UK-US Differences: The Master Table
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This is the whole UK/US difference set on one page — every place British and American English genuinely part ways, sorted into five areas. It teaches nothing new; it's the lookup you glance at mid-draft. Each section heading links to the fuller chart for that area, so a row can take you deeper when you need the why behind it.
Every row is marked for what kind of difference it is, because that changes how much it matters:
- RULE — a fixed divergence. Pick one system for a piece of writing and hold it; mixing reads as an error.
- TENDENCY — a strong regional preference. The other form isn't wrong, but it will read as the other side of the Atlantic.
- VARIANT — both genuinely used, sometimes within one variety. House style or plain clarity decides.
A blank is honest: if something isn't listed, it either isn't a real UK/US split or the library hasn't taught it yet. And the one rule that settles most of the rows below on its own — pick a variety and stay consistent within a single piece.
Spelling
Full detail: the spelling chart.
| Area | UK | US | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| -our / -or | colour, favour, honour, labour, behaviour | color, favor, honor, labor, behavior | RULE |
| -re / -er | centre, metre, theatre, litre, fibre | center, meter, theater, liter, fiber | RULE |
| -ise / -ize | realise, organise, recognise (Oxford also allows -ize) | realize, organize, recognize | VARIANT (UK) / RULE (US prefers -ize) |
| -yse / -yze | analyse, paralyse | analyze, paralyze | RULE |
| -ogue / -og | catalogue, dialogue, analogue | catalog, dialog, analog | TENDENCY |
| -ce / -se nouns | defence, licence (noun), offence, practice (noun) | defense, license (noun & verb), offense, practice | RULE |
| practise / practice | practise (verb), practice (noun) | practice (both) | RULE |
| Consonant doubling before a suffix | travelling, cancelled, labelled, modelling | traveling, canceled, labeled, modeling | TENDENCY |
| Word-final single / double l | enrol, fulfil, skilful, instil | enroll, fulfill, skillful, instill | RULE |
| -ae- / -oe- digraphs | anaemia, oestrogen, manoeuvre, encyclopaedia | anemia, estrogen, maneuver, encyclopedia | TENDENCY |
| -t / -ed past forms | learnt, spelt, dreamt (learned/spelled also used) | learned, spelled, dreamed | TENDENCY |
| programme / program | programme (TV, plan); program (computing) | program (all senses) | RULE (by sense) |
| grey / gray | grey | gray | TENDENCY |
| aluminium / aluminum | aluminium | aluminum | RULE |
| tyre / tire (wheel) | tyre (wheel), tire (verb) | tire (both) | RULE (by sense) |
| kerb / curb | kerb (road edge), curb (restrain) | curb (both) | RULE (by sense) |
| cheque / check (banking) | cheque | check | RULE |
| jewellery / jewelry | jewellery | jewelry | RULE |
Punctuation
Full detail: the punctuation chart.
| Area | UK | US | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary quotation marks | Single ' … ' as default; double inside | Double " … " as default; single inside | TENDENCY |
| Punctuation with closing quotes | Logical: full stop [US: period] / comma outside unless part of the quote | Conventional: comma / period almost always inside the quote | TENDENCY |
| Serial (Oxford) comma | Optional; house style decides | Strong preference in formal and academic prose | TENDENCY |
| Dashes for a parenthetical break | Spaced en dash: the plan – ambitious – worked | Closed em dash: the plan—ambitious—worked | TENDENCY |
| Full stop after title abbreviations | Mr, Mrs, Dr, St (usually no full stop) | Mr., Mrs., Dr., St. (period usual) | TENDENCY |
Name of the mark . |
full stop | period | RULE (terminology) |
Name of the marks ( ) |
(round) brackets | parentheses | RULE (terminology) |
| Dates in running text | 10 July 2026 (day–month–year, no comma) | July 10, 2026 (month–day–year, comma) | TENDENCY |
Capitalisation
Full detail: the capitalisation chart.
| Area | UK | US | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headings | Sentence case increasingly common; title case also used | Title Case common; sentence case also used | VARIANT |
| Titles & offices in running text | Often lower case: the prime minister, the government | Stronger tendency to capitalise: the President, the Government | TENDENCY |
| School subjects | Lower case in running text (maths, history); capitals for languages (French) | Same pattern (subject name: math) | VARIANT |
| Seasons | spring, summer, autumn, winter (lower case) | spring, summer, fall, winter (lower case) | — (no divergence in casing) |
Vocabulary
Full detail: the vocabulary chart.
| Concept | UK | US | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat / apartment | flat | apartment | RULE |
| Lift / elevator | lift | elevator | RULE |
| Boot / trunk (car) | boot | trunk | RULE |
| Floor numbering | ground floor, then first floor | first floor, then second floor | RULE (system) |
| Pavement / sidewalk | pavement | sidewalk | RULE |
| Car park / parking lot | car park | parking lot | RULE |
| Petrol / gas | petrol, petrol station | gas / gasoline, gas station | RULE |
| Lorry / truck | lorry | truck | TENDENCY |
| Motorway / freeway | motorway | freeway, highway, interstate | TENDENCY |
| Rubbish / garbage | rubbish | garbage, trash | RULE |
| Post / mail | post (noun & verb), postbox | mail (noun & verb), mailbox | TENDENCY |
| Queue / line | queue | line (verb: line up) | RULE |
| Holiday / vacation | holiday (time off); bank holiday | vacation; public holiday | TENDENCY |
| Autumn / fall | autumn | fall (autumn in formal writing) | TENDENCY |
| Mobile / cell (phone) | mobile | cell, cellphone | RULE |
| Torch / flashlight | torch | flashlight | RULE |
| Biscuit / cookie | biscuit | cookie | RULE (some overlap) |
| Crisps / chips | crisps | chips, potato chips | RULE |
| Chips / fries | chips | fries, French fries | RULE |
| Aubergine / eggplant | aubergine | eggplant | RULE |
| Courgette / zucchini | courgette | zucchini | RULE |
| Trousers / pants | trousers (pants = underwear) | pants | RULE |
| Jumper / sweater | jumper | sweater | TENDENCY |
| Trainers / sneakers | trainers | sneakers | RULE |
| Nappy / diaper | nappy | diaper | RULE |
| Football / soccer | football (association football) | soccer | TENDENCY |
| Timetable / schedule | timetable | schedule | TENDENCY |
| Surname / last name | surname | last name | TENDENCY |
| CV / résumé | CV | résumé / resume | RULE |
| Toilet / bathroom / restroom | toilet, loo | bathroom, restroom | TENDENCY |
Grammar tendencies
Full detail: the grammar tendencies chart.
| Area | UK | US | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collective nouns (team, staff, government) | Often plural: the team are… | Usually singular: the team is… | TENDENCY |
| Got / gotten (past participle) | got: have got | gotten widely used: have gotten | TENDENCY |
| Have / have got (possession) | I've got a car very common | I have a car preferred in writing | VARIANT |
| Present perfect vs past simple (recent past) | I've just eaten | I just ate | TENDENCY |
| Shall (offers, suggestions) | Shall I…? / Shall we…? still natural | shall rare; will / should default | TENDENCY |
| Needn't / don't need to | You needn't worry natural | You don't need to worry preferred | TENDENCY |
| Different from / to / than | different from; different to also heard | different from; different than also standard | VARIANT |
| In hospital / in the hospital | in hospital (as a patient) | in the hospital | TENDENCY |
| At / on the weekend | at the weekend | on the weekend | TENDENCY |
| To / through (spans) | Monday to Friday | Monday through Friday | TENDENCY |
| Write to / write someone | write to someone | write someone | TENDENCY |
Where next
- Get Your Bearings — the UK/US front door — the orientation and routing map this table sits under; start there if you want the how to think about it rather than the what.
- Reference & Resources — Find Any Rule, Fast — the wider lookup layer: glossary, quick-charts and diagnostics.
- → Spelling, Morphology & Word Choice — where the biggest cluster of real UK/US differences is actually taught.
- → UK vs US Vocabulary — the everyday word swaps, with more than the snapshot above.
¶ Field Notes — free
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