American English Vs British English American English Vs British English Words ending in –re British English words that end in -re often end in -er in American English: British US centre center fibre fiber litre liter theatre theater or theatre Words ending in -our British English words ending in -our usually end in -or in American English: British US colour color flavour flavor humour humor labour labor neighbour neighbor Words ending in -ize or -ise Verbs in British English that can be spelled with either -ize or -ise at the end are always spelled with -ize at the end in American English: British US apologize or apologise apologize organize or organise organize recognize or recognise recognize Words ending in -yse Verbs in British English that end in -yse are always spelled -yze in American English: British US analyse analyze breathalyse breathalyze paralyse paralyze Words ending in a vowel plus l In British spelling, verbs ending in a vowel plus l double the l when adding endings that begin with a vowel. In American English, the l is not doubled: British US travel travel travelled traveled travelling traveling traveller traveler fuel fuel fuelled fueled fuelling fueling Words spelled with double vowels British English words that are spelled with the double vowels ae or oe are just spelled with an e in American English: British US leukaemia leukemia manoeuvre maneuver oestrogen estrogen paediatric pediatric Note that in American English, certain terms, such as archaeology, keep the ae spelling as standard, although the spelling with just the e (i.e. archeology) is usually acceptable as well.