Buildings / Shops

British English	American English
Semi-Detached House	Duplex
Flat (one storey) appartment	Apartment
Terrace (row of houses joined)	Town House
Chemist	Drug Store / Druggist
Cafe / Caff (not 24 hrs)	Diner
Bungalow	House (one story)  Ranch House

3.Vocabulry differences

a.part-I

When it comes to vocabulary, American English differs significantly from British English. Sometimes the same word has different meaning. There are also different words with the same meaning. A few examples are given below.

American English	British English
Airplane	Aeroplane
Apartment	Flat/ apartment
Area code	Dialling code
Attorney, lawyer	Barrister, solicitor
Busy	Engaged (phone)
Cab/taxi	Taxi
Can	Tin
Candy	Sweets
Check/bill	Bill
Cookie, cracker	Biscuit
Corn	Maize
Crib	Cot
Crazy	Mad
Diaper	Nappy
Dumb, stupid	Stupid
Elevator	Lift
Eraser	Rubber, eraser
Fall, autumn	Autumn
Faucet, tap	Tap
First floor, second floor	Ground floor, first floor
Flashlight	Torch
French fries	Chips
Garbage, trash	Rubbish
Garbage can, trashcan	Dustbin, rubbish bin
Gas, gasoline	Petrol
Highway, freeway	Main road, motorway
Hood	Bonnet
Intersection	Crossroads
Mad	Angry
Mail	Post
Mean	Nasty
Movie, film	Film
Pants, trousers	Trousers
Pavement	Road surface
Pitcher	Jug
Potato chips	Crisps
Purse	Handbag
Raise	Rise (salary)
Railroad	Railway
Rest room	Public toilet
Schedule, timetable	Timetable
Sneakers	Trainers (sports shoes)
Stand in line	Queue
Stingy	Mean
Store, shop	Shop
Subway	Underground
Truck	Van, lorry
Trunk	Boot (of a car)
Stand in line	Queue
Two weeks	Fortnight, two weeks
Vacation	Holiday(s)
Windshield	Windscreen
Zee	Zed
Stand in line	Queue
Zipper	Zip

b.part-II

The same word may be used differently in British and American English.

Real

In informal American English, real is often used instead of reallybefore adjectives and adverbs.

• That was real nice.

• She sings real well.

Sure

Sure is often used to mean certainly in an informal style. This is common in American English.

• ‘Can I borrow your bicycle?’ ‘Sure.’

Slow

Slow is used as an adverb in road signs, and informally after goand some other verbs especially in American English.

Examples are: go slow, drive slow.

Any more

In British English, any more is usually written as two separate words. In American English, it is often written as one wordanymore when it refers to time (= any longer). It usually comes in end position.

• She doesn’t work in New York anymore.

Around and about

In British English, around and about are both used to refer to movements or positions that are not very clear or definite: ‘here and there’, ‘in lots of places’, ‘in different parts of’, ‘somewhere in’ and similar ideas.

• The children were running around/about everywhere. (GB)

• ‘Where is John?’ ‘He must be somewhere around/about.’ (GB)

In American English, about is not used with this meaning. Americans normally use around.

• The children were running around everywhere. (US)

• ‘Where is John?’ ‘He must be somewhere around.’ (US)

Note that in American English, about is mostly used to mean ‘approximately’.

• There were about fifty people there.