With a language of continental proportions such as the English language, it is inevitable that some discrepancies in vocabulary use should occur in the different countries where English is spoken. Below is a list of some vernacular differences between the two most widely used forms of English, the British and and the American.
Whether English is your native language or not, you are sure to have fun learning the different forms English word meaning take in these countries. Beware: by reading these entries carefuly, you might avoid some embarasing situations in your next trip to America or Britain!
This is a partial list of words having different meanings in British and American English.
| Word | British English meanings | Meanings common to British and American English | American English meanings |
|---|---|---|---|
| air marshal | a senior air force officer (equivalent to an Army general or Navy admiral) | an undercover law enforcement officer on board a commercial aircraft, also known as a sky marshal | |
| à la mode | fashionable | with ice cream | |
| anaesthetist (UK), anesthetist (US) | physician trained to administer anaesthesia (US: anesthesiologist) | nurse or technician trained to administer anaesthesia | |
| appropriate (v.), appropriation (n.) | to take (money) to oneself, to filch or misappropriate | to take and assign (money) (there is considerable overlap but difference of emphasis) | to dispense (money), to budget |
| Asian | originating from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka (South Asian) | originating from the continent of Asia | originating from East Asia or continental Southeast Asia |
| athlete | one who participates in running, throwing, and jumping competitions | one who participates in sports in general | |
| athletics | running, throwing, and jumping competitions (US: track and field) | sport in general | |
| aubergine | the plant Solanum melongena, or the fruit thereof (US: eggplant) | an aubergine-like colour (US also: eggplant) | |
| awesome | inspiring awe, spectacular | great, "cool" * (largely used in the 1980s, recently revived; can have various connotations depending on context – compare UK brilliant) | |
| balmy (adj.) | insane (although usually spelt barmy today) | (usu. climate) pleasantly warm | |
| bathroom | room containing a bath (US: bathtub) or shower, other washing facilities, and usu. (but not necessarily) a toilet | room, in a home or hotel room, containing a toilet, related washing facilities, and often, but not necessarily, a shower or bathtub (Hence "Going to the bathroom" is a euphemism for going to the toilet even in a setting where one would not expect to find a bath, e.g. a restaurant or shop *) (a room without shower or bathtub may also be known as a powder room, but this usage may be considered dated) | |
| beaker | drinking vessel without a handle, or one (with or without handles) made of unbreakable plastic for the use of children (US: sippy cup) | flat-bottomed vessel, with a lip, used as a laboratory container. | |
| bespoke | (esp. of apparel) made to the customer's specification (US: custom-made, tailor-made) | pret. of bespeak | |
| billion | (traditionally) a million millions (1012) (US: trillion) | thousand million (109) (now most common in both UK and US) (traditional UK: milliard) (see also Long and short scales) | |
| blinkers | leather flaps on a bridle used to restrict a horse's lateral vision* (US usu.: blinders) | lights on a car that indicate the direction about to be taken * (UK: indicators) | |
| block (n.) | a building (block of flats, office block) | a solid piece of something obstruct | in a city, the portion of a street between adjacent intersections* or an informal rough unit of distance derived from the length of the same |
| bombardier | corporal in the Royal Artillery - see Bombardier (rank) | crew member of a bomber responsible for assisting the navigator in guiding the plane to a bombing target and releasing the aircraft's bomb load - see Bombardier (air force) (UK: bomb aimer) | |
| boob (n.) | a mistake (slang); (v.) to make a mistake | woman's breast (slightly vulgar slang) | stupid person |
| boob tube | woman's shoulderless, strapless top (US: tube top) | (the boob tube) television (slang) | |
| brackets | enclosing punctuation: ( ) (US & UK also: parentheses); more at braces | supports for shelves, etc. attached to a wall | secondary enclosing punctuation: [] (UK: square brackets) |
| brew (n.) | tea | beer | |
| buffet | railway carriage containing a refreshment counter selling snacks and drinks, esp. on a train on which a full restaurant car (US: dining car) service is not provided | 1.refreshment counter or bar; meal set out on a table, etc. for diners to serve themselves | a type of sideboard |
| bureau | a type of writing table | a public office or government agency | a type of chest of drawers |
| bus (v.) | to travel by bus | to clear (as tables) in a restaurant; to work as a busboy | |
| call box (n.) | telephone booth (UK also telephone box) | roadside emergency telephone | |
| call for (v.) | to require or advocate | to predict or anticipate ("The forecast calls for rain") | |
| campsite (n.) | area or park for people to camp in (US: campground) | spot for a particular person or group to camp, often within a campground (UK: pitch) | |
| canfield (n.) | a patience (solitaire) card game (US: Klondike) | a patience (solitaire) card game (UK: Demon) | |
| canoe (n.) | A (traditionally) skin-covered boat propelled using one or two single-blade paddles (UK also: Canadian canoe) | A similar boat propelled using a double-bladed paddle (UK: kayak, also used in US) | |
| carnival | (n.) the festive days just preceding Lent (US: Mardi Gras) | (adj.) suggesting a festive atmosphere | (n.) a travelling circus or fair (UK: funfair) comprising amusement rides |
| carousel (n.) | a moving luggage/baggage display unit, most often at airports | a rotating fairground ride (UK: merry-go-round, roundabout) | |
| carry-on, carryon | (colloquial) carrying-on, unruly behaviour | luggage that can be carried aboard an aircraft, bus, or train (UK: hand luggage or baggage) | |
| casket (n.) | a small box, as for jewels, particularly an antique | The type of coffin with upholstery and a half-open lid, any coffin | |
| casualty (person) | often, someone who has been wounded; hence casualty department (US: emergency room) | generally, someone who has been injured or killed | often, someone who has been killed; see also casualty insurance |
| chemist | pharmacist, pharmacy (US similar: druggist, drugstore) | student or researcher of chemistry | |
| chink | an expression of incredulity, similar to crap in American English | a crack, fissure (A chink in one's armor) spot, vulnerability | a racial slur for those of Chinese or east Asian ancestry |
| chip in | to express one's opinion (as in a conversation); to "chime in" | to contribute (as money) (orig. US) | |
| chips (food) | Long cuts of deep fried potato, usu. thick cut resembling American steak fries | French fries, in (orig. UK) phrase fish and chips | thin slices of fried potato* (UK: crisps) |
| cider | an alcoholic drink derived from apples (US: hard cider) | a nonalcoholic drink derived from apples | |
| comforter | a baby's dummy (q.v.) | one who comforts | quilted bedspread (UK: duvet) |
| commode | small cabinet | portable toilet for use in a room without plumbing | normal toilet, in a bathroom (q.v.) |
| condominium | a political territory (state or border area) in or over which two sovereign powers formally agree to share equally dominium (in the sense of sovereignty) and exercise their rights jointly | (also condo) a type of joint ownership of real property (as an apartment building) in which portions of the property are commonly owned and other portions are individually owned; an apartment in a condominium | |
| cot | infant bed; hence cot death (US: crib) | camp bed | |
| coulee | a (solidified) stream of lava | (chiefly Western, orig. Canadian) a deep steep-sided ravine formed by erosion, or a small valley or stream | |
| court shoe | a women's dress shoe with a heel (US: pump, q.v.) | a type of athletic shoe used for sports played on an indoor court, such as volleyball or squash (UK similar: plimsoll or regionally pump) | |
| crisp | fried potato slices with salt, sometimes with flavour (US: potato chips) | when something sounds clear and dry. | a term to sunburning. For example: Because he didn't have sunscreen, Jack was burnt to a crisp. |
| crumpet | an attractive female (slang) | A savoury waffle-like cake made from flour or potato and yeast | |
| cubicle | A compartment in a bathroom with low walls that contains a toilet. (US: stall) | A compartment in a larger area separated from similar adjoining compartments by low walls, such as in an office area. | |
| custodian | a football (soccer) goalkeeper | a keeper or guardian of a person or thing | one who cleans and maintains a building; a building superintendent, a janitor |
| daddy longlegs, daddy-long-legs | crane fly | daddy long-legs spider | harvestman |
| depot | a location (large building or piece of land) where buses, trams or trains are stored when not in use and maintained | a storehouse or depository; a location for the storage of military or naval supplies. A slow-release drug injection (usu. psychiatric) | a railroad station or bus terminal or station; also, an air terminal |
| DI | Detective inspector (police) | Drill instructor (military) | |
| diary | personal calendar * (US: appointment book, appointment calendar, datebook) | personal journal | |
| die (n.) | tool used in metalworking to form a part under pressure | singular of dice, numbered cube used in games of chance (UK: dice for both singular and plural) | |
| dim (trans. v.), dimmer (switch) | to reduce the intensity of a domestic, industrial or other light; hence dimmer (switch) | to lower a vehicle headlight's beam, typically when approaching vehicles travelling in the opposite direction at night (UK: dip); hence dimmer switch (UK: dip switch) | |
| diversion | circuitous route to avoid roadworks (US: detour) | deviation; recreation; tactic used to draw attention away from the action | |
| dresser (furniture) | a type of cupboard or sideboard esp. for kitchen utensils * | a chest of drawers, usu. with a looking glass (UK: dressing-table) | |
| drop (of liquid) | several (fluid) ounces ("just a drop of tea, please") (meiotic usage) | droplet (less than a milliliter) | |
| efficiency | the quality of being efficient | (or efficiency apartment) a minimal often furnished apartment, similar to a studio apartment (UK: compare bedsit) | |
| engineer | a technician or a person that mends and operates machinery | one employed to design, build or repair equipment titioner of engineering | one who operates an engine, esp. a locomotive (UK: engine driver) |
| entrée | starter (q.v.) of a meal (traditionally, the course served between the fish and the joint, but now used for any starter) | (usu. "the entrée") right of entry, insider-type access | main course of a meal |
| faculty | division of a university, dealing with a specific group of disciplines (e.g. faculty of arts) | academic staff of a school, college or university | |
| first degree | the least serious category of burn (see article) | the most serious category of a crime; of murder, carries a lifetime prison- or death-sentence (also informal murder one; see article) | |
| first floor (of a building) | the floor above ground level (US: second floor) | the floor at ground level (often, but not always, the same floor as a building's lobby) (UK: ground floor) | |
| flapjack | flat oat cake (US: granola bar) | pancake | |
| flannel | a cloth for washing the face or body (US: washcloth) | particular type of fabric/material used for the manufacture of trousers or suits, but more commonly recognised in America as a fabric used in warm winter night clothes and sheets | |
| fluid ounce (fl. oz.) | liquid measure equal to 28.41 millilitres | liquid measure equal to 29.57 milliliters | |
| football | (usually) Association football (US: soccer). Less frequently applied to Rugby football (espec. Rugby Union in English private schools). | American football | |
| footpath | a paved strip for pedestrian use, especially along the side of a road (US: sidewalk) | a narrow trail suitable only for foot traffic | |
| frog | French person (insulting slang)* | an amphibian | |
| full stop | punctuation mark used at the end of a sentence, sometimes used in speech for emphasis ("Whom does he support? Arsenal, full stop!") (US: period, q.v.) | complete stop (as of traffic) [2] |
Source and full list see: Wikipedia: List of words having different meanings in British and American English