British vs American Words

British versus American Words List

ADDucation’s list of British vs American words list focuses on over 200 words and phrases which could be misunderstood, cause confusion, embarrassment or are just plain funny. We’ve left out simple spelling differences and words which have obvious alternatives. The English language evolves every day and cultural exchange is alive and well comparing British vs American words. British TV shows are popular in the US and American TV series are popular in the UK so maybe this list will be redundant one day? In the meantime it’s fun to explore and celebrate the differences between British vs American words.

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US Word/Phrase	UK Word/Phrase	Category	Trivia & Usage of British vs American words
Acetaminophen	Paracetamol	Health	Paracetamol can relieve pain and lower fever and the main active ingredient in many formulations sold worldwide under brand names including Tylenol, Panadol and Calpol. One of those British vs American words that really should be standardized worldwide.
airplane	aeroplane	Transport
apartment	flat	Home
Arugula	Rocket, salad leaves	Food
ass	donkey	Confusing
baby carriage	pram	Baby	Pram (from perambulator) is often used for any wheeled baby transport in UK.
baking soda	bicarbonate of soda	Food	Or just bicarb.
band-aid, bandage	plaster, sticky plaster, bandage	Health	Americans widely use the brand name “Band-Aid” to refer to all sticking plasters. Most Brits and Commonwealth citizens use the generic term “plaster” or brand name “Elastoplast” for sticky plasters and bandages to refer to larger wound dressings.
bangs	fringe (hair)	Hair
bar	pub	Places	Abbreviation for Public House.
barette	hair slide, hair clip	Hair	Clasp to hold hair in place, there’s even auto-clasp barettes.
baseball	rounders	Sport	Both broadly similar games but rounders uses a smaller bat swung with one arm, mostly played in schools.
bathing suit	swimming costume	Clothing	Swimsuits covers both, in the UK men wear swimming trunks. Fashion tends to use one-piece swimsuits, two-piece bikinis, tankinis, etc.
bathroom, restroom	toilet	Home	British (UK/Australia/NZ): In public ask “Where are the toilets?” In informal/domestic situations it’s common to ask “Where’s the loo?” Asking for the bathroom would be understood but implies you want a bath/shower rather than a toilet. In Europe WC (water closet) signs are still common and Lavatory, Gentleman and Ladies signs may still be in use. American (USA): In public ask “Where are the restrooms?” Asking for the toilet may be considered impolite. Most signage points to Restrooms. American (Canada): In public ask “Where are the washrooms?” Most signage points to Restrooms. There are dozens of other variations depending on social setting and situation; washroom, latrines (military), the facilities, the john, the gents, the ladies, the head (nautical), little boys and little girls rooms etc. We’ve left out the vulgar terms which, ironically, are the most accurate!
beaver	pubic hair, front bottom area	Rude	In the 1988 movie The Naked Gun Frank (Leslie Nielsen) says “nice beaver” to Jane (Priscilla Presley):
beer	lager	Drink	UK beer (bitter/IPA style) is typically served at room temperature or cold but not chilled.
beltway	ring road	Motoring	Typically around major towns and cities.
biscuits	crackers	Food
boardwalk	promenade	Places	Typically at a seaside.
boardwalk	promenade	Places	Typically at a seaside.
bobby pin	hair grip	Hair
booger	bogey	Personal
braid	plait	Hair
broil	grill	Kitchen	Cooking method using direct heat from above.
buck	quid	Money	A buck is a dollar, a quid is a pound.
bum	tramp	Confusing	Confusing either way around, perhaps beggar or vagrant is less confusing?
buns	bread rolls, sticky buns	Rude	Buns are not butt cheeks in the UK!
burner	hob	Kitchen
butt	arse	Rude	Arse is ass or butt in the US.
C clamp	G clamp	Hardware	[Brit says] They look more like the letter G though don’t they?
cab	taxi	Transport
call (telephone)	ring	Technology
can	tin	Food	Brits use and understand both terms.
check	cheque	Money	Both pronounced the same.
chips	crisps	Food	British: Chips are chunky fried potatoes typically served as traditional fish and chips. A packet or bag of crisps is a popular snack. American: Chips are potato chips in a bag as a snack.
Cilantro	Coriander	Food
closet	wardrobe, cupboard	Home	Depends on context, a wardrobe in the UK is for hanging clothes, closets to store other things would be called cupboards.
college, university	Uni	Education	Uni is an abbreviation of university.
cookies	biscuits	Food	Cookies are also available in UK.
cooties	lurgi, germs	Health	USA and Canada: Cooties is an imaginary disease children can catch or infect each other with in games or discriminate against each other. British: The “dreaded lurgi” or generic “germs”. In WWI trenches head-lice were called cooties or “arithmetic bugs” because they “added to our troubles, subtracted from our pleasures, divided our attention and multiplied like hell.”
cooties	lurgi	Personal	In the UK “the dreaded lurgy” or “the lurg” is the non specific illness which applies at any age.
cotton candy	candy floss	Food	Spun sugar treat for children. Usually on a stick, often colored. Popular at fairgrounds or festivals.
counter-clockwise	anti-clockwise	Technology	[Brit says] You don’t have counter-bacteria in the US so why counter-clockwise? [American says] You take countermeasures not anti-measures, right?
cremains	remains, ashes	Personal
crib, baby bed	cot	Baby	A cot is more commonly referred to as a camp bed in the US.
crisp	crumble	Food	A dessert with a sweet crumb topping, e.g. rhubarb crisp or apple crumble.
crosswalk	zebra crossing, pedestrian crossing	Places
cuffs	turn-ups (trousers)	Clothing	Shirts and jackets may have cuffs in the UK, but not pants!
custom-made	bespoke	Clothing	Bespoke normally applies to fashion.
cut or skip class	play truant	Education
diaper	nappy, terry nappies	Baby	Cloth diapers are commonly called terry nappies in the UK.
divided highway	dual carriageway	Motoring	A road with a highway meridian [US] or central reservation [UK].
do the dishes	wash up	Home
downtown	city or town centre	Places
drapes	curtains	Home
dumpster	skip	Hardware
Eggplant	Aubergine	Food	The Brits use Courgette, from french cuisine, in Canada, Australia, NZ and other Commonwealth countries eggplant is widely used.
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)	Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services (BACS)	Business	There’s also CHAPS, EFTPOS, SWIFT, IBAN but they don’t work between the UK and US. Alternative international payment methods like Paypal, TransferWise, Google Pay and Amazon Pay are increasingly popular.
elementary school	primary school	Education	Or infant school.
Endive	Chicory	Food
English muffins	muffins	Food	Oddly you can’t buy what Americans call “English muffins” in England. You can buy muffins but they are the more substantial 18th century ancestors from The Muffin Man nursery rhyme era and not the same thing. So think of “English muffins” as exclusively “American muffins”! In the UK try “Crumpets” instead. Toast them and top them (don’t split them) with butter and savory or sweet toppings of your choice. Share your thoughts/toppings in the comments.
expert	boffin	Science	Alternatively Scientist, nerd, techie, engineer etc.
fag	cigarette	Confusing	Offensive term for homosexuals in the US.
Fall	Autumn	Seasons	Fall, because the leaves fall. OK, so why not call Winter Cold because it’s cold?
fanny	front bottom, vulva area	Rude	Incorrect usage could cause offense in the UK.
fanny pack	bum bag	Confusing	Embarrassing British vs American words difference.
faucet	tap	Hardware
Fava beans	Broad beans	Food
first floor	ground floor	Hotels	Very irritating.
flashlight	torch	Hardware
flat tire	puncture	Motoring	Equally annoying in either language.
football	American football	Sport	John Cleese tries to explain:
fries	chips	Food	Fries are usually thin, chips are usually chunky.
front desk	reception	Hotels
frosting	icing	Food	It’s sugar either way. In the UK a bonus can be described as “the icing on the cake.”
garbage can, trashcans	dustbin, wheelie bins	Home	Waste containers. UK wheelie bins are dustbins with wheels on.
garter belt	suspenders	Confusing	Suspenders do not hold up stockings in the US.
gas station	petrol station	Places
Gasoline, gas	Petrol	Technology	In the UK gas powers home heating and cooking but not cars.
government programs	government schemes	Government	Americans would use the British word “schemes” for devious plotting.
green thumb	greenfingers	Garden	Skilled (or lucky) gardener.
ground beef	minced beef	Food	Or just mince.
Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, GFCI	Residual Current Device, RCD	Electrical	Circuit breaker.
guitar pick	plectrum	Music
high school	comprehensive school	Education	Or secondary school, academy schools, grammar schools.
highway, freeway, expressway	motorway	Motoring
hood	bonnet	Transport
hooters	noses	Confusing	US slang for bosoms is UK slang for noses.
hot flashes	hot flushes	Personal	Common menopause symptom.
hush puppy	Hush Puppy	Food	In Southern USA a hush puppy is a bite-sized deep-fried cornmeal batter ball served as a side dish. For the rest of us Hush Puppy is an international shoe brand.
intersection	crossroads	Motoring
intimate apparel	lingerie	Clothing	Lingerie sounds so much more romantic doesn’t it?
jello	jelly	Food
jelly	jam	Food
jumper	pinafore dress	Clothing
Kerosene	Paraffin	Technology
Kilroy Was Here	Chad: Wot No…	History	Chad and Kilroy graffiti emerged during World War II from an original British cartoon published in 1938. The British “Wot No” slogan followed by another word is still widely used today. The original “Wot No Sugar” slogan referred to food rationing during WWII. The origin of “Kilroy was here” is disputed but can be seen all over the world. Interestingly “Foo was here” is used in Australia and other names around the world include Smoe, Private Snoops, Clem and Sapo.
laid off	redundancy, made redundant	Jobs	Not good in either language and inevitably leads to waiting in line or queuing.
laundromat	launderette	Places	Although the UK has launderettes they are not as common in the US.
legumes	pulses	Food	In the UK (Canada, Australia & NZ etc.) pulses refer to the dried edible seeds of some plants in the legume family, e.g. lentils, beans chickpeas and split peas. Officially a legume is any plant of the Fabaceae/Leguminosae family and since some leguminous plants are not edible. We think the Brits win this one.
line	queue	Places	Typical usage includes “wait in line”, “join the queue” etc.
Liquid Paper / Wite-Out	Tipp-Ex	Office	Both brand names for correction fluid with many other variations worldwide.
liquor store	off license	Places	For takeout/takeaway purchases.
lobby	foyer (of a building)	Hotels
lucky, fluky	jammy	Slang	Probably from early use of having expensive jam considered lucky.
main street	high street	Places
making out	snogging	Personal	Sings: “USA and UK sitting in a tree, K-i-s-s-i-n-g!” from the popular US children’s playground kissing song
mall	shopping centre	Places	Mall is also in common usage across the UK.
mass transit	public transport	Transport
math	maths	Education	Math in the US/Canada and maths in the UK/Australia/NZ etc.
molasses	treacle	Food	Sugar syrup.
mononucleosis	Glandular fever	Illness
Mortician	Funeral director	Occupation
mouth guard	gum shield	Personal
oatmeal, grits	porridge or porridge oats	Food	Boiled cereals or grains cooked in milk or water. Grits is a porridge made from corn but isn’t common in the UK.
overpass	flyover	Motoring
pacifier	dummy, comforter	Baby	Also referred to as a binky or soother in some other countries.
package	parcel	Home	In UK a package would be bigger than a flat envelope.
pads	towels	Personal	Tampons gets the message across in both countries.
pajamas	pyjamas	Clothing	Sleepwear, both of Persian origin, with lots of abbreviations including PJs, jimjams, jimmyjams, jimmies or jammies.
panties	knickers	Clothing	Generally both refer to underwear for women.
pants	underwear	Confusing	Pants can be trousers, jeans or slacks in the US.
pantyhose	tights	Clothing	Tights are thick pantyhose in the US.
parentheses	brackets	Education	Brits understand parentheses but commonly refer to () as brackets. Brackets are also used to hold up shelves.
parking garage	multi-storey car park	Places, Motoring
parking lot	car park	Places, Motoring
pasties (nipple coverings)	meat pies	Confusing	Cornish pasties are famous.
pecker	courage, spirits	Rude	“Keep your pecker up” means “keep your spirits up” in UK. It’s not slang for penis!
pharmacist, drug store, pharmacy	Chemist	Places	One of those British vs American words that really should be standardized worldwide.
phone, cell phone	telephone, mobile phone, mobile	Technology	As time passes will we eventually just settle on “phones”?
pitcher	jug	Drink	Some UK pubs do sell beer in pitchers.
planter wart	verruca	Health	On feet.
plastic wrap, Saran wrap, plastic film	cling-film, food wrap	Food	Thin plastic food wrap that clings to itself.
popsicle	ice lolly	Food	Typically on a wooden or plastic stick.
principle	head	Education	Head teacher, headmaster, headmistress.
purse	handbag	Confusing	Women in the UK use purses to hold money, which they put in their handbag along with many other items.
railroad	railway	Transport
rain boots, gumboots, rubber boots	wellies, Wellington boots	Footwear	Wellington boots were made popular in the UK by Arthur Wellesley the 1st Duke of Wellington.
raincoat	mac, macintosh	Clothing	A Mac is now more likely to refer to an Apple computer than a raincoat.
raise (salary)	pay rise	Money
rappel	abseil	Sport	Descent on a rope down a mountain or building. Both are loanwords; rappel from french, abseil from german.
realtor	estate agent	Occupation
recess	break	Education	Tea break, lunch break etc.
resume	CV	Education	CV short for Curriculum Vitae which is Latin for “the course of life”.
RIF, RIF’d, pink slip	P45	Jobs	if you get your P45 you’ve been fired!
rubber	eraser	Confusing	A rubber is a condom in the US, in the right context rubber would be understood in the UK.
Rube Goldberg device, Goldbergian	Heath Robinson device	Technology	Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) and Heath Robinson (1872-1944) both illustrated whimsically complicated devices to achieve simple tasks. Heath Robinson cartoons became popular during WWI. At around the same time Rube Goldberg cartoons, including animated cartoons for Pathé News were popular. Both historical British vs American words that remain in common use today.
RV park	caravan site, caravan park	Transport	Typically provide electrical outlets, toilets, and washing facilities.
RV, recreational vehicle	camper van, motor home	Transport	US style truck campers (TC) are called camper vans in the UK. There are many variations of motorhome and trailer combinations used around the world.
Scallions	Spring onions	Food
school quiz	test	Education	Quizzes are generally for fun in UK, tests tend to be more serious.
Scotch tape	Sellotape	Household	Both brand names for pressure sensitive adhesive tape. Sometimes called “sticky tape” in the UK.
second floor	first floor	Hotels	Even more irritating.
semen	spunk	Rude
senior citizen	OAP	People	Old Age Pensioner
shag (rug, dance)	sexual intercourse	Rude	Use carefully!
shedding (hair)	moulting	Hair
sidewalk	pavement	Places	Path is more commonly used today. A pavement was traditionally formed using “paving slabs”, they’re mostly asphalt these days.
silverware, flatware	cutlery	Kitchen	Knives, forks and spoons.
sleep, nap	kip	Rude	A kip house is a brothel in the US.
sneakers	trainers, plimsolls	Footwear
soccer	football	Sport	Soccer was originally a British word which declined in use except in the context of international football including soccer in the USA.
soda	fizzy drink	Drink	Americans use “soda” as a generic term for all soft “fizzy drinks” including cola.
sophomore year	second year	Education	Both countries have freshers/freshman first years.
sprinkles	hundreds and thousands	Food	On cakes and trifles.
spunk	courage	Rude
squash	marrow	Food	And other gourds including, in the UK, Butternut Squash.
station wagon	estate car	Transport
stove	cooker	Kitchen	Or range.
streetcar	tram	Transport	In Europe (Australia etc.) “trams” covers all streetcar systems which share roads with other forms of transport. Streetcar systems which run on dedicated track or have private/exclusive right of way are called “light rail.”
stroller	pushchair or buggy	Baby
subway	underground	Places
sucker	lollipop	Food	Sucker also means a fool in both countries.
suspenders	braces	Confusing	Braces are used to hold up trousers in UK.
sweater	jumper	Clothing
sweatpants	tracksuit bottoms	Sport, Clothing	Soft casual trousers, originally for athletics, now popular comfort and casual wear. US: Sweatpants. UK: Tracksuit bottoms, joggers, trackie bottoms. Australia: Trackpants, trackies, tracky daks.
Swede	Rutabaga	Food	British vs American words are often different for vegetable family names.
table a motion	table a motion	Business	In the US the motion has been postponed. In the UK the motion is ready to discuss now!
takeout	takeaway	Food	Food to go or delivered.
thongs	flip-flops	Confusing	Thongs are similar to g-strings in the UK.
tire	tyre	Transport
track and field	athletics	Sports	One of those British vs American words that really should be standardized worldwide.
traffic circle	roundabout	Motoring
travel trailer	caravan, mobile home	Transport
truck	lorry	Transport
trunk (of car)	boot	Transport
two weeks	fortnight	Time
undershirt	vest	Clothing	Also semmit is used in Scotland and Ireland.
vacation	holiday	Travel	“Staycation” is becoming a popular expression for a “holiday at home” in UK.
vacationer	holidaymaker	Travel
vajayjay	vagina	Rude
vest	waistcoat	Clothing
vise grips	Mole grips	Hardware	[American says] There’s no mole though is there?
wash up	wash your hands	Home	In the UK wash up would be doing the dishes. Many public toilets/washrooms display “Now wash your hands” signs.
windbreaker	windcheater	Clothing	Or a cagoule.
windshield	windscreen	Motoring
wrench	spanner	Hardware
yard	garden	Places
zero	nil	Sport	In football (soccer) zero is never used. If the score is 3-0 you say “three-nil” not “three-zero”.
ZIP code	Postcode	Home, Transport, Technology	Postal codes, as zones, were first used in London, England in 1857. The modern ZIP (Zone Improvement Code) was introduced in Soviet Ukraine in 1932. USA: ZIP codes where introduced in 1963. UK: Postcodes introduced from 1959, widespread by 1974. Canada: Postal codes introduced 1971, widespread by 1974. Australia: Postcodes were introduced in 1967. New Zealand: Postcodes were introduced in 1977. India: PIN code (Postal Index System) was introduced in 1972.
Zucchini	Courgette	Food	[Brit says] Courgette from french cuisine.

“England and America are Two Countries Separated by the Same Language” – George Bernard Shaw

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