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

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

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2024

“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

Although it is associated with the English city of Oxford, the Oxford comma is not actually considered standard in British English.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2022

Obama’s use of British English makes Brits suspicious.

From Washington Post • Jan. 13, 2022

Without these agencies which do so much to promote uniformity to-day, Italy and the rest of the Empire must have shown greater dialectal differences than we observe in American English or in British English even.

From The Common People of Ancient Rome Studies of Roman Life and Literature by Abbott, Frank Frost