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Britishism

American  
[brit-i-shiz-uhm] / ˈbrɪt ɪˌʃɪz əm /

noun

  1. Briticism.

  2. any custom, manner, characteristic, or quality peculiar to or associated with the British people.

  3. the aggregate of such qualities regarded as characteristic of a British person.

    His cool reserve is just part of his Britishism.


Britishism British  
/ ˈbrɪtɪˌʃɪzəm /

noun

  1. a variant of Briticism

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Britishism

First recorded in 1880–85; British + -ism


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.

See Examples For:

“Aerated” being a Britishism that means “agitated, angry or overexcited.”

From Washington Post ● Mar. 5, 2021

When asked if this was an arcane Britishism, he replied, “No. It’s autocorrect gone mad.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2016

Bedlamite,” an obsolete Britishism, is there because it’s a word that a literary guy like Mercer would know.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 12, 2015

“I’ll always come a cropper at some point,” Everett says cheerfully, using a Britishism for “screw up.”

From New York Times ● May 10, 2013

The Britishism Invasion Language corruption is a two-way street.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2011

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