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

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Compare meaning

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

• British English vs. American English

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

British English

The 1913 British English translation by Constance Garnett has long been the most widely read version of “The Idiot.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

I say "com-FOR-table", and would probably swallow my tongue saying "CAM-for-table", in the style of Ms Stephens's British English.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2023

Meanwhile, Twitter users falsely claimed Apple iPads would display the message for any users who selected British English in their language settings.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 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

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 Ann Wilson

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