Sixty More American English Words and their British English Counterparts
Although the Spellzone course was written in the UK, it covers both British English and American English spellings. The different spellings of a words are highlighted throughout the course, and you can choose whether you would prefer to take a British English or an American English version of a test. Click here to read an overview of the main differences between American English and British English spellings, and here for more detailed information.
It’s not just spellings you need to watch out for though! Some words have different meanings depending on whether they are used in an American English or a British English context. The word ‘pants’ in American English, for example, refers to an item of clothing which is used to cover the legs (i.e. trousers), whereas in British English the word refers to underwear.
A few years ago we looked at sixty American English words and their British English counterparts, here are sixty more:
| |
American English |
British English |
| |
|
|
| 1 |
antenna |
arial (radio/TV) |
| 2 |
baked potato |
jacket potato |
| 3 |
bill |
note (money) |
| 4 |
bobbie pin |
hair grip |
| 5 |
can |
tin |
| 6 |
caravan |
convoy |
| 7 |
check |
bill (restaurant) |
| 8 |
checkers |
draughts |
| 9 |
cilantro |
coriander |
| 10 |
clothes pin |
clothes peg |
| 11 |
comforter |
duvet |
| 12 |
couch |
sofa |
| 13 |
driver's license |
driving licence |
| 14 |
drunk driving |
drink driving |
| 15 |
duplex |
semi-detached |
| 16 |
eraser |
rubber |
| 17 |
faculty |
staff (academic) |
| 18 |
fall |
autumn |
| 19 |
fire department |
fire brigade |
| 20 |
first floor |
ground floor |
| 21 |
football |
American footbal; |
| 22 |
freshman |
first year (university) |
| 23 |
garbage/trash |
rubbish |
| 24 |
grade |
year (school) |
| 25 |
intermission |
interval |
| 26 |
janitor |
caretaker |
| 27 |
jelly roll |
Swiss roll |
| 28 |
junior |
third year (university) |
| 29 |
lima bean |
broad bean |
| 30 |
line |
queue |
| 31 |
lost and found |
lost property |
| 32 |
movie |
film |
| 33 |
on accident |
by accident |
| 34 |
pantyhose |
tights |
| 35 |
pitcher |
jug |
| 36 |
powdered sugar |
icing sugar |
| 37 |
principal |
head teacher |
| 38 |
pumps |
court shoes |
| 39 |
purse |
handbag |
| 40 |
realtor |
estate agent |
| 41 |
recess |
break/playtime (school) |
| 42 |
résumé |
CV |
| 43 |
Santa Claus |
Father Christmas |
| 44 |
scallion |
spring onion |
| 45 |
schedule |
timetable |
| 46 |
second floor |
first floor |
| 47 |
semester |
term |
| 48 |
senior |
fourth year (university) |
| 49 |
shot |
jab (injection) |
| 50 |
slingshot |
catapult |
| 51 |
sophomore |
second year (university) |
| 52 |
straight |
neat (drinking) |
| 53 |
swimsuit |
swimming costume |
| 54 |
tag |
label |
| 55 |
traffic circle |
roundabout |
| 56 |
trailer |
caravan |
| 57 |
truck |
lorry |
| 58 |
two weeks |
fortnight |
| 59 |
vacuum |
hoover |
| 60 |
yard |
garden |
If you found this article useful, why not check out our other blog posts on the American English language?
25 Nov 2019
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