Spelling Differences—US vs UK English

There are numerous spelling differences between British and American English. In which country is your target journal published? Does your target journal use US or UK spellings? (I have seen several journals that appear to use a combination of both, and not always consistently.)

The table and exceptions noted below cover the bulk of the spelling differences. For a more comprehensive list of individual words spelled differently in British and American English, Google the phrase “US vs UK spelling” and take your pick of pages from the search results.

Spelling Difference	British English	American English
Certain words end in -tre in UK English and -ter in American English; for example:	centre theatre	center theater
Certain words end in -ogue in UK English and -og in American English; for example,	analogue catalogue	analog catalog
Certain words end in -our in UK English and -or in American English; for example,	rigour colour labour favour honour humour	rigor color labor favor honor humor
Certain verbs end in -ise (first preferred) or -ize in UK English but always end in -ize in American English; for example,	realise, realize harmonise, harmonize	realize harmonize
Certain nouns ending in –e will be spelled with a –ce ending in UK English and an –se ending in American English; for example,	defence, offence, pretence, licence	defense, offense, pretense, license
Final “L” is always doubled after a vowel in stressed and unstressed syllables in UK English, but is usually doubled only in stressed syllables in American English; for example,	counsellor rebel > rebelled travel > travelled label > labelled	counselor rebel > rebelled travel > traveled label > labeled

Exceptions

English is one of the most exception-laden languages on earth. Here are some notable exceptions that, unlike the spellings in the above table, cannot be characterized by a rule.

Mould is the British spelling; mold is the American spelling.
Tyre is the British spelling; tire is the American spelling.
Grey is the British spelling; gray is the American spelling.
Cheque is the British spelling; check is the American spelling.
Jewellery is the British spelling; jewelry is the American spelling.
Speciality is the British spelling; specialty is the American spelling.

Lastly in the UK, practise is the spelling for the verb, while the noun is spelled practice. In the USA, however, both verb and noun are spelled practice.

The spelling chart and exceptions above, of course, don’t take into account the many instances in which word choice is entirely different within the two countries; e.g., drugstore (US) vs. chemist (UK), truck (US) vs. lorry (UK), elevator (US) vs. lift (UK), etc.