British vs American Spelling: A Guide for Word Puzzlers
Most English spelling is the same on both sides of the Atlantic, but a handful of patterns differ, and they turn up constantly in word games. If you play Wordle, Scrabble or crosswords, it helps to know which spellings each game is likely to expect. Here are the main differences, with examples checked against our own dictionary.
-our and -or
British English keeps the U in many words that American English drops: colour and color, honour and honor, favour and favor, labour and labor, humour and humor, neighbour and neighbor.
-re and -er
Words ending in -re in British English usually end in -er in American English: centre and center, metre and meter, theatre and theater, litre and liter, spectre and specter.
Doubled L
British English usually doubles a final L before -ed, -ing and -er when the syllable is not stressed: travelled and traveled, cancelling and canceling, labelled and labeled, traveller and traveler.
-ence and -ense
British English uses defence, offence and licence, where American English uses defense, offense and license. In British English, licence is the noun and license is the verb, just as practice is the noun and practise is the verb.
-ise and -ize
American English uses -ize: organize, realize, recognize. British English uses both. Many British writers and publications prefer organise and realise, but the -ize spellings are also correct in British English and are the house style of the Oxford University Press. Words ending in -yse, such as analyse, are different: the British spelling is always -yse, and the American is analyze.
-ogue and -og
British English keeps catalogue, dialogue and analogue. American English often shortens these to catalog and analog, although dialogue remains common in the US too.
Words that are simply different
| British | American |
|---|---|
| grey | gray |
| tyre | tire |
| kerb | curb |
| cheque | check |
| plough | plow |
| aluminium | aluminum |
| programme | program |
| jewellery | jewelry |
| manoeuvre | maneuver |
| mum | mom |
What this means for word games
- Wordle is published by an American newspaper, so if a guess could go either way, the American spelling is usually the safer bet.
- Scrabble outside North America uses the Collins word list, which accepts both British and American spellings. The North American list includes many British forms as well, but not every one, so check if you are unsure.
- Crosswords usually follow the spelling of the newspaper that sets them, so British papers use British spellings.
- Our tools accept both. Every pair in this guide is in our dictionary, so the word unscrambler will find colour and color alike.
If you are learning English, see our guide to word games for English learners, which suggests choosing one system and sticking to it.
Related reading: 20 words from around the world · 25 commonly misspelled words
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