| 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