingeing?r=66 see American Heritage Dictionary entry], and the reader has to discern from the context which word and pronunciation is meant.</ref> (in the sense of ''dye'', ''singe'', and ''swinge''), to distinguish them from ''dying'', ''singing'', ''swinging'' (in the sense of ''die'', ''sing'', and ''swing''). In contrast, the verb ''bathe'' and the British verb ''bath'' both form ''bathing''. Both forms of English vary for ''tinge'' and ''twinge''; both prefer ''cringing'', ''hinging'', ''lunging'', ''syringing''. * Before ''-able'', British English prefers ''likeable'', ''liveable'', ''rateable'', ''saleable'', ''sizeable'', ''unshakeable'',<ref name="British National Corpus">British National Corpus</ref> where American practice prefers to drop the "-e"; but both British and American English prefer ''breathable'', ''curable'', ''datable'', ''lovable'', ''movable'', ''notable'', ''provable'', ''quotable'', ''scalable'', ''solvable'', ''usable'',<ref name="British National Corpus"/> and those where the root is polysyllabic, like ''believable'' or ''decidable''. Both systems keep the silent "e" when it is needed to preserve a soft "c", "ch", or "g", such as in ''cacheable'', ''changeable'', ''traceable''; both usually keep the "e" after "-dge", as in ''knowledgeable'', ''unbridgeable'', and ''unabridgeable'' ("These rights are unabridgeable"). * Both ''abridgment'' and the more regular ''abridgement'' are current in the US, only the latter in the UK.<ref name="Peters"/> Likewise for the word ''lodg(e)ment''. Both ''judgment'' and ''judgement'' are in use interchangeably everywhere, although the former prevails in the US and the latter prevails in the UK<ref name="Peters"/> except in the practice of law, where ''judgment'' is standard. This also holds for ''abridgment'' and ''acknowledgment''. Both systems prefer ''fledgling'' to ''fledgeling'', but ''ridgeling'' to ''ridgling''. ''Acknowledgment'', ''acknowledgement'', ''abridgment'' and ''abridgement'' are all used in Australia; the shorter forms are endorsed by the Australian Capital Territory Government.<ref name="Fourth Edition 2005"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pco.act.gov.au/library/Spelling.pdf |title=Spelling, Abbreviations and Symbols Guide |access-date=15 November 2012}}</ref> Apart from when the "e" is dropped and in the words ''mortgagor'' and ''gaol'' and some pronunciations of ''margarine'', "g" can only be soft when followed by an "e", "i", or "y". * The word "blue" always drops the "e" when forming "bluish" or "bluing".{{citation needed|date=July 2025|reason=in large part due to use of the word "always"}}

==Different spellings for different meanings== {| class="wikitable" |+ ! !Meaning !Example !British !American !Notes !Etymology |- ! rowspan="2" |''dependant'' or ''dependent'' !adjective !A is dependent on B |dependent | rowspan="2" |dependent | rowspan="2" |''dependant'' is also an acceptable variant for the noun form in the US.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dependant Merriam-Webster Online]. Retrieved 30 December 2007.</ref> | rowspan="2" | |- !noun !A is a dependant |dependant |- ! rowspan="2" |''disc'' or ''disk'' ! colspan="2" |optical discs | colspan="2" |(computing) disc In computing, disc is used for optical discs (e.g., a CD, Compact Disc; DVD, Digital Versatile/Video Disc; MCA DiscoVision, LaserDisc), by choice of the group that coined and trademarked the name Compact Disc.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |last=Howarth |first=Lynne C |author2=others |date=14 June 1999 |title="Executive summary" from review of "International Standard Bibliographic Description for Electronic Resources" |url=http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/aacrer/tf-harm21.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416004041/http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/aacrer/tf-harm21.htm |archive-date=16 April 2007 |access-date=30 April 2007 |publisher=American Library Association}}</ref> | rowspan="2" |Traditionally, disc used to be British and disk American. | rowspan="2" |Both spellings are etymologically sound (Greek ''diskos'', Latin ''discus''), although ''disk'' is the earlier form. |- ! colspan="2" |other disks | colspan="2" |disk In computing, disk is used for products using magnetic storage (e.g., hard disks or floppy disks, also known as diskettes).<ref name=":2" /> |- ! rowspan="2" |''inquiry'' or e''nquiry<ref name="Peters" />'' !formal inquest !a formal inquiry |inquiry | rowspan="2" |inquiry (except for the National Enquirer) | rowspan="2" |Historically, ''inquiry'' and ''enquiry'' were equal alternatives. A strict distinction is made by Fowler, and is maintained by many (though not all) British writers.{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}} Interchangeable in Australian English''<ref>See ''Macquarie Dictionary'' (5th ed.)'s explanation under ''-in2''. The dictionary also lists 'inquiry' as the primary spelling, with 'enquiry' being a cross-reference to the former (denoting lower prevalence in Australian English). The British distinction between 'inquiry' and 'enquiry' is noted.</ref>'' | rowspan="8" | |- !act of questioning !to make enquiries |inquiry or enquiry<ref>{{cite web |title=Chambers {{pipe}} Free English Dictionary |url=http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21st&query=inquiry |access-date=7 February 2010 |publisher=Chambersharrap.co.uk}}</ref> |- ! rowspan="4" |''ensure'' or ''insure<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ensure Merriam-Webster Online]. Retrieved 30 December 2007.</ref>'' !to make sure, to make certain !to ensure the gates are shut | colspan="2" |ensure | rowspan="4" |The Commonwealth distinction is only about a century old.<ref name="Peters" /> |- !to make certain especially by taking necessary measures and precautions !to ensure the prisoner doesn't escape |ensure |insure |- !to provide or obtain insurance on or for !to insure a car | colspan="2" |insure |- !to guarantee or protect against !to insure against danger | colspan="2" |insure |- ! rowspan="2" |''matt'' or ''matte<ref name="Peters" />'' !a non-glossy surface !a matt table |matt | rowspan="2" |matte | rowspan="2" | |- !the motion-picture technique !a matte shot |matte |- ! rowspan="2" |''programme'' or ''program'' !a leaflet listing information about a live event !a concert programme |programme (first appeared in England in 1671) | rowspan="2" |program (first appeared in Scotland in 1633, shared with Canadian English, though occasionally wholly replaced with -mme there<ref name="Peters" />) | rowspan="2" |New Zealand also follows the British pattern. Australia has followed the American pattern since the 1960s,<ref name="Peters" /> and is listed as the official spelling in the ''Macquarie Dictionary'';<ref name="Fourth Edition 2005" /> see also the name of ''The Micallef P(r)ogram(me)''. | rowspan="2" |The British ''programme'' is from post-classical Latin ''programma'' and French ''programme''. The ''OED'' entry, updated in 2007, says that ''program'' conforms to the usual representation of Greek as in ''anagram'', ''diagram'', ''telegram'' etc. |- ! colspan="2" |a computer program |program (occasionally programme) |- !''tonne'' or ''ton'' !SI unit (1,000 kilograms) !a metric ''tonne'' |tonne |ton |Canada uses either nomenclature.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Public Services and Procurement Canada |date=6 December 2019 |title=spelling: SI/metric units – Writing Tips Plus – Writing Tools – Resources of the Language Portal of Canada – Canada.ca |url=https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/writing-tips-plus/spelling-si-metric-units |access-date=11 September 2023 |website=www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca}}</ref> | rowspan="5" | |- ! ! colspan="2" |long ton ({{convert|2240|lb|kg|0|disp=or}}) |ton |N/A |The tonne and long ton differ by only 1.6%, and are roughly interchangeable when accuracy is not critical |- ! ! colspan="2" |short ton ({{convert|2000|lb|kg|0|disp=or}}) |N/A |ton | |- ! rowspan="2" |''metre'' or ''meter''<ref>The Metric Conversion Act of 1985 gives the Secretary of Commerce of the US the responsibility of interpreting or modifying the SI for use in the US. The Secretary of Commerce delegated this authority to the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) ([http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Metric/upload/FRN_Vol_73_No_96_16May2008_SI_Interpretation.pdf Turner, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326162948/http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Metric/upload/FRN_Vol_73_No_96_16May2008_SI_Interpretation.pdf|date=26 March 2009}}). In 2008, the NIST published the US version ([http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf Taylor and Thompson, 2008a] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603215953/http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf|date=3 June 2016}}) of the English text of the eighth edition of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures publication ''Le Système International d'Unités (SI)'' ([http://www1.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/si_brochure_8.pdf BIPM, 2006]). In the NIST publication, the spellings "meter", "liter", and "deka" are used rather than "metre", "litre", and "deca" as in the original BIPM English text ([http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf Taylor and Thompson, 2008a], p. iii). The Director of the NIST officially acknowledged this publication, together with [http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf Taylor and Thompson (2008b)], as the "legal interpretation" of the SI for the United States ([http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Metric/upload/FRN_Vol_73_No_96_16May2008_SI_Interpretation.pdf Turner, 2008] ).</ref> !unit of length !a metre long |metre | rowspan="2" |meter |also the international spelling for the unit according to the SI brochure by the BIPM |- !measuring device !a water meter |meter | |}

==Different spellings for different pronunciations== In a few cases, essentially the same word has a different spelling that reflects a different pronunciation.

As well as the miscellaneous cases listed in the following table, the past tenses of some irregular verbs differ in both spelling and pronunciation, as with ''smelt'' (UK) versus ''smelled'' (US) (see American and British English grammatical differences: Verb morphology).

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! UK !! US !! class="unsortable" | Notes |- valign="top" |{{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}} {{IPA|/ˈɛə.ɹə.pleɪn/}}|| {{lang|en-US|airplane}} {{IPA|/ˈɛɚˌpleɪn/}}|| ''{{lang|en-GB|Aeroplane}}'', originally a French loanword with a different meaning, is the older spelling.<ref name="etymonline">{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=aeroplane&searchmode=none |title=etymonline.com |publisher=etymonline.com |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> The oldest recorded uses of the spelling ''{{lang|en-US|airplane}}'' are British.<ref name="etymonline"/> According to the ''OED'',<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''airplane'', draft revision March 2008; ''airplane'' is labelled "chiefly North American"</ref> "''{{lang|en-US|[a]irplane}}'' became the standard American term (replacing ''{{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}}'') after this was adopted by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1916. Although A. Lloyd James recommended its adoption by the BBC in 1928, it has until recently been no more than an occasional form in British English." In the British National Corpus,<ref>[http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/x.asp British National Corpus]. Retrieved 1 April 2008.</ref> ''{{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}}'' outnumbers ''{{lang|en-US|airplane}}'' by more than 7:1 in the UK. The case is similar for the British ''{{lang|en-GB|aerodrome}}''<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aerodrome Merriam-Webster online], ''aerodrome''. Retrieved 1 April 2008.</ref> and American ''{{lang|en-US|airdrome}}'';<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''airdrome''.</ref>''{{lang|en-GB|Aerodrome}}'' is used merely as a technical term in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The prefixes ''aero-'' and ''air-'' both mean ''air'', with the first coming from the Ancient Greek word ἀήρ (''āēr''). Thus, the prefix appears in ''aeronautics'', ''aerostatics'', ''aerodynamics'', aeronautical engineering and so on, while the second occurs invariably in ''aircraft'', ''airport'', ''airliner'', ''airmail'' etc. In Canada, ''{{lang|en-US|airplane}}'' is more common than ''{{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}}'', although ''{{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}}'' is used as part of the regulatory term "ultra-light aeroplane".<ref>{{cite web |title=Ultra-light Aeroplane Transition Strategy – Transport Canada |date=3 May 2010 |url=https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/standards/general-recavi-ultralight-ultransitionstrategy-basic-2492.htm#definition |access-date=13 February 2015}}</ref> |- valign="top" | {{lang|en-GB|aluminium}} {{IPA|/ˌæl.(j)ʊˈmɪn.jəm/}}|| {{lang|en-US|aluminum}} {{IPA|/əˈlu.mɪ.nəm/}}|| The spelling ''{{lang|en-GB|aluminium}}'' is the international standard in the sciences according to the IUPAC recommendations. Humphry Davy, the element's discoverer, first proposed the name ''alumium'', and then later ''aluminum''. The name ''{{lang|en-GB|aluminium}}'' was finally adopted to conform with the ''-ium'' ending of some metallic elements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elements.vanderkrogt.net/element.php?sym=Al |title=History & Etymology of Aluminium |publisher=Elements.vanderkrogt.net |date=1 October 2002 |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> Canada uses ''{{lang|en-US|aluminum}}'' and Australia and New Zealand ''{{lang|en-GB|aluminium}}'', according to their respective dictionaries<ref name="Peters"/> although the Canadian trade association is called the 'Aluminium Association of Canada'<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aluminium.ca/en/|title=Aluminium Association of Canada}}</ref> |- valign="top" | {{lang|en-GB|ampoule}} {{IPA|/ˈæm.p(j)uːl/}}|| {{lang|en-US|ampoule, ampule, ampul}} {{IPA|/ˈæm.puːl/}}|| The ''-poule'' spelling and {{IPAc-en|-|p|uː|l}} pronunciation, which reflect the word's French origin, are common in both the US and the UK,<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ampoule MW] favours ''-poule'' and {{IPAc-en|-|p|juː|l}}, [https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=ampule AHD] ''-pule'' and {{IPAc-en|-|p|uː|l}}</ref> with ''-pule'' and {{IPAc-en|-|p|juː|l}} being rare variants in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ampule |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ampule |website=Collins English Dictionary |access-date=25 June 2019 |quote=in {{smallcaps|BRIT}}, use ampoule |language=en}}</ref> |- valign="top" | arse {{IPA|/ɑːs/}}|| ass {{IPA|/æs/}}|| In vulgar senses "buttocks" ("anus"/"wretch"/"idiot"); unrelated sense "donkey" is ''ass'' in both. ''Arse'' is very rarely used in the US, though often understood, whereas both are used in British English (with arse being considered vulgar). ''Arse'' is also used in Newfoundland. |- valign="top" | {{lang|en-GB|behove}} {{IPA|/bɪˈhəʊv/}}|| {{lang|en-US|behoove}} {{IPA|/bɪˈhuːv/}}|| The 19th century had the spelling ''{{lang|en-GB|behove}}'' pronounced to rhyme with ''move''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murray |first=James A. H. |title=Spelling Reform |publisher=Isaac Pitman |location=Bath |year=1880 |series=Annual address of the President of the Philological Society |page=5 |url=https://archive.org/stream/drjhmurrayonspel00murr#page/5/mode/1up/search/behove |access-date=3 May 2010}}</ref> Subsequently, a pronunciation spelling with doubled ''oo'' was adopted in the US, while in the United Kingdom a spelling pronunciation rhyming with ''rove'' was adopted. |- valign="top" | bogeyman {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|oʊ|ɡ|i|m|æ|n}}|| boogeyman {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʊ|ɡ|i|m|æ|n}}, boogerman {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʊ|ɡ|ər|m|æ|n}}|| The American form, boogeyman, is reminiscent of musical boogie to the British ear. Both the British form, bogeyman, and the Southern US variation boogerman suggest the slang term bogey (UK) / booger (US) for nasal mucus, while the mainstream American spelling of boogeyman does not. |- valign="top" | brent {{IPA|/bɹɛnt/}}|| brant {{IPA|/bɹænt/}}|| For the species of goose. |- valign="top" | carburettor, carburetter {{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɑːr|b|j|ʊ|ˈ|r|ɛ|t|ər}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑːr|b|ə|r|ɛ|t|ər}} | carburetor {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑːr|b|ə|r|eɪ|t|ər}}|| The word ''carburetor'' comes from the French ''carbure'' meaning "carbide".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/carburet%26r%3D67|title=American Heritage Dictionary|website=Answers.com|access-date=8 October 2017|archive-date=11 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311031404/http://www.answers.com/carburet%26r%3D67|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=carburetor |title=Online Etymology Dictionary|website=Etymonline.com|access-date=8 October 2017}}</ref> |- valign="top" | charivari {{IPA|/ʃɑːɹɪˈvɑːɹi/}}|| shivaree, charivari {{IPA|/ʃɪvəˈɹiː/}} | In the US, both terms are mainly regional.<ref>The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.</ref> The pronunciation of {{IPA|/ʃɪvəˈɹiː/}} ''is'' also found in Canada and Cornwall,<ref>''OED'', ''shivaree''</ref> and is a corruption of the French word. |- valign="top" | closure {{IPA|/ˈkləʊ.ʒə/}}|| cloture {{IPA|/ˈkloʊ.t͡ʃɝ/}}|| Motion in legislative or parliamentary procedure that quickly ends debate. Borrowed from the French ''clôture'' meaning "closure"; ''cloture'' remains the name used in the US. The American spelling was initially used when it was adopted into the UK in 1882 but was later changed to ''closure''.<ref>{{cite news |title='Closure' and 'Cloture' Mean the Same Thing |work=The New York Times |page=21 |date=11 June 1964}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/cloture|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423113632/https://www.lexico.com/definition/cloture|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 April 2020|title=cloture|website=Lexico|publisher=Lexico.com}}</ref> |- valign="top" | eyrie {{IPA|/ˈɪə.ɹi/}}|| aerie, eyrie {{IPA|/ˈɛ.ɹi/}}, {{IPA|/ˈɪə.ɹi/}} | Not to be confused with the adjective eerie. Rhymes with ''weary'' and ''hairy'' respectively. |- valign="top" | fillet {{IPA|/ˈfɪl.ɪt/}}|| fillet, filet {{IPA|/fɪˈleɪ/}}|| Pronounced the French way (approximately) in the US; Canada follows British pronunciation and distinguishes between fillet, especially as concerns fish, and filet, as concerns certain cuts of beef. McDonald's in the UK and Australia use the US spelling "filet" for their Filet-O-Fish. |- valign="top" | furore {{IPA|/fjʊəˈɹɔːɹi/}}|| furor {{IPA|/ˈfjʊəɹɚ/}}|| ''Furore'' is a late 18th-century Italian loanword that replaced the Latinate form in the UK in the following century,<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''furore''.</ref> and is usually pronounced with a voiced final ''e''. The Canadian usage is the same as the American, and Australia has both.<ref name="Peters"/> |- valign="top" | grotty {{IPA|/ˈgrɒti/}}|| grody, groady {{IPA|/ˈɡɹoʊdi/}}|| Clippings of ''grotesque''; both are slang terms from the 1960s.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''Grotty; Grody''</ref> |- valign="top" | haulier {{IPA|/ˈhɔːliə(ɹ)/}}|| hauler {{IPA|/ˈhɑlɚ/}}|| Haulage contractor; ''haulier'' is the older spelling.<ref name="Peters" /> |- valign="top" | jemmy {{IPA|/ˈd͡ʒɛmi/}}|| jimmy {{IPA|/ˈd͡ʒɪmi/}}|| In the sense "crowbar". |- valign="top" | mum(my) {{IPA|/mʌm/}}|| mom(my) {{IPA|/mɒm/}}|| ''Mom'' is sporadically regionally found in the UK (e.g., in West Midlands English). Some British and Irish dialects have ''mam'',<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''mom'' and ''mam''</ref> and this is often used in Northern English, Hiberno-English, and Welsh English. Scottish English may also use ''mam'', ''ma'', or ''maw''. In the American region of New England, especially in the case of the Boston accent, the British pronunciation of ''mum'' is often retained, while it is still spelled ''mom''. In Canada, there are both ''mom'' and ''mum''; Canadians often say ''mum'' and write ''mom''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Added by Symphony on 1|url=http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/symphony/things-i-dont-understand-part-3-canada/30-33430/ |title=Things I don't Understand: Part 3 – Canada! |publisher=giantbomb |date=15 October 2009 |access-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091223132929/http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/symphony/things-i-dont-understand-part-3-canada/30-33430/ |archive-date=23 December 2009 }}</ref> In Australia and New Zealand, ''mum'' is used. In the sense of a preserved corpse, ''mummy'' is always used. |- valign="top" | naivety, naïveté {{IPAc-en|n|ɑː|ˈ|iː|v|(|ə|)|t|i}}|| naïveté {{IPAc-en|n|ɑː|ˈ|iː|v|(|ə|)|t|eɪ}}|| The American spelling is from French, and American speakers generally approximate the French pronunciation, whereas the British spelling conforms to English norms.{{refn|{{MerriamWebsterDictionary|access-date=26 January 2016|naivety}}}}{{refn|{{Dictionary.com|access-date=26 January 2016|naivety}}}} In the UK, ''naïveté'' is a minor variant, used about 20% of the time in the British National Corpus; in the US, ''naivete'' and ''naiveté'' are marginal variants, and ''naivety'' is almost unattested.<ref name="Peters"/><ref>''Merriam Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary'', ''naïveté'' and ''naivety''.</ref> |- valign="top" | orientated || oriented || In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, it is common to use ''orientated'' (as in family-orientated), whereas in the US, ''oriented'' is used exclusively (family-oriented). The same applies to the negative (''disorientated'', ''disoriented''{{--)}}. Both words have the same origins, coming from "orient" or its offshoot "orientation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/oriented |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011101004011/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/oriented |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 November 2001 |title=Grammar – Oxford Dictionaries Online |publisher=Askoxford.com |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> |- valign="top" | pernickety {{IPA|/pəˈnɪk.ɪ.ti/}}|| persnickety {{IPA|/pɚˈsnɪ.kɪ.ti/}}|| ''Persnickety'' is a late 19th-century American alteration of the Scots word ''pernickety''.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''persnickety''</ref> |- valign="top" | plonk {{IPA|/plɒŋk/}}|| plunk {{IPA|/plʌŋk/}}|| As verb meaning "sit/set down carelessly".<ref>{{cite web |title=Plunk |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/plunk |website=Collins English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref> |- valign="top" | potter {{IPA|/ˈpɒtə/}}|| putter {{IPA|/ˈpʌtɚ/}}|| As verb meaning "perform minor agreeable tasks".<ref>{{cite web |title=Putter2 |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/putter#h2_entry |website=Collins English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref> |- valign="top" | pyjamas {{IPA|/pɪˈd͡ʒɑːməz/}}|| pajamas {{IPA|/pəˈd͡ʒæ.məz/}}|| The ''y'' represents the pronunciation of the original Urdu term ''pāy-jāma'', and in the 18th century spellings such as ''paijamahs'' and ''peijammahs'' appeared: this is reflected in the pronunciation {{IPAc-en|p|aɪ|ˈ|dʒ|ɑː|m|ə|z}} (with the first syllable rhyming with ''pie'') offered as an alternative in the first edition of the ''Oxford English Dictionary''. Two spellings are also known from the 18th century, but ''pajama'' became more or less confined to the US.<ref>''OED'', s.v. 'pyjamas'</ref> Canada follows both British and American usage, with both forms commonplace. |- valign="top" | quin {{IPA|/kwɪn/}}|| quint {{IPA|/kwɪnt/}}|| Abbreviations of ''quintuplet''. |- valign="top" | scallywag {{IPA|/ˈskælɪwæɡ/}}|| scalawag {{IPA|/ˈskæləwæɡ/}}, scallywag || In the United States (where the word originated, as ''scalawag''),<ref name="Peters"/> ''scallywag'' is not unknown.<ref>In ''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', ''scalawag'' is lemmatized without alternative, while ''scallawag'' and ''scallywag'' are defined by cross-reference to it. All of them are marked as "originally American".</ref> |- valign="top" | sledge {{IPA|/slɛd͡ʒ/}}|| sled {{IPA|/slɛd/}}|| In American usage a ''sled'' is smaller and lighter than a ''sledge'' and is used only over ice or snow, especially for play by young people, whereas a ''sledge'' is used for hauling loads over ice, snow, grass, or rough terrain.<ref>See the respective definitions in the ''American Heritage Dictionary''.</ref> Australia follows American usage.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Macquarie Dictionary|url=https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/sledge/|access-date=16 January 2022|website=www.macquariedictionary.com.au}}</ref> |- valign="top" | speciality {{IPA|/ˌspɛʃiˈælɪti/}}|| specialty {{IPA|/ˈspɛʃəlti/}}|| In British English the standard usage is ''speciality'', but ''specialty'' occurs in the field of medicine<ref>See, for example, the November 2006 BMA document titled [http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/PDFselectionspecialtytraining/$FILE/SelectionSpecialtyTraining.pdf Selection for Specialty Training] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030013727/http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/PDFselectionspecialtytraining/%24FILE/SelectionSpecialtyTraining.pdf |date=30 October 2008 }}</ref> and also as a legal term for a contract under seal. In Canada, ''specialty'' prevails. In Australia and New Zealand, both are current.<ref name="Peters"/> |- valign="top" | titbit {{IPA|/ˈtɪt.bɪt/}}|| tidbit {{IPA|/ˈtɪd.bɪt/}}|| According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the oldest form was ''tyd bit'', and the alteration to ''titbit'' was probably under the influence of the obsolete word ''tit'', meaning a small horse or girl. |}

===Past tense differences=== In the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, it is more common to end some past tense verbs with a "t" as in ''learnt'' or ''dreamt'' rather than ''learned'' or ''dreamed,''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/spanish/specials/1125_questions/page6.shtml |title=BBC Mundo {{pipe}} Questions about English |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> though such spellings are also found in American English. However, in American English, ''burned'' and ''burnt'' have different usages.

Several verbs have different past tenses or past participles in American and British English: * The past tense of the verb "to dive" is most commonly found as "dived" in British and New Zealand English. "Dove" is sometimes used in its place in American English.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 August 2024 |title=Definition of DIVE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dive |access-date=16 August 2024 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> Both terms are understood in Canada and Australia, and may be found either in minority use or in regional dialect in the US. * The past tense of the verb "to get" is "got" everywhere, but the past participle is "got" in British and New Zealand English but "gotten" in American and Canadian, and occasionally in Australian English. Both terms are understood, and may be found either in minority use or in regional dialect. One exception is in the phrase "ill-gotten", which is widely used everywhere. Another is the universal use of "have got" to indicate possession or necessity: "I have got a car", "I have got to go" (whereas "I have gotten a car" would mean "I have ''obtained'' a car", and "I have gotten to go" would mean "I have had the ''opportunity/privilege'' to go"). None of this affects "forget" and "beget", whose past participles are "forgotten" and "begotten" in all varieties.

==Miscellaneous spelling differences== In the table below, the main spellings are above the accepted alternative spellings. {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! United Kingdom (UK) !! United States (US) !! class="unsortable"|Remarks |- valign="top" |- valign="top" |adze || adze, adz<ref>{{cite web |title=Adz |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adz |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=21 November 2025}}</ref> || In British English, ''adze'' is the standard spelling. In American English, ''adz'' is an accepted variant, though ''adze'' is also widely used. The ''U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual'' prefers the spelling ''adz''.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual 2016 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016/pdf/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016.pdf |website=govinfo.gov |access-date=21 November 2025}}</ref> |- valign="top" |annexe || annex || To ''annex'' is the verb in both British and American usage. However, the noun—an ''annex(e)'' of a building—is spelled with an ''-e'' at the end in the UK, but not in the US. Australia follows US usage.<ref name="Macquarie Dictionary 8th Edition"/> |- valign="top" | apophthegm<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of apophthegm |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apophthegm |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=3 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref> || apothegm<ref>{{cite web |title=apophthegm |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/apothegm |website=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=3 October 2018}}{{dead link|date=September 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> || Johnson preferred ''apophthegm'' (the ''ph'' is silent) which matches {{langx|grc|ἁπόφθεγμα|translit=apophthegma}}.<ref name="apothegm-ned"/> Webster preferred ''apothegm'', which matches {{langx|la|apothegma}}, and was also more common in England until Johnson.<ref name="apothegm-ned">{{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=James |title=A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles |date=November 1885 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |pages=389 s.v. "apophthegm", 393 s.vv. "apothegm", "apothem" |url=https://archive.org/stream/ANewEnglishDictionaryOnHistoricalPrinciples.10VolumesWithSupplement/01.NEDHP.AB.Oxford.Murray.1888.#page/n412/mode/1up |access-date=3 October 2018 |volume=I Pt 2: Ant–Batten |language=en}}</ref> There is an unrelated word spelled ''apothem'' in all regions.<ref name="apothegm-ned"/> |- valign="top" |artefact, artifact || artifact || In British English, ''artefact'' is the main spelling and ''artifact'' a minor variant.<ref>{{Cite OED| artefact}}</ref> In American English, ''artifact'' is the usual spelling. Canadians prefer ''artifact'' and Australians ''artefact'', according to their respective dictionaries.<ref name="Peters"/> ''Artefact'' reflects ''Arte-fact(um)'', the Latin source.<ref name="Oxford English Dictionary">{{Cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|date=March 2009}}</ref> |- valign="top" |axe || axe, ax || Both the noun and verb. The word comes from Old English {{lang|ang|æx}}. In the US, both spellings are acceptable, though the spelling ''axe'' is more common. The Oxford English Dictionary states that "the spelling ''ax'' is better on every ground, of etymology, phonology, and analogy, than ''axe'', which became prevalent in the 19th century; but it [''ax''] is now disused in the United Kingdom".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary online edition: entry "axe | ax"</ref> |- valign="top" |camomile, chamomile || chamomile || The word derives, via French and Latin, from Greek {{lang|el|χαμαίμηλον|italic=no}} ("earth apple"). The more common British spelling ''camomile'', corresponding to the immediate French source, is the older in English, while the spelling ''chamomile'' more accurately corresponds to the ultimate Latin and Greek source.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition, entry "camomile | chamomile"</ref> In the UK, according to the ''OED'', "the spelling ''cha-'' is chiefly in pharmacy, after Latin; that with ''ca-'' is literary and popular". In the US, ''chamomile'' dominates in all senses. |- valign="top" |carat || karat, carat | The spelling with a ''k'' is used in the US only for the measure of purity of gold. The ''c'' spelling is universal for weight.<ref name="Oxford English Dictionary"/> |- valign="top" |cheque || check || Used in banking, hence the terms ''pay cheque'' and ''paycheck''. Accordingly, the North American term for what is known as a ''current account'' or ''cheque account'' in the UK is spelled ''chequing account'' in Canada and ''checking account'' in the US. Some American financial institutions, notably American Express, use ''cheque'', but this is merely a trademarking affectation. |- valign="top" |chequer || checker || As in ''chequerboard''/''checkerboard'', ''chequered''/''checkered flag'' etc. ''Checker'' is the more common spelling in Canada and Australia.<ref name="Peters"/> |- valign="top" |chilli || chili, chile || The original Mexican Spanish word is {{lang|es|chile}}, itself derived from the Classical Nahuatl {{lang|nci|chilli}}.<ref name="Peters"/><ref>[http://www.oup.com/oald-bin/web_getald7index1a.pl?nav=on&which_entry=006430%23x1%23x2%23chilli&selected_word=chilli&search_word=chili Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary]. Retrieved 19 April 2009.</ref> In ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'', ''chile'' and ''chilli'' are given as ''also'' variants. |- valign="top" |chlorophyll || chlorophyll, chlorophyl<ref>{{cite web |title=Chlorophyll |website=Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.com, LLC |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/chlorophyll |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chlorophyll definition and meaning |website=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=HarperCollins |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/chlorophyll |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> || |- valign="top" |cigarette || cigarette, cigaret<ref>{{cite web |title=CIGARETTE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cigarette |website=Merriam-Webster.com |access-date=18 November 2025}}</ref> || ''Cigaret'' was common in American usage during the early to mid 20th century and remains an accepted variant in ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary''. |- valign="top" |cipher, cypher || cipher || |- valign="top" | corvette || corvette, corvet<ref>{{cite web |title=Corvette Definition & Meaning |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/corvette |website=Dictionary.com |access-date=1 March 2026}}</ref> || |- valign="top" |cosy || cozy || In all senses (adjective, noun, verb). |- valign="top" |coulter || colter, coulter || |- valign="top" |defuse || defuse, defuze<ref>{{cite web |title=Defuze definition and meaning |website=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=HarperCollins |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/defuze |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Defuze |website=Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.com, LLC |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/defuze |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> || |- valign="top" |doughnut || doughnut, donut || In the US, both are used, with ''donut'' indicated as a less common variant of ''doughnut''.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/donut ''Merriam-Webster Online''.] . Retrieved 1 January 2008.</ref> |- valign="top" |draught, draft || draft || British English usually uses ''draft'' for all senses as the verb;<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/draught |title=Concise OED |chapter=draught |access-date=1 April 2007 |title-link=Concise Oxford English Dictionary |archive-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929104946/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/draught |url-status=dead }}</ref> for a preliminary version of a document; for an order of payment (bank draft), and for military conscription (although this last meaning is not as common as in American English). It uses ''draught'' for drink from a cask (draught beer); for animals used for pulling heavy loads (draught horse); for a current of air; for a ship's minimum depth of water to float;<ref>Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Edition, ''draught; draft (the latter being used in an international marine context) ''.</ref> and for the game ''draughts'', known as ''checkers'' in the US. It uses either ''draught'' or ''draft'' for a plan or sketch (but almost always ''draughtsman'' in this sense; a ''draftsman'' drafts legal documents). American English uses ''draft'' in all these cases. Canada uses both systems; in Australia, ''draft'' is used for technical drawings, is accepted for the "current of air" meaning, and is preferred by professionals in the nautical sense.<ref name="Peters"/> The pronunciation is always the same for all meanings within a dialect (RP {{IPA|/drɑːft/}}, General American {{IPA|/dræft/}}). The spelling ''draught'' reflects the older pronunciation, {{IPAc-en|d|r|ɑː|x|t}}. ''Draft'' emerged in the 16th century to reflect the change in pronunciation.<ref>[http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=draft&allowed_in_frame=0 ''Draft'']. Online Etymology Dictionary.</ref><ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''draught''.</ref> |- valign="top" |dyke || dike || The spelling with an ''i'' is sometimes found in the UK, but the ''y'' spelling is rare in the US, where the ''y'' distinguishes ''dike'' in this sense from ''dyke'', a slur term for a lesbian. |- valign="top" | faggot || fagot, faggot || In senses unrelated to the offensive slang term, ''fagot'' is the preferred American spelling; the single‑g spelling has existed since Middle English and is etymologically closer to French ''fagot''. ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'' lists only the offensive senses under ''faggot''<ref>{{cite web |title=faggot |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faggot |website=Merriam-Webster.com |access-date=1 March 2026}}</ref>, while the non‑slur senses appear exclusively under ''fagot''<ref>{{cite web |title=fagot |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fagot |website=Merriam-Webster.com |access-date=1 March 2026}}</ref>, where ''faggot'' is also given as a variant for those uses. |- valign="top" | font, fount || font || ''Fount'' was the standard British spelling for a metal type font (especially in the sense of one consignment of metal type in one style and size, e.g. "the printing company had a fount of that typeface"); lasted until the end of the metal type era and is occasionally still seen.<ref name="Fowler2015">{{cite book|author=Henry Watson Fowler|title=Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvmzBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA326|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-966135-0|page=326}}</ref> From French ''fondre'', "to cast". |- valign="top" | fuse || fuse, fuze<ref>{{cite web |title=Fuze definition and meaning |website=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=HarperCollins |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fuze |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fuze |website=Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.com, LLC |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/fuze |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> || When referring to a cord or string used to ignite something, ''fuse'' is the usual spelling, while ''fuze'' appears as a less common American variant. || |- valign="top" |gauge || gauge, gage<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gage "gage].Merriam-Webster.com</ref> || Both spellings have existed since Middle English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gage&allowed_in_frame=0 |title=Online Etymology Dictionary: gage |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> |- valign="top" | gauntlet || gauntlet, gantlet || When meaning "ordeal", as in the phrase ''running the ga(u)ntlet'', American style guides prefer ''gantlet''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Dictionary of Modern American Usage |first=Bryan A. |last=Garner |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn/page/313 313] |isbn=0-19-507853-5 |location=New York |year=1998 |publisher=OUP |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn/page/313 }}</ref> This spelling is unused in the United Kingdom<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/gauntlet_2?view=uk |title=Concise OED |chapter=gauntlet2 |access-date=18 October 2007 |archive-date=21 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051121095525/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/gauntlet_2?view=uk |url-status=dead }}</ref> and less usual in the US than ''gauntlet''. The word is an alteration of earlier ''gantlope'' by folk etymology with ''gauntlet'' (glove), which may be spelled either ''gauntlet'' or ''gantlet''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gauntlet |website=Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gauntlet |access-date=19 November 2025}}</ref> |- valign="top" |glycerine || glycerin || Scientists use the term ''glycerol''. |- valign="top" | gram, {{nowrap|gramme}}|| gram || The dated spelling ''gramme'' is used sometimes in the UK<ref>''OED'' entry and ''British Journal of Applied Physics'' Volume 13-page 456</ref> but never in the US. ''(Kilo)gram'' is the only spelling used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. The same applies to other related terms such as ''decagram'' and ''hectogram''. |- valign="top" |grey || gray || ''Grey'' became the established British spelling in the 20th century,<ref name="Peters"/> but it is a minor variant in American English, according to dictionaries. Canadians tend to prefer ''grey''.{{Why|reason=nowadays canadian people are now using gray rather than grey.|date=October 2023}} The two spellings are of equal antiquity, and the Oxford English Dictionary states that "each of the current spellings has some analogical support".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "grey | gray"</ref> Both ''Grey'' and ''Gray'' are found in proper nouns everywhere in the English-speaking world. The name of the dog breed ''greyhound'' is never spelled ''grayhound''; the word descends from ''grighund''. |- valign="top" | grill, grille || grill, grille || In the US, ''grille'' refers to that of an automobile, whereas ''grill'' refers to a device used for heating food. However, it is not uncommon to see both spellings used in the automotive sense,<ref>{{cite web|author=customcargrills.com |url=http://www.customcargrills.com/index.asp |title=Custom Car & Truck Grills – Billet & Mesh Grill Inserts |publisher=customcargrills.com |access-date=13 November 2012}}</ref> as well as in Australia<ref>{{cite web|last=Williams |first=Brian |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/kookaburra-survives-700km-trip-after-being-stuck-in-cars-grille/story-e6freuy9-1226068485889 |title=Kookaburra survives 700 km trip after being stuck in car's grille {{pipe}} thetelegraph.com.au |publisher=Dailytelegraph.com.au |date=3 June 2011 |access-date=13 November 2012}}</ref> and New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10812156 |title=Cat survives 35 km wedged in car grille – National – NZ Herald News |publisher=Nzherald.co.nz |date=11 June 2012 |access-date=13 November 2012}}</ref> ''Grill'' is more common overall in both BrE and AmE.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Google Ngram Viewer|url = https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=grill%253Aeng_us_2012%252Fgrille%253Aeng_us_2012%252Cgrill%253Aeng_gb_2012%252Fgrille%253Aeng_gb_2012&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=5&share=&direct_url=t1%253B%252C%2528grill%253Aeng_us_2012%2520/%2520grille%253Aeng_us_2012%2529%253B%252Cc0%253B.t1%253B%252C%2528grill%253Aeng_gb_2012%2520/%2520grille%253Aeng_gb_2012%2529%253B%252Cc0|website = books.google.com|access-date = 29 October 2015|at = grill:eng_us_2012/grille:eng_us_2012,grill:eng_gb_2012/grille:eng_gb_2012}}</ref> |- valign="top" |hearken || hearken, harken<ref>{{cite web |title=Hearken |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hearken |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=21 November 2025}}</ref> || The word comes from ''hark''. The spelling ''hearken'' was probably influenced by ''hear''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hearken&allowed_in_frame=0|title=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref> |- valign="top" | idyll || idyll, idyl<ref>{{cite web |title=Idyll |website=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idyll |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> || |- valign="top" |jail, gaol || jail || In the UK, ''gaol'' and ''gaoler'' are used sometimes, apart from literary usage, chiefly to describe a medieval building and guard. Both spellings go back to Middle English: {{lang|fr|gaol}} was a loanword from Norman French, while {{lang|fr|jail}} was a loanword from central (Parisian) French. In Middle English the two spellings were associated with different pronunciations. In current English, the word, however spelled, is always given the pronunciation originally associated only with the ''jail'' spelling {{IPAc-en|dʒ|eɪ|l}}. The survival of the ''gaol'' spelling in British English is "due to statutory and official tradition".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "jail | gaol"</ref> In Australia, ''gaol'' is obsolete and only used in historical contexts (e.g. Maitland Gaol, although the modern spelling is used for the tourist attraction). ''Jail'' has been used throughout the 20th century and was made the preferred spelling by the Government Publishing Style Manual in 1978.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/archived/booksandarts/jail-or-gaol-how-should-australia-spell-it/7532694 | title=Jail or gaol: Which spelling is correct? | website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=22 June 2016 }}</ref> However, while the terms ''jail'' and ''prison'' are commonly used in Australia, the term ''correctional facility'' is officially used by most state and territory governments. |- valign="top" |kerb || curb || For the noun designating the edge of a roadway (or the edge of a British pavement/ American sidewalk/ Australian footpath). ''Curb'' is the older spelling, and in the UK and US it is still the proper spelling for the verb meaning "restrain".<ref>[http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/english/data/d0081856.html tiscali.reference] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103161156/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/english/data/d0081856.html |date=3 January 2007 }}. Retrieved on 10 March 2007.</ref> |- valign="top" |liquorice || licorice || The American spelling is nearer the Old French source {{lang|fro|licorece}}, which is ultimately from Greek {{lang|el-latn|glykyrrhiza}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=licorice&allowed_in_frame=0 |title=Online Etymology Dictionary: licorice |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> The British spelling was influenced by the unrelated word ''liquor''.<ref>{{Cite book|last = Ernout|first = Alfred|author-link = :fr:Alfred Ernout|author2=Meillet, Antoine |author-link2=:fr:Antoine Meillet |title = Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine|publisher = Klincksieck|year = 2001|location = Paris|isbn = 2-252-03359-2|page = 362}}</ref> ''Licorice'' prevails in Canada and it is common in Australia, but it is rarely found in the UK. ''Liquorice'' is all but nonexistent in the US (it is "chiefly British", according to dictionaries).<ref name="Peters"/> |- valign="top" |mollusc || mollusk || The related adjective may be spelled ''molluscan'' or ''molluskan''. |- valign="top" |mould || mold || In all senses of the word. Both spellings have been used since the 16th century.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "mould | mold"</ref> In Canada, both spellings are used.<ref name="Peters"/> |- valign="top" |moult || molt || |- valign="top" | moustache || mustache, moustache || In the US, according to the ''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary'' and ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', the British spelling is an accepted variant. |- valign="top" | neuron, neurone || neuron || ''Neuron'' is now the usual form in British English as well as in American English; Canada and Australia also generally use ''neuron'' according to their relevant dictionaries. |- valign="top" |omelette || omelet, omelette || The ''omelet'' spelling is the older of the two, in spite of the etymology (French {{lang|fr|omelette}}).<ref name="Peters" /> ''Omelette'' prevails in Canada and Australia. |- valign="top" |pipette || pipette, pipet<ref>{{cite web |title=Pipet |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pipet |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=21 November 2025}}</ref> || The ''U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual'' prefers the spelling ''pipet''.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual 2016 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016/pdf/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016.pdf |website=govinfo.gov |access-date=21 November 2025}}</ref> |- valign="top" | plough || plow || Both spellings have existed since Middle English. In England, ''plough'' became the main spelling in the 18th century.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary: ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140708173932/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/plough?q=plough plough, plow]''.</ref> Although ''plow'' was Noah Webster's pick, ''plough'' continued to have some currency in the US, as the entry in ''Webster's Third'' (1961) implies. Newer dictionaries label ''plough'' as "chiefly British". The word ''snowplough''/''snowplow'', originally an Americanism, predates Webster's dictionaries and was first recorded as ''snow plough''. Canada uses both ''plough'' and ''plow'',<ref name="Peters"/> although ''snowplow'' is more common. |- valign="top" | programme || program || While "program" is used in British English in the case of computer programs, "programme" is the spelling most commonly used for all other meanings. However, in American English, "program" is the preferred form for every case. Australia commonly follows US usage. |- valign="top" |racquet || racket || In the UK, ''racquet'' is the spelling for the item of sporting equipment, whereas ''racket'' is the spelling for the type of organized crime. In the US, ''racket'' is the standard for both terms, though an exception is that the sport racquetball is spelled with the ''-qu'' spelling in all countries. In Canada, ''racket'' is the accepted preferred spelling; Australia uses both. |- valign="top" | sceptic, skeptic|| skeptic || The American spelling ''skeptic'', akin to Greek, is the earliest known spelling in English.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "sceptic | skeptic"</ref> It was preferred by Fowler, and is used by many Canadians, where it is the earlier form.<ref name="Peters"/> ''Sceptic'' also predates the European settlement of the US and follows the French {{lang|fr|sceptique}} and Latin {{lang|la|scepticus}}. In the mid-18th century, Johnson's dictionary listed ''skeptic'' without comment or alternative, but this form has never been popular in the UK;<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''sceptic, skeptic''.</ref> ''sceptic'', an equal variant in the old ''Webster's Third'' (1961), has now become "chiefly British". Australians generally follow the British usage (with the notable exception of the Australian Skeptics). All of these versions are pronounced with a /k/ (a hard ''c''), though in French the letter is silent and the word is pronounced like ''septique''. |- valign="top" | slew, slue || slue || Meaning "to turn sharply; a sharp turn", the preferred spelling differs. Meaning "a great number" is usually ''slew'' in all regions.<ref name="Company2005">{{cite book|last1=Berube|first1=Margery S.|last2=Pickett|first2=Joseph P.|last3=Leonesio|first3=Christopher|title=A Guide to Contemporary Usage & Style|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xb6ie6PqYhwC&pg=PA435|year=2005|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=9780618604999|page=435|chapter=slew / slough / slue}}</ref> |- valign="top" | smoulder || smolder || Both spellings go back to the 16th century and have existed since Middle English.<ref name="Oxford English Dictionary"/><ref name=cdme>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/concise/concise.html |title=''A Concise Dictionary of Middle English'' |publisher=Pbm.com |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> |- valign="top" | storey, storeys || story, stories || Level of a building. The letter ''e'' is used in the UK and Canada to differentiate between levels of buildings and a story as in a literary work.<ref name="Peters"/> ''Story'' is the earlier spelling. The Oxford English Dictionary states that this word is "probably the same word as story <nowiki>[in its meaning of "narrative"]</nowiki> though the development of sense is obscure."<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "story | storey"</ref> One of the first uses of the (now British) spelling ''storey'' was by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 (''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' xxxii). |- valign="top" |sulphate, sulfate<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190803001120/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/sulphate sulphate] in the Oxford Dictionaries Online</ref> || sulfate, sulphate || The spelling ''sulfate'' is the more common variant in British English in scientific and technical usage; see the entry on ''sulfur'' and the decisions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)<ref name="So long sulphur | Nature Chemistry">[https://www.nature.com/articles/nchem.301#ref1 So long sulphur | Nature Chemistry]</ref> and the UK's Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).<ref name="Editorial - Analyst (RSC Publishing)">{{cite journal|url=http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=AN9921700001&JournalCode=AN |title=Royal Society of Chemistry 1992 policy change |journal=Analyst |publisher=Rsc.org |date=1 January 1992 |volume=117 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.1039/AN9921700001 |access-date=4 March 2012|last1=Minhas |first1=Harp |url-access=subscription }}</ref> |- valign="top" |sulphur, sulfur || sulfur || ''Sulfur'' is the preferred spelling by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) since 1971 or 1990<ref name="So long sulphur | Nature Chemistry"/> and by the UK's Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) since 1992.<ref name="Editorial - Analyst (RSC Publishing)" /> ''Sulfur'' is used by scientists in all countries and has been actively taught in chemistry in British schools since December 2000,<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1039050.stm|title = Action over non-English spellings|date = 24 November 2000|work = BBC News|access-date = 29 October 2015}}</ref> but the spelling ''sulphur'' prevails in British, Irish and Australian English, and it is also found in some American place names (e.g., Sulphur, Louisiana, and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia). The use of both variant ''f~ph'' spellings continued in the United Kingdom until the 19th century, when the word was standardized as ''sulphur''.<ref name="OED">{{Cite OED|sulphur}}</ref> On the other hand, ''sulfur'' is the form that was chosen in the United States, whereas Canada uses both. Oxford Dictionaries note that "in chemistry and other technical uses ... the ''-f-'' spelling is now the standard form for this and related words in British as well as US contexts, and is increasingly used in general contexts as well."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sulphur |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120085132/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sulphur |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 November 2016 |title=sulphur – definition of sulphur in English |website=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=19 November 2016}}</ref> Some American English usage guides suggest ''sulfur'' for technical usage and both ''sulfur'' and ''sulphur'' in common usage and in literature, but American dictionaries list ''sulphur'' as a less common or chiefly British variant.<ref>[https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=sulphur sulphur] in the American Heritage Dictionary</ref><ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sulphur ''Merriam-Webster Online'']</ref><ref>The Merriam-Webster Dictionary labels the spelling ''sulphur'' as chiefly British but contradicts this in the same entry's usage note by saying that both spellings are common in general usage in American English. The usage note also ignores the modern widespread British usage of the spelling ''sulfur'' in scientific and technical usage (reported e.g. by the Oxford Dictionaries): "The spelling ''sulfur'' predominates in United States technical usage, while both ''sulfur'' and ''sulphur'' are common in general usage. British usage tends to favor ''sulphur'' for all applications. The same pattern is seen in most of the words derived from ''sulfur''." Usage note, [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sulphur ''Merriam-Webster Online'']. . Retrieved 1 January 2008. The usage note in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary is more up to date: "The spelling ''sulfur'' now predominates in U.S. technical and general usage. British usage still tends to favor ''sulphur'', but use of that spelling has decreased dramatically in recent decades and continues to do so. The growing preference for ''sulfur'' on both sides of the Atlantic is no doubt encouraged by the recommendations of the Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and other organizations. The same pattern is seen in most of the words derived from ''sulfur''." Usage note from the [http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/sulfur Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary]. </ref><ref>The contrasting spellings of the chemical elements '''Al''' and '''S''' result in the American spelling ''aluminum sulfide'' becoming ''aluminum sulphide'' in Canada and ''aluminium sulphide'' in older British usage.</ref> The variation between ''f'' and ''ph'' spellings is also found in the word's ultimate source: Latin {{lang|la|sulfur}}, {{lang|la|sulphur}},<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "sulphur | sulfur"</ref> but this was due to Hellenization of the original Latin word ''{{lang|la|sulpur}}'' to ''{{lang|la|sulphur}}'' in the erroneous belief that the Latin word came from Greek. This spelling was later reinterpreted as representing an /f/ sound and resulted in the spelling ''{{lang|la|sulfur}}'' which appears in Latin toward the end of the Classical period. (The true Greek word for sulfur, {{lang|grc|θεῖον}}, is the source of the international chemical prefix ''thio-''.) In 12th-century Anglo-French, the word became ''{{lang|xno|sulfre}}''. In the 14th century, the erroneously Hellenized Latin ''{{lang|la|-ph-}}'' was restored in Middle English ''{{lang|enm|sulphre}}''. By the 15th century, both full Latin spelling variants {{lang|la|sulfur}} and {{lang|la|sulphur}} became common in English. |- valign="top" | syrup || syrup, sirup<ref>{{cite web|title=Sirup|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sirup|publisher=Collins Dictionary|access-date=1 March 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=sirup|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sirup|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=1 March 2026}}</ref> || ''Sirup'' is a less common American variant. |- valign="top" |through || through, thru<ref>{{cite web |url=http://1913.mshaffer.com/d/word/thru |title=Browse 1913 => Word Thru :: Search the 1913 Noah Webster's Dictionary of the English Language (Free) |publisher=1913.mshaffer.com |date=16 October 2009 |access-date=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331113416/http://1913.mshaffer.com/d/word/thru |archive-date=31 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> || ''Thru'' is typically used in the US as shorthand. It may be acceptable in informal writing, but not for formal documents, and is commonly used on official road signs in the US, as in "no thru traffic", to save space. In the COBOL programming language, ''THRU'' is accepted as an abbreviation of the keyword ''THROUGH''. Since programmers like to keep their code brief, ''THRU'' is generally the preferred form of this keyword. |- valign="top" |tyre || tire || The outer portion of a wheel. In Canada, as in the US, ''tire'' is the older spelling, but both were used in the 15th and 16th centuries (for a metal tire). ''Tire'' became the settled spelling in the 17th century but ''tyre'' was revived in the UK in the 19th century for rubber/pneumatic tyres, possibly because it was used in some patent documents,<ref name="Peters"/> though many continued to use ''tire'' for the iron variety. ''The Times'' newspaper was still using ''tire'' as late as 1905. For the verb meaning "to grow weary", both American and British English only use ''tire''. |- valign="top" | {{Anchor|vice_vise}} vice || vise || For the two-jawed workbench tool, Americans and Canadians retain the very old distinction between ''vise'' (the tool) and ''vice'' (the sin, and also the Latin prefix meaning a deputy), both of which are ''vice'' in the UK and Australia.<ref name="Peters"/> Regarding the "sin" and "deputy" senses of ''vice'', all varieties of English use ''-c-''. Thus, American English, just as other varieties, writes ''vice admiral'', ''vice president'', and ''vice principal''—never ''vise'' for any of these uses. |- valign="top" | {{Anchor|waggon_waggon}} wagon, waggon || wagon || Refers to the four-wheel vehicle pulled by draft animals and used for transporting items. ''Waggon'' was the predominant spelling in British English in the 19th century, but has for the vast majority fallen out of use; however, both ''waggon'' and ''wagon'' are acceptable spellings in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web | title=Wagon vs. Waggon | date=20 January 2011 | url=https://grammarist.com/spelling/wagon-waggon/ }}</ref> |- valign="top" |whisky (Scotland), whiskey (Ireland) || whiskey, whisky || In the United States, the ''whiskey'' spelling is dominant; ''whisky'' is encountered less frequently, but is used on the labels of some major brands (e.g., Early Times, George Dickel, Maker's Mark, and Old Forester) and in the relevant US federal regulations.<ref name="cfr5.22">{{cite web|url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/aprqtr/pdf/27cfr5.22.pdf|title=US Code of Federal Regulations – Title 27: Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms, Section 5.22: Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits|access-date=25 July 2014}}</ref> In Canada, ''whisky'' is dominant. Often the spelling is selected based on the origin of the product rather than the location of the intended readership, so it may be considered a ''faux pas'' to refer to "Scotch whiskey" or "Irish whisky". Both ultimately derive from "uisce beatha" (Irish) and "uisge beatha" (Scottish), meaning "water of life". |- valign="top" |xanthophyll || xanthophyll, xanthophyl<ref>{{cite web |title=Xanthophyll definition and meaning |website=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=HarperCollins |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/xanthophyll |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Xanthophyll |website=Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.com, LLC |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/xanthophyll |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> || |- valign="top" |yoghurt, yogurt, yoghourt|| yogurt, yoghurt|| ''Yoghurt'' is rarely used in the US, as is ''yoghourt'' in the UK. Although the Oxford Dictionaries have always preferred ''yogurt'', in current British usage ''yoghurt'' is prevalent. In Canada, ''yogurt'' prevails, despite the Canadian Oxford preferring ''yogourt'', which has the advantage of satisfying bilingual (English and French) packaging requirements.<ref name="Clark, 2009"/><ref>Peters, p. 587. ''Yogourt'' is an accepted variant in French of the more normal Standard French ''yaourt''.</ref> The British spelling is dominant in Australia. The word comes from the Turkish language word {{lang|tr|yoğurt}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yogurt |title=Merriam-Webster Online – Yogurt entry |publisher=Mw1.merriam-webster.com |access-date=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227104015/http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yogurt |archive-date=27 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The voiced velar fricative represented by ''ğ'' in the modern Turkish (Latinic) alphabet was traditionally written ''gh'' in the Latin script of the Ottoman Turkish (Arabic) alphabet used before 1928. |}

==Compounds and hyphens== British English often prefers hyphenated compounds, such as ''anti-smoking'', whereas American English discourages the use of hyphens in compounds where there is no compelling reason, so ''antismoking'' is much more common.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=antismoking%2Canti-smoking&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=28&smoothing=3 |website=Google Ngram Viewer |title=antismoking,anti-smoking }}</ref> Many dictionaries do not point out such differences. Canadian and Australian usage is mixed, although Commonwealth writers generally hyphenate compounds of the form noun plus phrase (such as ''editor-in-chief''{{--)}}.<ref name="Peters" /> Commander-in-chief prevails in all forms of English.

Compound verbs in British English are hyphenated more often than in American English.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rohdenburg|first1=Günter|last2=Schlüter|first2=Julia|title=One language, two grammars? : differences between British and American English|date=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=978-0-521-87219-5|page=59|edition=1. publ.}}</ref> * ''all right'' or ''alright'': the single-word form is usual in North America and Australia but increasing in usage elsewhere.{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}} * ''any more'' or ''anymore'': in the sense "any longer", the single-word form is usual in North America and Australia but unusual elsewhere, at least in formal writing.<ref name="Peters" /> Other senses always have the two-word form; thus, Americans distinguish "I couldn't love you anymore [so I left you]" from "I couldn't love you any more [than I already do]". In Hong Kong English, ''any more'' is always two words.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bunton|first=David|title=Common English Errors in Hong Kong|publisher=Longman|location=Hong Kong|page=6|isbn=0-582-99914-6|year=1989}}</ref> * ''for ever'' or ''forever'': traditional British English usage makes a distinction between ''for ever'', meaning for eternity (or a very long time into the future), as in "If you are waiting for income tax to be abolished you will probably have to wait for ever"; and ''forever'', meaning continually, always, as in "They are forever arguing".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''for ever''.</ref> In British usage, however, ''forever'' prevails in the "for eternity" sense as well,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080831042049/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/forever AskOxford: forever]. Retrieved 24 June 2008. Cf. Peters, p. 214.</ref> in spite of several style guides maintaining the distinction.<ref>For example, [https://archive.today/20080726212842/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/specials/style_guide/article986724.ece The Times], [https://www.theguardian.com/styleguide/page/0,,184825,00.html The Guardian], [http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=738537 The Economist]. Retrieved 24 June 2008.</ref> American writers usually use ''forever'' regardless of which sense they intend (although ''forever'' in the sense of "continually" is comparatively rare in American English, having been displaced by ''always''). * ''near by'' or ''nearby'': some British writers make the distinction between the adverbial ''near by'', which is written as two words, as in, "No one was near by"; and the adjectival ''nearby'', which is written as one, as in, "The nearby house".<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/68/25/4025.html The Columbia Guide to Standard American English]</ref> In American English, the one-word spelling is standard for both forms. * ''per cent'' or ''percent'': it can be correctly spelled as either one or two words, depending on the Anglophone country, but either spelling must always be consistent with its usage. British English predominantly spells it as two words, so does English in Ireland and countries in the Commonwealth of Nations such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. American English predominantly spells it as one word. Historically, it was spelled as two words in the United States, but its usage is diminishing; nevertheless it is a variant spelling in American English. The spelling difference is reflected in the style guides of newspapers and other media agencies in the US, Ireland, and countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. In Canada and Australia (and sometimes in the UK, New Zealand, other Commonwealth countries, and Ireland) ''percent'' is also found, mostly sourced from American press agencies.

==Capitalization== Acronyms pronounced as words are often written in title case by Commonwealth writers, but usually as upper case by Americans: for example, ''Nasa / NASA'' or ''Unicef / UNICEF''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.theguardian.com/styleguide/page/0,,184844,00.html |title=The Guardian Stylebook |first=David |last=Marsh |publisher=Atlantic Books |date=14 July 2004 |access-date=9 April 2007 |isbn=1-84354-991-3 |quote=acronyms: take initial cap: Aids, Isa, Mori, Nato |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070420145449/http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/page/0%2C%2C184844%2C00.html |archive-date=20 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> This does not apply to abbreviations that are pronounced as individual letters (referred to by some as "initialisms"), such as ''US'', ''IBM'', or ''PRC'' (the People's Republic of China), which are virtually always written as upper case. However, sometimes title case is still used in the UK, such as ''Pc'' (Police Constable).<ref>See for example {{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6513829.stm |title=Pc bitten on face in Tube attack |publisher=BBC |date=31 March 2007 |access-date=9 April 2007}}</ref>

Some initials are usually upper case in the US but lower case in the UK: liter/litre and its compounds (''2 L'' or ''25 mL'' vs ''2 l'' or ''25 ml''{{--)}};<ref> {{cite web|url=http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/outside.html |title=Units outside the SI |work=Essentials of the SI|publisher=NIST |quote=although both l and L are internationally accepted symbols for the liter, to avoid this risk the preferred symbol for use in the United States is L |access-date=22 October 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091031222735/http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/outside.html| archive-date= 31 October 2009 | url-status= live}} </ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://downloads.nationalstrategies.co.uk/pdf/8ba397de2eb514799b8b85478f0df567.pdf |title=Core learning in mathematics: Year 4 |year=2006 |work=Review of the 1999 Framework |publisher=DCSF |page=4 |quote=Use, read and write standard metric units (km, m, cm, mm, kg, g, l, ml), including their abbreviations |access-date=22 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111173441/http://downloads.nationalstrategies.co.uk/pdf/8ba397de2eb514799b8b85478f0df567.pdf |archive-date=11 January 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and ante meridiem and post meridiem (''10 P.M.'' or ''10 PM'' vs ''10 p.m.'' or ''10 pm'').<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/PM|title=PM |year=2009|work=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=21 October 2009}} </ref><ref> {{Cite book|title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=2000 |edition=4th |chapter=P.M. |chapter-url=http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/P.M.}} </ref><ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/usage/time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021002085015/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/usage/time |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 October 2002 |title=What is the correct or more usual written form when writing the time – a.m., am, or A.M.? |work=AskOxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=21 October 2009}} </ref> Both ''AM/PM'' and ''a.m./p.m.'' are acceptable in American English, but US style guides overwhelmingly prefer ''a.m./p.m.''<ref>See, e.g., The Associated Press Stylebook: 4 p.m.; Microsoft Manual of Style: 4 P.M. (however, Microsoft prefers 24-hour time notations, in which 4 P.M. is 16:00.); The Chicago Manual of Style: 4 p.m. (recommended), also 4 PM or 4 P.M. (with PM in small capitals); Garner's Modern English Usage: 4 p.m. or 4 PM (with PM in small capitals); The Gregg Reference Manual: 4 p.m. or 4 P.M. (with PM in small capitals). See http://www.businesswritingblog.com/business_writing/2009/06/what-is-the-correct-time-am-pm-am-pm-am-pm-.html. See also https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/p.m.</ref>

==Punctuation== {{further|Quotation marks in English#Typographical considerations | Comparison of American and British English#Quoting}} The use of quotation marks, also called inverted commas or speech marks, is complicated by the fact that there are two kinds: single quotation marks (') and double quotation marks ("). British usage, at one stage in the recent past, preferred single quotation marks for ordinary use, but double quotation marks are again now increasingly common; American usage has always preferred double quotation marks, as have Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand English. It is the practice to alternate the type of quotation marks used where there is a quotation within a quotation.<ref>{{cite web|last=Trask|first=Larry|title=Quotation Marks and Direct Quotations|url=http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/department/docs/punctuation/node30.html|work=Guide to Punctuation|publisher=University of Sussex|access-date=9 December 2010|year=1997| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101215000125/http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/department/docs/punctuation/node30.html| archive-date= 15 December 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

The convention used to be, and in American English still is, to put full stops (periods) and commas inside the quotation marks, irrespective of the sense. British style now prefers to punctuate according to the sense, in which punctuation marks only appear inside quotation marks if they were there in the original. Formal British English practice requires a full stop to be put inside the quotation marks if the quoted item is a full sentence that ends where the main sentence ends, but it is common to see the stop outside the ending quotation marks.<ref>{{cite web|last=Quinion|first=Michael|title=Punctuation and Quotation Marks|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pun1.htm|work=World Wide Words |access-date=9 December 2010|year=2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101202134153/http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pun1.htm| archive-date= 2 December 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Contractions where the final letter is present are often written in British English without full stops/periods (''Mr'', ''Mrs'', ''Dr'', ''Fr'', and ''St'' — for "Saint" but not for "Street"). Abbreviations where the final letter is not present generally do take full stops/periods (such as ''vol.'', ''etc.'', ''i.e.'', ''ed.''); British English shares this convention with French: ''Mlle'', ''Mme'', ''Dr'', ''Ste'', but ''M.'' for ''Monsieur''. In American and Canadian English, abbreviations like ''St.'', ''Ave.'', ''Mr.'', ''Mrs.'', ''Ms.'', ''Dr.'', and ''Jr.'', usually require full stops/periods.

==Explanatory notes== {{NoteFoot}}

==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist}}

===General and cited sources=== {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book| last = Chambers| first = J.K.| year = 1998| chapter = Canadian English: 250 Years in the Making| title = The Canadian Oxford Dictionary| edition = 2nd| page = xi}} * {{cite book| last = Clark| first = Joe| date = 2009| title = Organizing Our Marvellous Neighbours: How to Feel Good About Canadian English| url = http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/003/008/099/003008-disclaimer.html?orig=/100/200/300/joe_clark/organizing_marvellous/index.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200727040533/https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/003/008/099/003008-disclaimer.html?orig=/100/200/300/joe_clark/organizing_marvellous/index.html| archive-date = 27 July 2020| edition = e-book, version 1.1| isbn = 978-0-9809525-0-6}} * Fowler, Henry; Winchester, Simon (introduction) (2003 reprint). ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (Oxford Language Classics Series)''. Oxford Press. {{ISBN|0-19-860506-4}}. * Hargraves, Orin (2003). ''Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-515704-4}} * {{cite book |last = Mencken |first = H. L. |author-link = H. L. Mencken |year = 1921 |chapter = Chapter 8. American Spelling > 1. The Two Orthographies |chapter-url = http://www.bartleby.com/185/31.html |title = The American language: An inquiry into the development of English in the United States |edition = 2nd ed., rev. and enl. |location = New York, NY |publisher = A.A. Knopf |isbn = 1-58734-087-9 |url = http://www.bartleby.com/185/ }} * {{cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Margaret |year=1957 |title=A Dictionary of American-English Usage Based on Fowler's Modern English Usage |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofamer00nich |url-access=registration |publisher=Signet, by arrangement with Oxford University Press }} * ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 20 vols. (1989) Oxford University Press. * {{Cite book |last = Peters |first= Pam |year = 2004 |title = The Cambridge Guide to English Usage |location = Cambridge, England |publisher = Cambridge University Press |isbn = 0-521-62181-X |title-link = The Cambridge Guide to English Usage }} * ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary'' (1961; repr. 2002) Merriam-Webster, Inc. {{Refend}}

==External links== {{wiktionary|Category:American English|Category:British English}} {{Wikivoyage|English language varieties}} * [http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/ ''The Chicago Manual of Style''] * [https://www.theguardian.com/styleguide/0,,184913,00.html ''The Guardian'' style guide] * [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/EnglishTranslation/WordSubstitution Word substitution list], by the [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/EnglishTranslation Ubuntu English (United Kingdom) Translators team] * [http://theconversation.com/what-will-the-english-language-be-like-in-100-years-50284 What will the English language be like in 100 years?] (future outlook)

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{{DEFAULTSORT:American And British English Spelling Differences}} Spelling differences Category:English orthography Category:Internationalization and localization