British and American English

British to American
• Accumulator (automotive) = battery, car battery
• Alsatian (dog) = German shepherd
• Articulated lorry = tractor-trailer (truck), a "semi"
• Ass = donkey; U.S. ass = G.B. "arse," i.e. one's backside (in addition to normal "donkey")
• Athletics (an ... meet) = track and field
• Backlog = log-jam, pile-up (of business orders, for example). U.S. backlog = comfortable reserve of orders — difference between the two is in opposite interpretation or connotation of same basic situation.
• Bank holiday = holiday
• Bap = bun, hamburger bun, hamburger roll
• Mrs. Beeton = Fanny Farmer (standard cooking, household reference book)
• Bespoke = custom-tailored, tailor-made
• Big Dipper = roller coaster (at a "Fun-Fair" = "Amusement Park"
• Bilberry = blueberry
• "Bird" = "chick"
• Biro = Papermate (ball-point pen trade name which equals "generic" name)
• Biscuit = cookie (U.S. "biscuit" is a baked bread, "bap," "scone"
• Blancmange = vanilla pudding
• Block, block of flats = apartment building (U.S. term "block" [city block] unknown as such in British English, though usually understandable.
• "Bomb" (theater terminology) = a "hit," a great success. U.S. "bomb" = G.B. failure, critical disaster, i.e. the two are exact opposites in sentences like "The play was a bomb!"
• Boiler suit = overalls
• Bonnet (automotive) = hood (of a car...)
• Boot (automotive) = trunk (of a car...)
• Bottom drawer = hope chest
• Bowler (hat) = derby (special connotations & different pronunc.)
• Braces = suspenders; U.S. suspenders = G.B. garters, stocking fasteners
• Brambleberry = blackberry
• Bottom of the street = end of the street
• Box (TV) = Tube (both slang, colloquial terms)
• Bull = "mickey mouse" (unnecessary military drill); U.S. bull = G.B. cock
• Bum = ass, rectum; U.S. bum = G.B. tramp, derelict
• Bun in the oven = pregnant, eating for two
• Call box = (tele)phone booth
• Camp bed = cot; U.S. cot = G.B. baby bed
• Car park = parking lot
• Caretaker (for a building) = janitor (not same as "vahtimestari")
• Carriage (railway) = railroad car, subway car
• Carrier bag = shopping bag
• Caucus = permanent group in a political party; U.S. caucus = G.B. ad hoc planning meeting of a group in a political party
• Central reservation = median strip (between halves of a divided highway)
• Charge sheet = police record
• Chemist (drugstore) = druggist
• Chips = french fries; U.S. chips often = dried buffalo, cow dung (other cases, i.e. poker chips, wood chips, the same)
• Chucker-out = bouncer (doorman or "enforcer" in a bar/restaurant
• "In the City" = "on Wall Street" (in main financial district)
• City editor = financial editor; U.S. city editor = G.B. "community news editor"
• Cloakroom = toilet; U.S. cloakroom = clothes closet, garment storage area
• Coach = intercity bus
• Combinations = union suit (colloquial for long underwear)
• Comforter = scarf; U.S. comforter = heavy quilt, blanket
• Compére = Master of ceremonies, M.C. (of TV game show, etc.)
• Constable = (police) officer
• "To cop" = "to get" something unpleasant, i.e. "to cop a 15-pound fine." U.S. "to cop" = to plead guilty to a lesser charge in order to avoid prosecution & probable conviction on a more serious charge ("to cop a plea" = "plea-bargaining")
• Corn = all grain crops; U.S. corn = G.B. "maize" only.
• Costermonger = pushcart seller
• (Sent to) Coventry = ostracized
• Crisps = potato chips
• Cupboard = closet; U.S. closet = G.B. w.c., or toilet
• Davenport = antique folding writing desk; U.S. davenport = large sofa, often which folds out into a bed at night.
• Deposit account = savings account
• Dinner jacket = tuxedo ("black tie" formal dress)
• Dormitory = bedroom; U.S. dormitory = G.B. residence hall
• Dresser = kitchen sideboard; U.S. dresser = bedroom drawers, vanity
• "Duck" = "goose egg" (a zero on the scoreboard of a sports match)
• Dumb = mute; U.S. dumb usually means "stupid" rather than "mute," which is a secondary meaning in U.S. usage.
• Dustbin = garbage can, ashcan (exterior waste-disposal unit)
• Dynamo (automotive) = generator (within automobile engine)
• Earth wire = ground wire (in electricity, electronics)
• Elastic band = rubber band
• To Enjoin = to compel, to legally force; U.S. enjoin = to legally forbid — i.e. same term in same general contextual usage has precisely the opposite meaning
• Ex-serviceman = veteran; U.S. veteran = G.B. old ex-serviceman; (U.S. term has no special age connotation, only that the person have had prior military experience sometime)
• Fag = (a) cigarette; (b) public-school underclass "servant"; U.S. fag = low-slang term for male homosexual.
• Fanny = vagina (vulgar usage); U.S. fanny = light euphemism for "backside," either male or female.
• First floor = second floor, etc. (Britain walks in ground floor, goes up 1 set of stairs to first floor; U.S. ground floor and first floor are the same.
• Fish slice = pancake turner, spatula (kitchen tool); U.S. spatula = G.B. tongue depressor (medical instrument)
• Fitted carpet = wall-to-wall carpeting
• Flan = pie, fruit pie
• Flannel = washcloth; U.S. flannel = heavy warm cotton fabric; "flannels" would be long underwear made from such heavy warm fabric.
• Flat = apartment; U.S. flat = tenement flat = poor-standard slum apartment.
• Flick knife = switch-blade knife, a switchblade
• Flyover = overpass (as in a bridge over a road); U.S. flyover = airplane passing over a certain place, as in military parade "flyovers"; verb is "to overfly."
• Form (school) = grade [i.e. first form = first grade in school]
• Garden = yard; U.S. garden = vegetable garden, fljower garden, i.e. area of special cultivation. U.S. yard = G.B. paved area (lorry yards)
• Goods (car, train) = freight; U.S. goods = supplies, commercial stock
• Grind = sexual intercourse; U.S. grind = slang for "hard (routine) work."
• Haberdasher = notions seller; U.S. haberdasher = men's clothing seller
• To Hack = to (deliberately) kick; U.S. to hack = to chop, cut viciously.
• High street = Main street
• To Hire = to rent (in most cases); U.S. to hire = to employ Hire-purchase = (the "never-never") = installment plan
• Hoarding = billboard (large advertising sign alongside road)
• Hold up = traffic jam; U.S. holdup = robbery at gunpoint.
• Homely = home-loving, domestic, pleasant; U.S. homely = plain- looking (female), therefore often "left" at home.
• To Hoover = to vacuum (carpets, etc.) "Hoover" in the U.S. is a brand name only, never used as a verb.
• Inland = internal, domestic (Inland Revenue = Internal Revenue)
• Inverted commas = quotation marks (GB = 'xx'; USA = "xx")
• Inquiry agent = private detective
• Jelly = Jello (deriving from brand name Jell-O, gelatin dessert)
• "On the job" = having sexual intercourse; U.s. "on the job" = while working, learning, i.e. "on the job training."
• Joint = pot roast; U.S. "joint" = marijuana cigarette
• Juggernaut lorry = a very large truck, an overlong truck, a "double semi" truck
• Jumble sale = rummage sale
• Jumper = light pullover (sweater); U.S. jumper = type of knee- length woman's dress worn over blouse or sweater
• Kirby grips = bobby pins (to fasten long hair ...)
• A Knock-up = (tennis) to warm up, to volley a few, to practice-volley
• To Knock up = to awaken, call early in the morning; U.S. "to knock up" is colloquial for "to impregnate"
• Lacquer = hairspray; U.S. lacquer = wood varnish, shellac (high-gloss), i.e. protective decorative wood coating
• Ladder = (in women's stockings" = a runner, a run
• Lay-by = (beside a road) = a pull-off, a rest area.
• Left-luggage office = check room, baggage check (room)
• Level crossing = railroad crossing.
• Lift = elevator
• Lip balm = chapstick
• Logic-chopping = splitting hairs, hair-splitting
• Long jump (in athletics) = broad jump (in track and field)
• Lorry = truck
• Loud-hailer = bullhorn, amplified megaphone
• Lucky dip = grab bag (children's party game or activity ...) • Lumber room = spare room, storage room (in a home)
• Mackintosh = raincoat, overcoat, trenchcoat
• Mains = ordinary built-in home electrical network (no special word as equivalent in U.S.)
• Market garden = truck farm
• Marrow (vegetable) = squash, gourd
• Mason = stoneworker; U.S. mason can be stone- or brickworker
• Marriage lines = marriage certificate
• Mean = stingy, tight with money; U.S. "mean" normally means nasty, spiteful, ill-meaning in action toward another
• Mess kit = formal military dress for ceremonial dining; U.S. mess kit = army or boy scout utensils for cooking or eating a meal on the trail.
• Minced meat = hamburger meat, ground beef; U.S. mincemeat = sweet, spicy ground meat/fruit/nut combination used for making pies, especially around Thanksgiving/Christmas
• Mineral water = any carbonated soft drink; U.S. mineral water = bottled natural water (containing normal minerals) from spring or health spa, Perrier water, etc.
• Mistress = teacher in girls' school; U.S. mistress = lover (extramarital)
• Mob = gang, group (neutral); U.S. mob = angry crowd; "the mob" = Mafia
• Motorist, motoring = driver, driving
• Music Hall = vaudeville (generic entertainment type/place name)
• Nappy = diaper (for infants not toilet-trained)
• A Neat drink = a straight drink, i.e. "give me a straight whiskey" = whiskey without water or other additives
• Nervy = nervous, jumpy; U.S. nervy = bold, impertinent, i.e. nearly the opposite of the British usage
• Night club = private membership club; U.S. nightclubs are public (commercial) entertainment places
• Number plate = license plate (on automobiles)
• Off-license = liquor store
• Old boy (girl) = alumni, alumnus, alumna [of a school]
• Pantechnicon = moving van
• Panda car = police patrol car, police cruiser
• Patience (card game) = Solitaire
• Pecker (keep your pecker up) = keep your chin up; U.S. pecker = penis
• Pram (peramulator) = baby carriage, baby buggy, stroller, walker
• Petrol = gasoline, gas (to go in automobiles, airplane, etc.)
• Pie = meat pie; U.S. pie is always a fruit or fruit-derived pie, unless "a meat pie" is specifically indicated
• Pillar-box = mailbox, post office box, letter box, letter drop
• Pissed (he was really...) = drunk; U.S. "pissed = angry, upset
• Pitch (soccer) = field (football) [GB "football" = US "soccer"]
• Plimsolls = sneakers, tennis shoes, gym shoes
• Point = electric outlet, railroad switch (depending on context)
• Polka dots = chocolate chips (food product for baking)
• Prawn = shrimp
• Prom, prom concert = music concerts where most of the audience is standing; U.S. prom = dance, semi-formal, especially at end of year in high schools, colleges
• Rates = local, municipal property taxes
• Redundant = laid off (from a job); U.S. redundant = superfluous (no connotation of connection with jobs at all)
• Return ticket = round-trip ticket
• Ringway = circular road (around a city), bypass
• Rise = raise in salary
• To Roger = to "screw," have sex with; to exploit, take advantage of, to use
• Roll neck (pullover) = turtleneck (sweater).
• Roundabout = traffic circle
• Rubber = eraser; U.S. rubber = condom, prophylactic device
• Saloon = "sedan" car (automobile); US saloon = western-style bar
• Saloon bar = one section of an English pub
• Sanitary towel = sanitary napkin, feminine hygienic item
• A good screw = a good salary; U.S. "good screw" equals good "fuck" or good sexual experience
• To Screw = to cajole, persuade, extract money from; U.S. "to screw" = to have sex with, fornicate
• Season ticket = commuter (train, bus) weekly or monthly ticket; U.S. season ticket is admission ticket to all home games in one season of a particular sports team
• To Second to = to temporarily loan staff to another job or unit
• Sellotape = Scotch tape (both brand names now used as "generics"
• "Semi" = duplex, duplex house; U.S. "semi" = tractor-trailer truck rig
• Seminary = Roman Catholic seminary only; U.S. Seminary can be ANY religion, i.e. Lutheran, Methodist seminaries
• Sherbet = powdered, fruit-flavored candy; U.S. sherbet = G.B. sorbet (pronounced "soorbay")
• Shorthand-typist = stenographer
• To shy = to throw something (he shied a rock at the stray dog...)
• Sideboards = sideburns (in a hairstyle)
• Single = one-way ticket; U.S. "single" in context would mean "only one" as opposed to "several" tickets
• To Snog = to neck (i.e. kissing, hugging, etc., esp teenagers)
• Spinster = any unmarried woman; U.S. spinster is always OLD unmarried woman
• Standard lamp = floor lamp (as opposed to table or wall lamp)
• S.T.D. (subscriber trunk dialling) = direct distance dialling [on the telephone, as opposed to dialling through operator]
• Steps = ladder; U.S. "steps" always would mean staircase, built- in stairway or staircase
• To stream (pupils in a school) = to track (streaming = tracking)
• Stroke (punctuation) = diagonal, slash
• To Stuff = to fornicate, have sex with; U.S. "I'm stuffed..." = to be comfortably, pleasantly full of food, satiated
• Sub-editor = copy reader or rewrite person, in journalism
• Subs = dues, as in union dues, etc.
• Subway = underground walking passage, underpass, pedestrian tunnel; U.S. subway = G.B. "underground," i.e. underground railway system for public transportation
• Superannuation scheme = retirement pension plan
• Supply teacher = substitute teacher
• Supertax = surtax
• Surgery = a doctor's office, office hours, reception time; U.S. "surgery" refers to "surgeon" operating on a patient
• Suspenders = garters, for socks or stockings only; U.S. suspenders = G.B. braces, for holding up trousers
• Sweet = dessert, or piece of candy
• Sweetshop = candy store
• To Table (parliamentary procedure, conference terminology) = to put on agenda for immediate handling; U.S. "to table" = to put aside [indefinitely], to delay further handling
• Tannoy = public address (p.a.) amplification system
• Teat = baby bottle nipple; US teat = GB nipple = breast nipple
• Terrace house = row house, garden apartment, town house
• Are you Through? (telephone) = are you connected; U.S. "are you through"? = are you finished, completed, with your call
• To tick = to check, place check mark beside
• Tights = hose, panty hoseh, nylons, nylon stockings; U.S. tights = leotards, skin-tight exercise suit, knit stocking pants
• Tinkle = telephone call [give me a tinkle sometime]; U.S. "tinkle" = children's talk for "to urinate"
• Tip = garbage dump; U.S. tip = hint, advice, clue
• Torch = flashlight; U.S. torch = burning, flaming light or weapon
• Touchline = sideline (in sports, such as on soccer pitch, etc.)
• Tower block = high-rise apartment building
• Trade union = labor union (but usually organized by "trades" in England, by "industry" in the U.S. — US "Auto Workers' Union" would be represented by different "trades" in GB)
• Tram = streetcar, trolley car
• Transport cafe = truck stop (roadside cafeteria, restaurant, popular with truck [lorry] drivers
• Traveller = travelling salesman
• Treacle = molasses
• Trousers = pants; U.S. pants = G.B. underwear shorts
• Trunk call = long-distance call (on a telephone)
• Turn it up (colloquial) = stop it, cut it out! U.S. "turn it up" = increase the volume
• Undercarrige = landing gear (aircraft)
• Underdone = rare (extent to which you wish your meat cooked)
• Underground= subway (cf "subway")
• Vest = undershirt; U.S. Vest = G.B. waistcoat
• Windscreen (automotive) = windshield
• Wing (automotive) = fender, bumper (pre-70s designs...)
• White spirit = turpentine, paint thinner; U.S. "white lightning" (spirits) = potent home-distilled backwoods alcohol!
• Wholemeal = whole-wheat (bread, flour, etc.)
• Yankee/Yank = any American in general, U.S. Yankee = Northeast erner ONLY, i.e. specific regional, historical definition
• Zebra crossing = crosswalk, pedestrian crossing (Ped Xing)
• "Zed" = "Zee" (pronunciation of last letter in alphabet)
________________________________________
American to British — (Top) — (Bottom)
• Bathroom = toilet, w.c. (G.B. bathroom will have bath, washbasin or shower only)
• Billboard = hoarding
• Biscuit = scone; G.B. biscuit = U.S. cookie
• Billy club = truncheon
• Blank = empty form, i.e. telegraph blank
• Block (city block) = city block bounded by streets on 4 sides, distance between 2 streets or crossings in same direction
• Block-busting = "penetration" of a residential area by an ethnic or minority group unwelcome by original residents, who often then sell and leave
• Blotter = police official daily record of happenings in local precinct office
• Blowout = puncture (flat tire on car, bicycle, etc.)
• Blue book = local social register of high-status families
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield = two different large health-insurance companies
• Blue laws = restrictive community "moral" laws dating from Puritan times, such as prohibition of liquor sales on Sunday, limits on public entertainment on Sundays, etc.
• Bomb (theater) = a failure; G.B. bomb (theatre) = great success
• Boner = gaffe, mistake, faux pas
• Boot camp = military basic training period/location
• Boondocks = backwoods
• Bourbon = corn- (maize-) derived whiskey
• Box car = good waggon (U.S. spelling "wagon")
• Bronx cheer = raspberry (critical noise ...)
• Brownie = small, "heavy," rich-chocolate baked biscuit; also young Girl scout
• Brunch = mid-morning meal (combination of "breakfast & lunch")
• Bush league = baseball "minor" training leagues; also connotes "amateurism," unprofessionalism, etc.
• Caboose = last waggon on a goods train
• Candy = sweets
• Car fare = money for transportation fares
• Carry-out (food) = take-away (food)
• Catch (to play catch [baseball]) = "playing tag" (US "playing tag" is children's game where one tries to run and "catch" or touch ("tag") one of the other children playing)
• "Catch up with him" = "Catch him up"
• Checkers = draughts (the game, played on checker/chess board)
• Checking account = current account (banking)
• Comfort station = public convenience
• Cone = cornet ("ice cream" cones--British "ice cream" also quite a different commodity)
• Cord (electrical) = flex, lead, wire
• Corn = maize; G.B. corn = all types of grain, unless specified
• Cotton candy = candy floss
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) = Chartered Pub. Account. (CPA)
• Cube sugar = lump sugar
• Diaper = nappy
• Dishpan = washing-up bowl
• Distaff = female
• Double header = two sports games played as a single event; also used metaphorically
• Draft (military) = conscription into the armed forces
• Druggist = chemist (in commercial drugstore or pharmacy)
• Editorial = leading article (in a newspaper, periodical)
• Eggnog = egg flip (special Christmas drink in U.S. only)
• Engineer = railroad engine-driver
• Enjoin = to forbid from doing; GB enjoin = to compel to do
• Eraser = rubber; G.B. rubber is U.S. condom
• "Fairy" = male homosexual, or highly effiminate-acting male
• Field hockey = hockey; U.S. hockey (by itself) = ice hockey
• Filling station = petrol station
• Flashlight = torch
• Football = U.S. (American) football, not "soccer"
• Formula = baby's prepared liquid food, replaces breast milk
• "Freebee" = anything given away free
• Freeway = motorway
• Freight car = goods waggon (on a train)
• Gangway! = exclamation to "clear a path!"; G.B. gangway = U.S. aisle (in a theater, etc.), U.S. gangway [naval term] = entrance "bridge" from shore onto a ship
• Glee club = club or group for choral singing
• Glue factory = knacker's yard
• "Gofer" [to GO out FOR something ... ] = "dogsbody"
• Goldbrick(er) = loaf(er)
• Good Humor Man = ice cream peddler in residential areas • Graham cracker = wholemeal biscuit
• Grandstand play = done to impress the audience in the grandstands rather than as a requirement of the game, "showy" action
• Ground rules= specific local rules for particular event or action, sports or otherwise
• Half & Half = dairy mixture of half cream, half milk (to put in coffee, for use in baking, etc.)
• Handball = game played by hitting a small, hard ball with bare hand against a wall in room similar to a squash court — European "handball" is not 'known' in the U.S.
• Hard-on = male sexual erection
• High school = secondary school, senior (upper) secondary school
• Home free (colloquial) = home & dry
• Homely = plain-featured, -looking; GB homely = domestic, pleasant
• Horny = randy
• Housing project = housing development, housing estate
• Huddle = planning, tactics conference, especially in American football, but also metaphorically in other situations
• Hung jury = jury that is divided, cannot reach a verdict
• Jello = jelly; U.S. "jelly" = G.B. "jam"; U.S. "jam" = G.B. "thick [GB] jelly with fruit embedded"
• Kerosene = paraffin, U.S. paraffin = GB paraffin wax
• Longshoreman = docker, dock worker
• Lox = smoked salmon, especially American Jewish usage
• Martini = gin & vermouth (combined) cocktail (does not refer to "Vermouth" brand name)
• Mean = nasty
• Mobile home = (trailer) house on wheels, can be moved behind truck, auto
• Mononucleosis, "Mono" = glandular fever
• Nervy = impudent, impertinent, with a lot of nerve (cf. GB Nervy)
• Night crawler = fishing worm
• Oatmeal = porridge
• Ordinance = by-law (law at local city, municipal level)
• Overpass = flyover
• Pacifier = dummy (what baby uses to suck on when not eating)
• Parakeet = budgerigar
• Parka = anorak
• Patrol wagon, Paddy wagon = black maria
• Pegged pants = tapered trousers
• To pinch-hit for = to substitute for in a particular tactical situation (batting in Am baseball, or metaphorically)
• Plexiglass = Perspex glass (brand names used as generics)
• Potato chips = potato crisps
• Quarterback = Am. football team leader, also to direct, manage, in other situations
• Railroad = railway; U.S. railway = tracks, roadbed which trains run ON; U.S. "railroad" refers to the enterprise, i.e. the Union Pacific Railroad
• Raise = rise; U.S. "rise" is slang for male erection, or, "to get a sensation from ..."
• Realtor = estate (real estate) agent
• Retroactive = retrospective
• Roomer = lodger
• Roster = rota
• Rubber = condom; GB rubber = US eraser
• Rube Goldberg = Heath Robinson (stereotyped creators of wacky, bizarre "inventions" in USA, GB)
• Sedan = saloon car
• Shellac = high-gloss varnish
• Slingshot = catapult; U.S. "catapult" = G.B. "sling"
• Special Delivery = Express (postal) Mail
• Station wagon = estate car
• Thumbtack = drawing pin (small, flat-headed tack used on bulletin boards or to attach papers to wooden surfaces; U.S. "drawing pin" a long, narrow, sharp pin used in sewing, clothing design, always with soft fabrics or paper)
• Thread = cotton; U.S. cotton = plant, fiber, material only
• Trash = rubbish
• Trashcan = dustbin; trashman = dustman
• Turtleneck = polo neck (sweaters or pullovers)
• Vaudeville = Music hall (type of entertainment, style of theater)
• Wash up = to wash oneSELF, not the dishes; G.B. to wash up = to do the dishes
• Wax paper = greaseproof paper
• Yard = garden; U.S. garden = vegetable or flower garden (cultivated area); GB yard = US paved area, not grassy lawn)
• ZIP code = postal code
• Zucchini (squash) = courgette (marrow)