british vs american words

British vs American Words 🇬🇧🇺🇸

British vs American Words List 🇬🇧🇺🇸

ADDucation’s list of British vs American words list focuses on words and phrases which can be misunderstood. Some cause confusion, others embarrassment, and some are just funny. We’ve left out simple spelling differences and words which have obvious alternatives. Cultural exchange is alive and well. British TV shows are popular in the US and American TV series are popular in the UK. Maybe comparing British vs American words will be redundant one day? Until then let’s celebrate the differences between British vs American words.

  • ADDucation’s British vs American words list was compiled by Joe Connor and last updated 18 Mar 2021.

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🇺🇸 US Word/Phrase 🇬🇧 UK Word/Phrase Keywords 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 Potentially embarrassing British vs American words difference.
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, swim suit, swimming suit swimming costume Clothing Swimsuits covers both. In the UK 🇬🇧 men wear swimming trunks. Fashion for women offers one-piece swimsuits, two-piece bikinis, tankinis and more variations.
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.
  • 🇺🇸 USA: In public ask “Where are the restrooms?” Asking for the toilet may be considered impolite. Most signage points to Restrooms.
  • 🇨🇦 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!
pubes, public hair pubes, pubic hair, front bottom area, beaver 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 Perhaps beggar or vagrant would be less confusing? In the UK 🇬🇧 a bum is what you sit on. A beach bum is likes being on a beach. You can also bum something off someone, e.g. “can I bum a cigarette from you?”. In the US 🇺🇸 a tramp is a derogatory for an immoral woman.
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 🇺🇸 or central reservation 🇬🇧.
do the dishes wash up Home
downtown city or town centre Places
drapes, curtains curtains, drapes Home
dumpster skip Hardware
Eggplant Aubergine Food
  • 🇺🇸 USA, 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇦🇺 Australia, 🇳🇿 NZ and most Commonwealth countries: Eggplant is widely used.
  • 🇬🇧 The Brits use Aubergine, borrowed from french cuisine.
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 🇺🇸. Potentially embarrassing British vs American words difference.
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 There are quite a few differences between British vs American words for foodstuffs.
first floor / ground floor ground floor Hotels
  • 🇺🇸 US: The floor above the ground floor is the second floor
  • 🇬🇧 UK: The floor above the ground floor is the first floor.
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 reception Hotels Reception desk or reception seems to be taking over from front desk.
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, filling stations 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 for adults and children.
intersection crossroads Motoring
intimate apparel, lingerie 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 Kilroy was here but Chad was there first!
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 were used in other countries including 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 🇬🇧 does have launderettes they are not as common as in the 🇺🇸.
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
  • 🇺🇸🇨🇦 USA/Canada: Math
  • 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿 UK, Australia, New Zealand (and more): Maths
molasses treacle Food Sugar syrup.
mononucleosis glandular fever Illness
funeral director, mortician funeral director, undertaker Occupation Mortician is old-fashioned and undertaker are both largely superceded by funeral director.
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 which is uncommon in the UK 🇬🇧.
overpass flyover Motoring Underpass is commonly used in the UK but not overpass.
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 (of Persian origin). The abbreviation Pjs seems to be understood everywhere. Other words include jimjams, jimmyjams, jimmies, jammies etc.
panties knickers Clothing Generally both refer to underwear for women.
pants underwear Confusing
  • 🇺🇸 American: Pants can be trousers or slacks which are semi-formal (suit pants, dress slacks, etc.). Trousers are usually casual – but not jeans which are made of denim
  • 🇬🇧 British: Pants are usually underwear (knickers, briefs).
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 In general brits use lot to describe a quantity where “a lot” is the opposite of “a little”, rather than a place.
pasties (nipple coverings) meat pies Confusing Cornish pasties are famous pastries.
pecker courage, spirits Rude “Keep your pecker up” means “keep your spirits up” in UK 🇬🇧. It’s not generally slang for penis.
pharmacist, drug store, pharmacy Chemist Places, confusing 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.
principal head Education Head teacher, headmaster, headmistress.
purse, handbag handbag Confusing
  • 🇺🇸 US: Purse is common in the Midwest (and elsewhere?). Handbag is common in the Northeast. Women store money in a billfold which sometimes includes a coin purse area.
  • 🇬🇧 UK: Women use purses to store notes, coins, cards and so one which they place inside their handbag along with many other “essential” 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, real estate agent estate agent Occupation
recess, break break, recess Education
  • 🇺🇸 US: Recess is either a play break in elementary (primary) school or between proceedings in court or Congress. Short coffee and lunch breaks in workplaces are common
  • 🇬🇧 UK: Tea break, coffee break, lunch breaks are all in common usage. Recess can be used instead of break, most likely in public (i.e. Private) schools. Recess is used in Parliament and for breaks in government procedures.
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 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 Food is a rich source of British vs American words.
school quiz test Education
  • 🇺🇸 US: School quizzes are taken between tests and are common at all educational levels
  • 🇬🇧 UK: Quizzes are generally for fun, 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 Semen is understood, spunk is slang.
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 cutlery, silverware, flatware Kitchen
  • 🇺🇸 US: Cutlery refers to just knives (knives cut) rather than a set of cutlery which can also be called flatware.
  • 🇬🇧 UK: Cutlery specifically means knives, forks and spoons. Silverware can be anything silver, silver plated or colored for serving or table use. Flatware includes plates, saucers etc.
sleep, nap kip, nap Rude A kip house is a brothel in the US.
sneakers, tennis shoes, gym shoes trainers, plimsolls Footwear
  • 🇺🇸 US: Midwest: tennis shoes (even if never used for tennis). Chicago area: gym shoes. Elsewhere sneakers is commonplace.
  • 🇬🇧 UK: Trainers is the most widely used, sneakers is understood. Plimsolls is old-fashioned but still used to describe footwear in school gym kit.
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.
soft drink, soda fizzy drink, soda Drink Americans use “soft drink” as a generic term for non-hard drinks (which contain alcohol) including cola.
Kool Aid, sticks, soft drink mixes squash Drink
  • 🇬🇧 British: Soft drinks which add powder or liquid concentrate to flavor water are called “squash” or “cordial” so look for Squash & Cordial in supermarkets. They do not taste like Butternut squash!
  • 🇺🇸 American: Soft drink powder “sticks” are popular and generally called Kool Aid irrespective of the brand. Concentrates are also available.
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, gourd Food And other gourds including, in the UK 🇬🇧, Butternut Squash.
station wagon estate car Transport
stove cooker, range Kitchen Or range.
streetcar tram Transport Streetcar seems US 🇺🇸 centric. In the rest of the world “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” in both countries.
stroller pushchair or buggy Baby Stoller is also understood in the UK.
subway underground Places
sucker lollipop Food Sucker also means a fool in most English speaking 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, carry out takeaway Food Food to go or delivered. In the US 🇺🇸 take outs are often down-market establishments.
thongs, flip flops flip-flops Confusing Thongs is old-fashioned in the US 🇺🇸 but still common in Australia 🇦🇺. 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 roundabout Motoring Both are understood in both coutries so no problem.
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 your hands, 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 Motoring is a rich source of British vs American words.
wrench spanner Hardware
yard garden Places
  • 🇺🇸 USA: Back yards may be called back gardens in some situations.
  • 🇬🇧 UK: Front gardens are between the road and the house, back gardens are behind the house. Yards are usually commerical building suppliers.
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.
See also: Common foreign words…

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

FAQs about British vs American words and language 🇬🇧🇺🇸

FAQs About British vs American Words

Is American a Language?

No, “American” is not a language. “American English” is a dialect of English.

Why Do Americans and the British Spell Words Differently?

The main reason is Noah Webster, the man behind the first grammar schoolbooks and the Webster Dictionary. Webster asserted American cultural independence by spelling words like they sound (e.g. “favor” instead of “favour”) etc.

Why is British and American English Punctuation Different?

The key difference is the use of quotation marks which were the same until 1906 when “The King’s English” book on English usage was published in Britain. It advocated moving full stops (periods) and commas outside quotation marks to protect the thin/delicate punctuation metal type. This change was not adopted in north America resulting in the two different styles in use today.

ADDucation Lists Related to Language Differences

8 responses to “British vs American Words 🇬🇧🇺🇸”

  1. Derek says:
    March 12, 2021 at 7:16 am

    Here’s my input from an American perspective:

    • Flip flops is more common than thongs in the USA these days, although we exclusively call them thongs back in the day
    • Carry out is as common take out. In Chicago “take outs” are commonly “greasy spoon” type places
    • The flavored sugar added to water based drinks is universally called Kool Aid – even if it isn’t that particular brand – kind of like Hoover instead of vacuum cleaner
    • Garden is common for a “back yard” if it is small and intimate (back garden, say, in a smaller lot urban setting)
    • Cutlery is a commonly used word in the States, but generally refers to knives only (knives cut, get it)
    • Hotels often have a mezzanine floor half floor below or above the ground/1st floor
    • US Mid-terms are tests/exams are taken halfway through a semester with final exams (finals) at the end. Pop quizzes are unannounced mini-tests to make sure students have been keeping up with their reading assignments
    • Where I grew up in the Midwest, sneakers were almost universally called tennis shoes, even if one never even considered playing tennis. In the Chicago area where I live, they’re called gym shoes. In the Northeast and elsewhere I suppose, sneakers is more common
    • Drapes are more big and heavy floor to ceiling type; curtains more light and fitted more closely to window size.

    I was only going to mention a few but got carried away – in these Covid times what else am I going to do?

    Reply
    • Joe Connor says:
      March 18, 2021 at 11:38 pm

      Hi Derek, thanks for your detailed suggestions to improve our british vs american words list. I’ve incorporated most of your comments into the main list. Here are the rest of your comments so other people can comment.

      Reply
  2. Sandithma Basnayake says:
    February 2, 2021 at 10:18 am

    I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS! This has been very helpful for me. I am not originally from America or Britain but I studied British English from a small age and was still confused about the differences between the two English types. I do still have a question though. What is the difference between College and University? Is it like the same thing or 2 different institutions?

    Reply
    • Joe Connor says:
      February 11, 2021 at 3:27 pm

      Hi Sandithma, that makes us happy 🙂
      In general terms universities award degrees and offer post graduate options. Some colleges (and other institutions) may award degrees alongside undergraduate and other courses.

      Reply
  3. Sandy says:
    February 2, 2021 at 10:07 am

    I really loved this list – it was very helpful! I had a lot of trouble with the difference between American English and British English and feel much better after reading this list which helped clear upi my doubts!

    Reply
  4. Scott Catulle says:
    February 26, 2015 at 2:54 am

    I am curious as to an old song by Julian Lennon, in which he says, “Sitting on a pebble by the river playing guitar”. I am curious as to whether a “Pebble” in England means “Rock”? Forgive me for stating the obvious, but in the U.S., a Pebble would be a very tiny rock…like the size of a marble or smaller. Just curious if it has a different meaning in the U.K.? I love your website, btw!

    Reply
    • Joe says:
      March 6, 2015 at 4:32 am

      Hi Scott, pebbles are small in England too. They’re generally stones which have been worn smooth by erosion on beaches and can certainly be bigger than marbles. An individual pebble could be big enough to sit on, as the lyric suggests, but we’d probably call anything large enough to sit on a smooth rock. Glad you love the website, thanks for commenting.

      Reply

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