British-American English

Here are some British/American differences based in part on information from the Collins English Dictionary (1979):

A

• action replay (British) = instant replay (American)
• adrenaline (British) = epinephrine (American)
• Akela (British) = Den Mother (American)
• Alsatian (British) = German shepherd (American)
• anaesthetics (British) = anesthesiology (American)
• anaesthetist (British) = anesthesiologist (American)
• ankle sock (British) = anklet (American)
• anticlockwise (British) = counterclockwise (American)
• Armistice Day (British) = Veterans Day (American)
• arse (British) = ass (American)
• articulated lorry (British) = trailer truck (American)
• aubergine (British) = eggplant (American)

B

• Baby-walker [TM] (British) = go-cart (American)
• back boiler (British) = water back (American)
• bank clerk (British) = teller (American)
• bank holiday (British) = legal holiday (American)
• bearing rein (British) = checkrein (American)
• beetroot (British) = red beet (American)
• bill (British) = check (American)
• bill of lading (British) = waybill (American)
• billion (British) = trillion (American)
• biscuit (British) = cookie (American)
• Black Maria (British) = patrol wagon (American)
• black pudding (British) = blood sausage (American)
• blackboard (British) = chalkboard (American)
• blinkers [Horses,etc.] (British) = blinders [Horses,etc.] (American)
• blow one's own trumpet (British) = horn (American)
• blowlamp (British) = blowtorch (American)
• blowpipe (British) = blowgun (American)
• blue-eyed boy (British) = fair-haired boy (American)
• bookstall (British) = newsstand (American)
• boot (British) = trunk (American)
• bottom drawer (British) = hope chest (American)
• bowler (British) = derby (American)
• braces (British) = suspenders (American)
• brake van (British) = caboose (American)
• break (British) = recess (American)
• Breathalyzer (British) = drunkometer (American)
• buttonhole (British) = boutonniere (American)

C

• calamine (British) = smithsonite (American)
• Camberwell beauty (British) = mourning cloak (American)
• candyfloss (British) = cotton candy (American)
• cannon (British) = carom (American)
• car park (British) = parking lot (American)
• caravan (British) = trailer (American)
• cartoon (British) = comic strip (American)
• cash on delivery (British) = collect on delivery (American)
• catapult (British) = slingshot (American)
• catch pit (British) = catch basin (American)
• cattle truck (British) = stock car (American)
• central reserve (British) = median strip (American)
• chips (British) = French fries (American)
• cine camera (British) = movie camera (American)
• cine film (British) = movie film (American)
• claw setting (British) = Tiffany setting (American)
• combinations (British) = union suit (American)
• cornflour (British) = cornstarch (American)
• cos (British) = romaine (American)
• cotton wool (British) = absorbent cotton (American)
• counterfoil (British) = stub (American)
• county town (British) = county seat (American)
• coupling [Electronics] (British) = coupler [Electronics] (American)
• courgette (British) = zucchini (American)
• court card (British) = face card (American)
• creeping thistle (British) = Canada thistle (American)
• crisp (British) = potato chip (American)
• crotchet (British) = quarter note (American)
• current account (British) = checking account (American)
• cutthroat (British) = straight razor (American)

D

• delivery van (British) = panel truck (American)
• demisemiquaver (British) = thirty-second note (American)
• dicky (British) = rumble seat (American)
• dinner jacket (British) = tuxedo (American)
• dip (British) = dim (American)
• dip [Lighting] (British) = dim [Lighting] (American)
• diver (British) = loon (American)
• docker (British) = longshoreman (American)
• dosshouse (British) = flophouse (American)
• double-declutch (British) = double-clutch (American)
• double saucepan (British) = double boiler (American)
• double up (British) = parlay (American)
• downpipe (British) = downspout (American)
• draught (British) = checker (American)
• draughts (British) = checkers (American)
• draughtsman (British) = checker (American)
• drawknife (British) = spokeshave (American)
• dual carriageway (British) = divided highway (American)
• dumbwaiter (British) = lazy Susan (American)
• dummy (British) = pacifier (American)
• dust coat (British) = duster (American)
• dustbin (British) = ash can (American)
• dustbin (British) = garbage can (American)
• dustcart (British) = garbage truck (American)
• duster (British) = dust cloth (American)

E

• earth (n.) [Electrical] (British) = ground (n.) [Electrical] (American)
• earth (vb.) [Aircraft/pilot/etc.] (British) = ground (vb.) [Aircraft/Pilot/etc.] (American)
• electric chair (British) = hot seat (American slang)
• engaged tone (British) = busy signal (American)
• episcope (British) = opaque projector (American)
• ergonomics (British) = biotechnology (American)
• estate agent (British) = realtor (American)
• ex-directory (British) = unlisted (American)
• filling station (British) = gas station (American)
• film (British) = motion picture (American)
• filmset (British) = photocompose (American)
• filmsetting (British) = photocomposition (American)
• fin (British) = vertical stabilizer (American)
• financial year (British) = fiscal year (American)
• fireman (British) = fire boss (American)
• first floor (British) = second floor (American)
• flannel (British) = washcloth (American)
• flat (British) = apartment (American)
• flatten (vb.) [Music] (British) = flat (vb.) [Music] (American)
• fleabane (British) = horseweed (American)
• flex (British) = cord (American)
• flick knife (British) = switchblade (American)
• float (British) = flutterboard (American)
• follow-my-leader (British) = follow-the-leader (American)
• foreign minister (British) = secretary of state (American)
• foreign office (British) = state department (American)
• four-stroke (British) = four-cycle (American)
• frame (British) = rack (American)
• French fried potatoes (British) = French fries (American)
• French windows (British) = French doors (American)
• friendly society (British) = benefit association (American)
• friendly society (British) = benefit society (American)
• Friesian (British) = Holstein (American)
• full stop (British) = period (American)
• funeral parlour (British) = funeral home (American)

G

• gammy (British) = gimpy (American)
• garden (British) = yard (American)
• germander speedwell (British) = bird's-eye speedwell (American)
• gillion (British) = billion (American)
• glaze ice (British) = glaze (American)
• glazing-bar (British) = muntin (American)
• go-slow (British) = slowdown (American)
• grammar school (British) = elementary school (American)
• gramophone (British) = phonograph (American)
• green fingers (British) = green thumb (American)
• grey mullet (British) = mullet (American)
• grill (British) = broil (American)
• guard's van (British) = caboose (American)
• gudgeon pin (British) = wrist pin (American)
• Guide (British) = Girl Scout (American)

H

• hairtail (British) = cutlass fish (American)
• have a canary (British) = have a cow (American)
• have kittens (British) = have a cow (American)
• hemidemisemiquaver (British) = sixty-fourth note (American)
• hemlock (British) = poison hemlock (American)
• herdsman (British) = herder (American)
• hide (British) = blind (American)
• hipsters (British) = hip-huggers (American)
• hire-purchase (British) = installment buying (American)
• holdall (British) = carryall (American)
• holiday (British) = vacation (American)
• horseman (British) = caballero (American)
• hot up (British) = hop up (American slang)
• houseman (British) = intern (American)

I

• icing sugar (British) = confectioners' sugar (American)
• industrial estate (British) = industrial park (American)
• Inland Revenue (British) = Internal Revenue (American)
• insulating tape (British) = friction tape (American)
• invigilate (British) = proctor (American)
• ironmonger (British) = hardware dealer (American)

J

• jelly (British) = jello (American)
• jelly (British) = Jello [TM] brand gelatin
• jug (British) = pitcher (American)
• juice extractor (British) = juicer (American)
• jumble sale (British) = rummage sale (American)
• jump leads (British) = jumper cables (American)

K

• kennel (British) = doghouse (American)
• King's Scout (British) = Eagle Scout (American)
• kiss curl [Hair] (British) = spit curl [Hair] (American)

L

• ladybird (British) = ladybug (American)
• leader [Journalism] (British) = leading article [Journalism] (American)
• left-luggage office (British) = checkroom (American)
• level crossing (British) = grade crossing (American)
• lift (British) = elevator (American)
• light engine (British) = wildcat (American)
• lignocaine (British) = lidocaine (American)
• linesman (British) = lineman (American)
• local authority (British) = local government (American)
• long jump (British) = broad jump (American)
• loose cover (British) = slipcover (American)
• lorry (British) = truck (American)
• loud-hailer (British) = bullhorn (American)
• loudspeaker van (British) = sound truck (American)
• Ltd. (British) = Inc. (American)
• luggage van (British) = baggage car (American)
• lumberjacket (British) = lumberjack (American)
• luncheon voucher (British) = meal ticket (American)

M

• maize (British) = corn (American)
• market gardening (British) = truck farming (American)
• mepacrine (British) = quinacrine (American)
• mileometer (British) = odometer (American)
• millefeuille (British) = napoleon (American)
• milliard (British) = billion (American)
• mineral (British) = soda (American)
• minim (British) = half-note (American)
• misplaced modifier (British) = dangling participle (American)
• mobile library (British) = bookmobile (American)
• motorway (British) = superhighway (American)
• MTB (Motor Torpedo Boat) (British) = PT (Patrol Torpedo) boat (American)
• mudguard (British) = fender (American)
• music hall (British) = vaudeville (American)

N

• nappy (British) = diaper (American)
• natural [Music] (British) = cancel [Music] (American)
• new wool (British) = virgin wool (American)
• Nissen hut (British) = Quonset hut (American)
• noradrenaline (British) = norepinephrine (American)
• notice board (British) = bulletin board (American)
• noughts and crosses (British) = crisscross (American)
• noughts and crosses (British) = tick-tack-toe (American)
• numberplate (British) = license plate (American)

O

• odd fish (British) = oddball (American)
• off-licence (British) = package store (American)
• on the cards (British) = in the cards (American)
• open day (British) = open house (American)
• ordinary shares (British) = common stock (American)
• overhead-valve engine (British) = valve-in-head engine (American)

P

• packet [Container] (British) = package [Container] (American)
• pants (British) = shorts (American)
• parting (British) = part (American)
• parting [Hair] (British) = part [Hair] (American)
• patience (British) = solitaire (American)
• pavement (British) = sidewalk (American)
• pedestrian crossing (British) = crosswalk (American)
• peg (British) = clothespin (American)
• penny-farthing [Bicycle] (British) = ordinary (American)
• pepperwort (British) = peppergrass (American)
• pernickety (British) = persnickety (American)
• petrol (British) = gas (American)
• petrol (British) = gasoline (American)
• pharmacist (British) = druggist (American)
• pinafore dress (British) = jumper (American)
• platelayer (British) = trackman (American)
• Plough (British) = the Big Dipper (American)
• point [Railway] (British) = switch [Railroad] (American)
• pointsman [Railway] (British) = switchman [Railroad] (American)
• post (British) = mail (American)
• postcode (British) = zip code (American)
• pram (British) = baby carriage (American)
• preference shares (British) = preferred stock (American)
• press-up [Exercise] (British) = push-up [Exercise](American)
• prise (British) = pry (American)
• pushchair (British) = stroller (American)
• put off (British) = put over (American)

Q

• quadrillion (British) = septillion (American)
• quaver (British) = eighth note (American)
• queen's evidence (British) = state's evidence (American)
• Queen's Scout (British) = Eagle Scout (American)
• queue (British) = line (American)
• quin (British) = quint (American)
• quintillion (British) = nonillion (American)

R

• racecourse (British) = racetrack (American)
• rag-and-bone man (British) = junkman (American)
• ragworm (British) = clamworm (American)
• railway (British) = railroad (American)
• rained off (British) = rained out (American)
• razor-shell (British) = razor clam (American)
• real tennis (British) = court tennis (American)
• red mullet (British) = goatfish (American)
• reel (British) = spool (American)
• relative majority (British) = plurality (American)
• repertory company (British) = stock company (American)
• request stop (British) = flag stop (American)
• resale price maintenance (British) = fair trade (American)
• reserve price (British) = upset price (American)
• return ticket (British) = round-trip ticket (American)
• right-angled triangle (British) = right triangle (American)
• rise (British) = raise (American)
• roundabout (British) = traffic circle (American)
• rowing boat (British) = rowboat (American)
• rowlock (British) = oarlock (American)
• rucksack (British) = backpack (American)

S

• saloon [Vehicle] (British) = sedan [Vehicle] (American)
• sawhorse (British) = buck (American)
• sea ranger (British) = mariner (American)
• second floor (British) = third floor (American)
• semibreve [Music] (British) = whole note [Music] (American)
• semiquaver [Music] (British) = sixteenth note [Music] (American)
• share certificate (British) = stock certificate (American)
• sharpen (vb.) [Music] (British) = sharp (vb.) [Music] (American)
• sherbet (British) = sorbet (American)
• shopsoiled (British) = shopworn (American)
• shopwalker (British) = floorwalker (American)
• shorthand typist (British) = stenographer (American)
• side [Billiards] (British) = english [Billiards] (American)
• sideboards (British) = sideburns (American)
• silencer (British) = muffler (American)
• single ticket (British) = one-way ticket (American)
• sit out (vb.) [Sailing] (British) = hike out (vb.) [Sailing] (American)
• skirting board (British) = baseboard (American)
• skirting board (British) = mopboard (American)
• skirting board (British) = washboard (American)
• slap-bang (British) = slam-bang (American)
• sleeper (British) = tie (American)
• sleeve (British) = jacket (American)
• sleeving (British) = spaghetti (American)
• slide (British) = barrette (American)
• slowcoach (British) = slowpoke (American)
• socket (British) = outlet (American)
• splodge (British) = splotch (American)
• spur (British) = gad (American West)
• stable door (British) = Dutch door (American)
• staff (British) = rod (American)
• steam organ (British) = calliope (American)
• stick insect (British) = walking stick (American)
• sticking plaster (British) = adhesive tape (American)
• stockbroker belt (British) = exurbia (American)
• stony-broke (British) = stone-broke (American)
• storm (British) = tempest in a teapot (American)
• straight (British) = straightaway (American)
• subscriber trunk dialling (British) = direct distance dialing (American)
• sunray pleats (British) = sunburst pleats (American)
• suspender (British) = garter (American)
• suspender belt (British) = garter belt (American)
• swallow dive (British) = swan dive (American)
• swede (British) = rutabaga (American)
• sweet shop (British) = candy store (American)
• swimming costume (British) = bathing suit (American)
• swine fever (British) = hog cholera (American)

T

• takeaway (British) = takeout (American)
• tallboy (British) = highboy (American)
• tap (British) = faucet (American)
• tape machine (British) = ticker (American)
• tapping (British) = tap (American)
• tea towel (British) = dishtowel (American)
• tea trolley (British) = tea cart (American)
• teleprinter (British) = teletypewriter (American)
• terraced house (British) = row house (American)
• thorn apple (British) = jimson weed (American)
• tick (British) = check (American)
• tie (British) = necktie (American)
• timber (British) = lumber (American)
• timberyard (British) = lumberyard (American)
• torch (British) = flashlight (American)
• torsk (British) = cusk (American)
• town planning (British) = city planning (American)
• trapezium (British) = trapezoid (American)
• trillion (British) = quintillion (American)
• trouser suit (British) = pantsuit (American)
• trousers (British) = wear the pants (American)
• tube (British) = subway (American)
• turn up (British) = cuff (American)
• turntable ladder (British) = aerial ladder (American)
• two-stroke (British) = two-cycle (American)

U

• underground (British) = subway (American)
• underseal (British) = undercoat (American)

V

• valve (British) = vacuum tube (American)
• van [Tennis] (British) = ad [Tennis] (American)
• Venture Scout (British) = Explorer (American)
• vest (British) = T-shirt, undershirt (American)
• vest (British) = undershirt (American)
• veterinary surgeon (British) = veterinarian (American)
• Virginia creeper (British) = Boston ivy (American)
• visiting card (British) = calling card (American)

W

• waistcoat (British) = vest (American)
• wallet (British) = billfold (American)
• War of American Independence (British) = American Revolution (American)
• warden (British) = ranger (American)
• wastepaper basket (British) = wastebasket (American)
• watchstrap (British) = watchband (American)
• water diviner (British) = waterfinder (American)
• wholemeal (British) = whole-wheat (American)
• windmill (British) = pinwheel (American)
• windscreen (British) = windshield (American)
• windscreen wiper (British) = windshield wiper (American)
• wing (British) = fender (American)
• wintergreen (British) = shinleaf (American)
• working day (British) = workday (American)

Z

• zed (British) = zee (American)
• zip (British) = zipper (American)