Vocabulary

British and American terms

British and American English often spell the same word differently, for example: labour/labor, enthrall/enthral, or centre/center. You can find out more about these differences here.

There are also many cases in which the two varieties of English use different terms to describe the same thing. Here’s a list of various British words and expressions together with their American equivalents.

British English	American English
A
accelerator	gas pedal, accelerator
aerial (TV, radio)	antenna, aerial
Alsatian	German shepherd
American Indian	Native American
anorak	jacket, parka
at the weekend	on the weekend
aubergine	eggplant
B
bank holiday	national holiday, federal holiday
barrister, solicitor	lawyer, attorney
base rate	prime rate
to bath	to bathe
beetroot	beet
bill	check
bin, dustbin	garbage can/trash can
biro	ball-point pen
biscuit	cookie
bonnet	hood
boot	trunk
braces	suspenders
(round) brackets	parentheses
C
candy floss	cotton candy
car park	parking lot
caravan	trailer
caretaker	janitor
catalogue	catalog
centre	center
chemist's shop	drugstore, pharmacy
chips	French fries
city centre	downtown, city center
cloakroom	checkroom, coatroom
clothes peg	clothespin
colour	color
cooker	stove
(bathing) costume	swimsuit
cosy	cozy
cot (Baby)	crib
cotton wool	cotton ball
courgette	zucchini
crisps	potato chips
crossroads	crossroad (in the country)
	intersection (town and country)
curriculum vitae (CV)	résumé
	curriculum vitae
D
dinner jacket	tux, tuxedo
directory enquiries	directory assistance
diversion	detour
double cream	heavy cream
draught	draft
draughts	checkers
drawing pin	thumbtack
dressing gown	(bath) robe
drink driving	drunk driving
driving licence	driver's license
dummy	pacifier
duvet	comforter
E
earth wire	ground wire
engaged	busy
enquiry	inquiry
everywhere	everyplace, everywhere
expiry date	expiration date
F
fancy dress	costumes
Father Christmas	Santa Claus
favourite	favorite
to fill in	to fill out
film	film, movie
fire brigade	fire department
first floor	second floor
fish-fingers	fish-sticks
flannel	face cloth, wash cloth
flat	apartment
	(flat: apartment with a single floor)
flavour	flavor
football	soccer
fortnight	two weeks
fringe	bangs
from Monday to Friday	from Monday to Friday
	from Monday through Friday (Friday included)
full stop	period
G
garden	yard
gear lever	gear shift
Gents	Men's Room
goods train	freight train
ground floor	first floor, ground floor (in public buildings)
H
harbour	harbor
headmaster, headteacher	principal
to hire	to rent
hire purchase	installment plan
hockey	field hockey
holiday	vacation
hoover	vacuum cleaner
humour	humor
I
icing sugar	powdered sugar
indicator	blinker, turn signal
inverted commas, quotation marks	quotation marks
J
jacket potato	baked potato
jewellery	jewelery
Joe Bloggs	Joe Blow
jumble sale	yard sale
jumper	sweater
K
kilometre	kilometer
L
ladybird	ladybug
to lay the table	to set the table
letterbox, postbox	mailbox
lift	elevator
litre	liter
lorry	truck
lost property	lost and found
M
mackintosh	raincoat
managing director	CEO (chief executive officer)
mashed potato	mashed potatoes
match	game
maths	math
mobile (phone)	cellphone
motorbike	motorcycle
motorway	freeway, highway, expressway, interstate
mum	mom