Common Words in American

and
British English
Here are a few of the more common words which are different in American and British
English. This is only meant to highlight some of the variety which exists within English,
and is not a complete list by any means. It also does not address different vocabulary
which is used in Australia, Canada, South Africa and India as well as the Caribbean,
Africa, and the many other places in the world which use English as the language of
commerce or government.

American British

apartment flat

argument row

baby carriage pram

band-aid plaster

bathroom loo or WC

can tin

chopped beef mince

cookie biscuit

corn maize

diaper nappy

elevator lift

eraser rubber

flashlight torch

fries chips

gas petrol

guy bloke, chap

highway motorway
hood (car) bonnet

jello jelly

jelly jam

kerosene paraffin

lawyer solicitor

license plate number plate

line queue

mail post

motor home caravan

movie theater cinema

muffler silencer

napkin serviette

nothing nought

overpass flyover

pacifier dummy

pants trousers

parking lot car park

period full stop

pharmacist chemist

potato chips crisps

rent hire

sausage banger

sidewalk pavement

soccer football

sweater jumper

trash can bin

truck lorry

trunk (car) boot

vacation holiday

vest waistcoat

windshield (car) windscreen

zip code postal code

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