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British English

noun

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



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Word History and Origins

Origin of British English1

First recorded in 1865–70
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Compare Meanings

How does British English compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Of the 10 accents studied, Glaswegians were perceived as most likely to stand up for someone who was being harassed, people with Scouse accents were seen as most likely to commit crimes and people with Standard Southern British English accents were viewed as most likely to report a relative to the police for a minor offence.

From BBC

"We have so many words that derive from the British English," Souza, a jazz singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, tells the BBC.

From BBC

He identified himself Tuesday as Arthur Knight Brown and gave a birthdate in British English — listing the day first, followed by the month and year — that is different from Rossi’s, KSTU-TV reported.

They identified three voices, estuary English, southern British English and multicultural London English.

From BBC

People with this accent tend to say vowels in their words like "bate" and "boat" with the tongue starting at a point higher up in the mouth compared to people with the standard southern British English, Dr Cole added.

From BBC

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