List of American vs. British English Vocabulary

Antenna - aerial

Apartment – flat

Appetizers - starters

Argument – row

Asphalt - tarmac

Attorney - solicitor

Baby carriage – pram

Backpack - rucksack

Baggage claim (airport) - baggage reclaim

Band-aid – plaster

Bathroom – loo or WC

Beltway – ring road

Bicentennial - Bicentenary

Bid - tender

Bill (as in currency) - note

Botanical garden - botanic garden

Bus - coach

Business reply mail - freepost

Busy - engaged

Can -tin

Cell (phone) - mobile (phone)

Cheap - shoddy

Chopped – beef mince

Circle, traffic circle – roundabout

Collect call - reverse charge call

Cookie -biscuit

Corn – maize

Cornstarch - cornflour

Cotton candy - candy floss

Counterclockwise - anticlockwise

Crib (for a baby) - cot

Crosswalk – zebra crossing

Dead battery – flat battery

Defogger – window heater

Defroster – window heater

Detour (noun) – diversion

Diaper – nappy

Diapers - nappies

Dirt road – unmade road

Dish cloth, dish towel - tea towel

Divided highway – dual carriageway

Doing the dishes - washing up

Downscale - downmarket

Dress (noun) - frock

Drive shaft – propeller shaft

Driver’s license – driving licence

Drug store - chemists

Drunk driving – drink-driving

Dump truck – dumper truck

Eggplant - aubergine

Elevator – lift

Equip, fit out (verb) - fit

Eraser – rubber

Expressway – motorway

Fall - autumn

Faucet - tap

Fender – wing

Field (for playing) - pitch

Fill up – top up

Fire - sack

Fish sticks - fish fingers

Fixtures - fittings

Flashlight – torch

For rent - to let

Four lane road – dual carriageway

Freeway (Western U.S.) – motorway

French fries - chips

Fries – chips

Garter - suspenders

Gas – petrol

Gear shift – gear lever

Glove compartment – glove box

Ground meat - mince

Guy – bloke, chap

Hamburger - mince

High beams – main beams

Highway – motorway

Homey (pleasant) - homely

Hood (car) – bonnet

Inexpensive - cheap

Interstate – motorway

Jello – jelly

Jelly -jam

Jumper cables – jump leads

Kerosene – paraffin

Laundromat - laundrette

Lawyer – solicitor

Layoff - redundancy

License plate – number plate

Line – queue

Low beams – dipped lights

Mail – post

Math - maths

Median – central reservation

Men's room - gents

Mom - mum

Motor home – caravan

Movie theater – cinema

Moving - removal

Muffler – silencer

Napkin – serviette

Non-profit organization - charity

Nothing - nil

Nothing – nought

Oatmeal - porridge

On line - on stream

Open house - open day

Overpass – flyover

Pacifier – dummy

Pants – trousers

Parking lot – car park

Paved road – metalled road

Period – full stop

Pharmacist – chemist

Potato chips – crisps

Power train – transmission

Prenatal - antenatal

Principal - headmaster

Pruners - secateurs

Railroad - railway

Raise (in salary) - rise

Ramp (entrance or – slip road

Rates, prices - tariffs

Rebate (noun) - cashback

Reflectors – cats eyes

Rent – hire

Rental car – hire car

Reservations - bookings

Reserved for - reserved to (as used in

Restroom - toilet

Right away - straight away

Rotary – roundabout

Round trip - return (return ticket)

Run (for election) - stand (for election)

Sausage – banger

Sedan – saloon car

Shipping - despatch

Shopping cart - shopping trolley

Shoulder (of road) – verge

Sick - ill

Side mirror – wing mirror

Sidewalk – pavement

Silverware - cutlery

Sleep in - lie in

Sneakers - trainers

Soccer – football

Station wagon – estate car

Stove, stovetop - hob

Straightaway – straight

Stroller (baby) - push chair

Study - read

Subway - tube

Suspenders - braces

Sweater – jumper

Telephone booth - telephone box

Tent - marquee

Tire – tyre

Toll-free - freephone

Top off – top up

Towing – recovery

Tractor-trailer – articulated lorry

Transmission – gear box

Transportation - transport (noun)

Trash bag - bin liner

Trash can - dustbin

Trash can - rubbish bin

Trash can – bin

Tricky (chancy) - dodgy

Trip - ticket)

Triple - treble

Truck – lorry

Trunk (car) – boot

Tuition - fee

Turn signals – indicators

Turtle neck - polo neck, roll neck

Underpass - subway

Undershirt - vest

Unpaved road – unmade road

Upscale - upmarket

Vacation – holiday

Vacuum (noun and verb) - hoover

Vacuum tube - valve

Vest – waistcoat

Walker (device) - walking frame

Windshield (car) – windscreen

Wrench (noun) - spanner

Yield – give way

Zero - nil

Zip code – postal code

Zucchini - courgettes

Zucchini - squash

List at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/152902366/List-of-American-vs-British-English-Vocabulary

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2 responses to “List of American vs. British English Vocabulary

  1. Ketchup = Tomato Paste
    learned that in a KFC in Sydney, heh.

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