British and American English

There are some well-known spelling differences between British English and American English. Many of these spelling differences result from French influence on English. British English has a tendency to keep the spelling of many words of French origin. Americans try to spell words more closely to the way they sound phonetically and they tend to omit some letters.

The general spelling differences between British and American English are listed below.

British -our vs. American-or difference armour armor behaviour behavior colour color favourite favorite flavour flavor harbour harbor honour honor humour humor labour labor neighbour neighbor rumour rumor saviour savior British -se vs. American -ze difference* analyse analyze apologise apologize appetiser appetizer catalyse catalyze civilise, civilisation civilize, civilization colonise, colonisation colonize, colonization criticise criticize emphasise emphasize organise organize popularise, popularisation popularize, popularization prise prize realise realize recognise recognize British -l vs. American -ll difference enrolment enrollment fulfil fulfill instalment installment skilful skillful British -ll vs. American -l difference counsellor counselor fuelled fueled travelling traveling parallelled paralleled quarrelling quarreling British -ogue vs. American -og difference analogue analog catalogue catalog dialogue dialog monologue monolog British –ence vs. American -ense difference defence* defense licence(noun) license(verb) license (both noun and verb) offence* offense pretence pretense *But note: defensive,offensive *Additional notes: :: British English uses both "-ise" and "-ize" forms but tends to prefer -ise (-isation) form. :: Verbs in British English that can be spelled with either "-ize" or "-ise" at the end are always spelled with -ize in American English. :: Verbs in British English that end in "-yse" (e.g. analyse) are always spelled "-yze" in American English (analyze). British -dge/-gue vs. American -dg/-gu) judgement judgment arguement argument British -que vs. American -k/–ck difference banque bank cheque (money) check British -gramme vs. American -gram difference programme (noun) (TV/radio programme or programme of events - plans, conferences, a theatre programme etc.) program programme (verb) (to instruct) program (-mm-) program (programme) (computer program) program gram (gramme) gram kilogram (kilogramme) kilogram British -re vs. American -er difference amphitheatre amphitheater centimetre centimeter centre center fibre fiber kilometre kilometer litre liter lustre luster louvre louver manoeuvre maneuver metre meter spectre specter theatre theater British -ae/-oe/-oeu vs. American -e/-o/-eu difference archaeology archeology gynaecology gynecology leukaemia leukemia manoeuvre maneuver mediaeval medieval mementoes mementos oestrogen estrogen orthopaedic orthopedic paediatric pediatric palaeontology paleontology toxaemia toxemia