British Text Generator

Paste American English and copy it back with British words and spellings, or swap to go the other way.

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Direction: American English to British English

Sample British English

My neighbour parked his grey lorry near the lift of our block of flats.

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A table of word pairs, each checked in two dictionaries. It is not an accent and adds no slang. Words outside the table stay as typed, and a word with two meanings may be swapped where it should not be, so read the result before you use it.

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All 161 pairs

Different words 75

aubergine British for an eggplant.
beetroot British for a beet.
biscuit British for a cookie. A web cookie is still a cookie in Britain, and the table cannot tell the two apart.
block of flats British for an apartment building.
candyfloss British for cotton candy.
car park British for a parking lot.
chips British chips are American fries. Replaces "fries", "french fries".
cinema British for a movie theater.
cooker British for a stove.
coriander British for cilantro: the leaves of the same plant.
cot British for a crib.
courgette British for a zucchini.
crisps British crisps are American chips, so the two words trade places. Replaces "chips", "potato chips".
cutlery British for silverware.
dummy British for a baby's pacifier.
dustbin British for a trash can. Replaces "trash can", "garbage can".
estate agent British for a real estate agent.
estate car British for a station wagon.
exclamation mark British for an exclamation point.
film British for a movie.
flat British for an apartment.
flyover British for an overpass.
football British for soccer.
got British English uses got where American English has gotten.

Show all 161 pairs (137 more)

Different words, continued

holiday British for a vacation.
icing sugar British for powdered sugar.
in the autumn Autumn is the usual British word for the season. Fall is the usual American one. Replaces "in the fall".
indicator British for a turn signal.
jumper British for a sweater.
kitchen roll British for paper towel on a roll. Replaces "paper towel", "paper towels".
last autumn The same swap after last. Replaces "last fall".
lift British for an elevator.
lorries British for trucks.
lorry British for a truck.
mince British for ground beef.
mobile phone British for a cell phone. Replaces "cell phone", "cellphone".
mum British for mom. Informal in both countries.
mummy A child's word for mother: the British mommy.
nappies British for diapers.
nappy British for a diaper.
next autumn The same swap after next. Replaces "next fall".
number plate British for a license plate.
pavement British for a sidewalk.
pedestrian crossing British for a crosswalk.
petrol British for gasoline.
petrol station British for a gas station.
porridge British for oatmeal.
postbox British for a mailbox.
postcode British for a zip code.
postman British for a mailman.
pram British for a baby carriage.
pushchair British for a stroller.
queue To queue is to wait in a line. Replaces "wait in line", "stand in line".
railway British for a railroad.
rocket British for arugula, the salad leaf.
roundabout British for a traffic circle.
rubbish British for trash. Replaces "trash", "garbage".
shop British for a store. Swapped after words such as the, a and toy, so the verb store is left alone.
single ticket British for an one-way ticket.
spanner British for a wrench.
spring onion British for a scallion. Replaces "scallion", "green onion".
sweets British for candy.
takeaway British for a takeout.
tap British for a faucet.
this autumn The same swap after this. Replaces "this fall".
tick British for a check mark.
timetable British for a schedule of classes, buses or trains. Swapped after class, school, bus and train.
toilet British for a public restroom.
torch British for a flashlight.
trainers British for sneakers.
tram British for a streetcar.
trousers British for pants.
waistcoat British for the garment Americans call a vest.
washing-up liquid British for dish soap.
windscreen British for a windshield.

Different spellings 86

aeroplane British spelling of airplane.
afterwards British form of afterward. Afterwards is usual in Britain and afterward in America.
ageing British spelling of aging.
aluminium British spelling of aluminum.
analogue British spelling of analog.
analyse British spelling of analyze.
apologise British spelling of apologize. Usual in the UK, though Oxford spelling keeps the z.
armour British spelling of armor.
artefact British spelling of artifact.
behaviour British spelling of behavior.
cancelled British spelling of canceled.
cancelling British spelling of canceling.
catalogue British spelling of catalog.
centimetre British spelling of centimeter.
centre British spelling of center.
colour British spelling of color.
coloured British spelling of colored.
colourful British spelling of colorful.
cosy British spelling of cozy.
counsellor British spelling of counselor.
criticise British spelling of criticize. Usual in the UK, though Oxford spelling keeps the z.
defence British spelling of defense.
dialogue British spelling of dialog. American writers use this spelling too; dialog is the shorter American form.
doughnut British spelling of donut. American writers use this spelling too; donut is the shorter American form.
driving licence British spelling of driver's license. Replaces "driver's license", "drivers license".
emphasise British spelling of emphasize. Usual in the UK, though Oxford spelling keeps the z.
endeavour British spelling of endeavor.
enrol British spelling of enroll.
enrolment British spelling of enrollment.
favour British spelling of favor.
favourite British spelling of favorite.
fibre British spelling of fiber.
flavour British spelling of flavor.
fulfil British spelling of fulfill.
grey British spelling of gray. A person or place named Gray keeps its a; the table cannot tell, so check any names.
harbour British spelling of harbor.
honour British spelling of honor.
honourable British spelling of honorable.
humour British spelling of humor.
instalment British spelling of installment.
jewellery British spelling of jewelry.
kilometre British spelling of kilometer.
labelled British spelling of labeled.
labour British spelling of labor.
licence British spelling of license. The noun only, so it is swapped after words such as a, the and my. The verb is license in both countries.
litre British spelling of liter.
lustre British spelling of luster.
manoeuvre British spelling of maneuver.
marvellous British spelling of marvelous.
maths British form of math. Short for mathematics, with the s kept.
meagre British spelling of meager.
memorise British spelling of memorize. Usual in the UK, though Oxford spelling keeps the z.
millimetre British spelling of millimeter.
modelling British spelling of modeling.
mould British spelling of mold.
moustache British spelling of mustache.
neighbour British spelling of neighbor.
neighbourhood British spelling of neighborhood.
odour British spelling of odor.
offence British spelling of offense.
organisation British spelling of organization. Usual in the UK, though Oxford spelling keeps the z.
paralyse British spelling of paralyze.
parlour British spelling of parlor.
plough British spelling of plow.
pretence British spelling of pretense.
pyjamas British spelling of pajamas.
recognise British spelling of recognize. Usual in the UK, though Oxford spelling keeps the z.
recognised British spelling of recognized. Usual in the UK, though Oxford spelling keeps the z.
rumour British spelling of rumor.
savoury British spelling of savory.
sceptical British spelling of skeptical.
skilful British spelling of skillful.
smoulder British spelling of smolder.
sombre British spelling of somber.
speciality British spelling of specialty.
splendour British spelling of splendor.
sulphur British spelling of sulfur.
summarise British spelling of summarize. Usual in the UK, though Oxford spelling keeps the z.
theatre British spelling of theater.
towards British form of toward. Towards is usual in Britain and toward in America; both countries know both.
travelled British spelling of traveled.
traveller British spelling of traveler.
travelling British spelling of traveling.
tyre British spelling of tire. The wheel covering. The table cannot tell it from the verb tire, which is spelled the same in both countries.
vapour British spelling of vapor.
woollen British spelling of woolen.

How this list was compiled: Own table, written for this page: 75 word pairs and 86 spelling pairs between American and British English. No list was copied. Every pair was checked on 2026-09-30 in two dictionaries: the Cambridge Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ plus the headword), which marks a word UK or US and names the other country's form, and Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ plus the entry). A pair that only one of the two confirms is not in the table: 25 candidate pairs were dropped on that test or because the two words do not mean quite the same thing. Spellings are listed word by word, because no ending rule is safe. The table swaps whole words and knows no grammar or meaning, so a word with two senses may be swapped where it should not be. Licence: own work

How it works

This British text generator rewrites American English with British words and spellings: truck becomes lorry, apartment becomes flat, color becomes colour. It is a word table checked against two dictionaries, not an accent, so nothing is added and no slang is put in your mouth.

Read the full guide

Words and spellings

75 rows trade one word for another, such as sidewalk for pavement and cookie for biscuit. 86 more only respell: gray to grey, center to centre, traveling to travelling. Spellings are listed word by word, because no ending rule is safe: color gains a u and doctor does not.

British to American

Swap reads British text back into American. It is rougher that way, because common British words have other jobs: flat is also a shape and lift is also a verb. Chips and crisps trade places on purpose, since British chips are fries and British crisps are American chips.

Check names. Gray becomes grey even when it is someone's surname, and the table cannot tell.
The noun licence changes and the verb license does not, so I got my license becomes I got my licence.
For -ize words the table gives -ise, the usual British choice, though Oxford spelling keeps the z.

Questions and answers

Is this a British accent translator?

No. It changes vocabulary and spelling only, pair by pair, from a table printed under the tool. It adds no mate, no innit and no dropped letters, because those are jokes about people and not differences between two written standards.

How were the pairs checked?

Each one was looked up in the Cambridge Dictionary, which marks words UK or US, and in Wiktionary. A pair stayed only if both confirmed it. Pairs that do not mean quite the same thing, such as prawn and shrimp, were left out.

Why did some American words stay the same?

Most words are the same in both countries. Others are left out because they have two meanings: fall is a season and a verb, so the table changes in the fall and leaves a bare fall alone.

Is biscuit really the British word for cookie?

Yes, for the thing you eat: the Cambridge Dictionary gives biscuit as UK and cookie as US. A web cookie is still a cookie in Britain, and the table cannot tell the two apart.