British - American English
Here you find words which have different meanings or are spelled differently in British and American English.
This list is not complete.
BE AE
accelerator gas pedal accumulator battery advertisement commercial aerial (TV, radio) antenna air hostess flight attendant alsatian German shepherd anorak parka anywhere anyplace at home home aubergine eggplant autumn fall BE AE badge pin
baking tin baking pan bank holiday legal holiday barrister lawyer base rate prime rate bath bathtub to bath to bathe
bathroom bathroom (in private rooms)/toilet bedside table nightstand
bill check bin garbage can biro ball-point pen biscuit cookie bobby police officer bobsleigh bobsled bonnet hood booking reservation bookshop bookstore bookstall newsstand boot trunk braces suspenders brackets parentheses BE AE
call box phone booth candy floss cotton candy car park parking lot
caravan trailer
cardigan sweater
caretaker janitor
cashier bank teller
casualty department emergency room
centre center
chambers law offices
chemist's shop drugstore cheque check
chest of drawers bureau chips French fries chocolate bar candy bar
cinema movie theater
city centre downtown
class grade
cloakroom checkroom
clothes peg clothespin coach long distance bus cocktail stick toothpick
cocoa powder unsweetened cocoa coffin casket colour color company enterprise condom rubber cooker stove costume swimsuit cosy cozy
cot (Baby) crib
cotton thread
crisps potato chips crossroads intersection
cupboard closet
current account checking account curriculum vitae resume
curtains drapes cutlery silverware
BE AE
dialogue dialog
dinner jacket tux, tuxedo
directory enquiries directory assistance
diversion detour
doctor's surgery doctor's office double cream heavy cream
draught draft
draughts checkers
drawing pin thumbtack dress circle balcony
dressing gown bathrobe drink driving drunk driving driving licence driver's license driving wheel steering wheel duffle coat trench coat
dummy pacifier
dustbin garbage can
duvet bedspread
dynamo generator
BE AE
earth ground
earth wire ground wire
elastoplast band-aid
engine motor to enquire to inquire
enquiry inquiry
entrée appetizer
everywhere everyplace
exercise book notebook expiry date experation date
extra time overtime
AE BE
face cloth flannel fall autumn
faucet tap
favorite favourite
fender wing
field hockey hockey fields day sports day to fill out to fill in
fire department fire brigade first floor ground floor
fish-sticks fish-fingers flashlight torch flavor flavour
flight attendant air hostess freewaymotorway
freight train goods train French fries chips
from Monday through Friday from Monday to Friday front desk reception
frosting icing
AE BE
game match
garbage rubbish
garbage can bin, dustbin, wastepaper basket gas petrol
gas pedal accelerator
gas station filling station gear lift gear leaver
generator dynamo
German shepherd alsatian
grade class, form grade school primary school ground earth
ground wire earth wire
to guess to suppose, to think
AE BE
ham gammon
hamburger meat/ground beef mince meat harbor harbour
hardware store ironmonger heavy cream double cream
high school secondary school, grammar school highway/freeway/expressway (interstate) motorway highway main road
home at home hood bonnet
human resources department personnel department humor humour
AE BE
to inquire to enquire inquiry enquiry instalment plan hire purchase intermission interval intersection crossroads
interstate motorway (from state to state) inventory stock AE BE jail prison janitor caretaker jelly jam jewelery jewellery John Doe Joe Bloggs
AE BE kerosene/kerosine paraffin kilometer kilometre Kleenex tissue AE BE labor labour ladies' room Ladies
ladybug ladybird
laundry soap washing up powder
law offices chambers
lawyer solicitor, barrister laid off redundant leash lead
legal holiday bank holiday letter opener paper knife life vest life jacket to line to queue liter litre long distance bus coach lost and found lost property
AE BE
mail post
mailbox letterbox
mailman postman
main street high street mashed potatoes mashed potato math maths
Men's Room Gents
mom mum
mortician undertaker
motorcycle motorbike
movie film
movie theater cinema
AE BE
neighbor neighbour
newspaper store newsagent's
newsstand bookstall
nightstand bedside table
notebook exercise book
AE BE
oatmeal porridge
one-way ticket single ticket
overpast flyover
overtime extra time
jump rope skipping rope
AE BE
Pacifier dummy
a package of cigarettes a packet of cigarettes pants trousers
paper towel kitchen roll paper parentheses brackets
parka anorak
parking garage multi-storey car park parking lot car park
pavement road surface pay raise pay rise
phone booth call box, phone box photoflash flashlight
pig in a blanket sausage roll pin badge
pitcher jug
police officer bobby potato chips crisps
powdered sugar icing sugar
president (business) managing director
prime rate base rate
principal headmaster/head teacher
program programme
public school state school
AE BE quiz test AE BE railroad railway raincoat mackintosh raisin sultana real exciting really exciting
regular normal
to rent to hire report card school report reservation booking
resume curriculum vitae
to give s.b.a ride to give s.b. a lift
rubber condom
rubbers wellington boots
rummage sale jumble sale running shoes trainers
AE BE
salary cut wage cut sales clerk shop assistant Santa Claus Father Christmas
schedule timetable
second floor first floor
semester term
to set the table to lay the table
shorts pants,underpants
shot injection, jab sick ill
sidewalk pavement
silverware cutlery
Sincerely, Yours, sincerely skillet frying pan sled sledge
sneakers gym shoes
soccer football
social security number national insurance number steering wheel driving wheel
stingy mean
stock share
stop lights traffic lights store shop
storey floor
stove cooker
streetcar tram
student pupil
subway underground, tube
superstore store suspenders braces sweater cardigan swimsuit costume AE BE tag label taxi stand taxi rank
telephone operator telephonist
theater theatre
thread cotton thumbtack drawing pin tire tyre
toothpick cocktail stick track tracks traffic circle roundabout trailer caravan traveled travelled trench coat duffle coat truck lorry
trunk boot
turtle tortoise turtle neck polo neck tux, tuxedo dinner jacket two weeks fortnight
AE BE
underpass subway
undershirt vest
unsweetened cocoa cocoa powder
AE BE
vacation holiday
vaccum cleaner hoover
VCR video
vest waistcoat
vocational school technical college
AE BE wash up to wash windshield windscreen wrench spanner AE BE yard garden AE BE
zip code post code
