British English

American  

noun

1. the English language as spoken and written in Great Britain, especially in southern England.

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Etymology

Origin of British English

First recorded in 1865–70

Compare meaning

How does british-english compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• British English vs. American English

Example Sentences

“Friendly warning, DO NOT set your iPad’s language to British English or it will go into mourning mode for the next couple of days,” read the tweet, which was shared more than 8,000 times.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 16, 2022

Some pointed out that the game’s official website uses a .co.uk domain — and that they expected it to use only British English and not American English.

From Washington Post • Jan. 13, 2022

However, when you hear British English or English spoken with a French, German, or Slavic accent, you may notice the difference, but you also may make a different set of assumptions about those people.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

For Popeyes, the American fried chicken chain that opened its first outlet in Britain over the weekend, the challenge was biscuits, which in British English means cookies, not flaky, tender bread.

From New York Times • Nov. 22, 2021

ENGLISH, IMPERIAL: Emperor Chang's regularized version of a combination of American and British English, with phoneticized spelling and somewhat modified vocabulary.

From Concordance A Terran Empire concordance by Wilson, Ann