This is a list of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom. In Canada and Australia, some of the American terms listed are widespread; however, in some cases, another usage is preferred.
Words with specific American meanings that have different meanings in British English and/or additional meanings common to both dialects (e.g., pants, crib) are to be found at List of words having different meanings in British and American English. When such words are herein used or referenced, they are marked with the flag [DM] (different meaning). Asterisks (*) denote words and meanings having appreciable (that is, not occasional) currency in British English, but nonetheless distinctive of American English for their relatively greater frequency in American speech and writing. Americanisms are increasingly common in British English, and many that were not widely used some decades ago, are now so (e.g., regular in the sense of "regular coffee"). American spelling is consistently used throughout this article, except when explicitly referencing British terms.
0–9 101 (pronounced 'one o one') used to indicate basic knowledge; e.g., "Didn't you learn to sweep the floor in housework 101?" (from the numbering scheme of educational courses where 101 would be the first course in a sequence on the subject). 401(k) (pronounced 'four o one kay') an employer-sponsored retirement plan in the United States. Derived from the section of the United States Internal Revenue Code authorizing such plans. 40 (pronounced 'forty') a 40-ounce (1.183L) bottle of malt liquor, commonly drunk by American youths. 411 (pronounced 'four one one') colloquial, information about something (from 4-1-1, directory assistance number) (UK: 118xxx or 192) 5-0 (pronounced 'five o') colloquial, the police (from Hawaii Five-O, an American television series) 501(c) (pronounced 'five o one cee') a legally recognized non-profit organization in the United States, roughly equivalent to a Company Limited by Guarantee recognized by the Charity Commission as having charitable status in the United Kingdom. Derived from the relevant section of the Internal Revenue Code. 5150 (pronounced 'fifty-one fifty') colloquial, an involuntary psychiatric hold. Derived from California police code. (UK: sectioned) 529 (pronounced 'five twenty-nine' or 'five two nine') a tax-advantaged savings plan in the United States, similar to a 401(k), but instead used to fund the higher education expenses of the plan's beneficiary (usually the donors' child or grandchild). Derived from the relevant section of the Internal Revenue Code. 86 (pronounced 'eighty six') colloquial, to abandon, reject, or dismiss something or someone; e.g., "Let's eighty-six the whole thing." Similar to "Deep Six", although unlikely to have been derived from nautical terms as is "Deep Six". "86ing" someone can also mean ordering them to leave, as a bartender or bouncer to a rowdy or intoxicated patron. 911 (pronounced 'nine one one') the US' and Canada's emergency telephone number (UK: 999, European Union: 112)
A acclimate (verb) (UK usually: acclimatise) acetaminophen (or the brand name Tylenol) (UK: paracetamol) affirmative action providing opportunities in education or work based on race or gender (UK: positive discrimination) airplane a powered fixed-wing aircraft. Alteration of UK aeroplane, probably influenced by aircraft aluminum (UK: aluminium) amtrac Landing Vehicle Tracked, military vehicle used in World War II (not to be confused with Amtrak, the passenger railroad corporation) arroyo a usually dry creek. Spanish in origin. arugula, rugola the herb also known as rocket or garden rocket. Borrowed from southern Italian dialect in the early 1960s ("Ask Italian greengrocers for arugula, rucola or ruccoli; ask other markets for rouquette, rocket salad or, simply, rocket." — The New York Times, May 24, 1960, in OED). automobile a car
B
baby carriage pushable vehicle for transporting babies, also called stroller, buggy or regionally baby coach (UK: perambulator (very old-fashioned or formal), pram, or, for the type that an older baby sits rather than lies in, pushchair) baby shower (or just "shower") party with gifts to celebrate an impending birth (less common in the UK) bachelor party / bachelorette partya party held for a man (bachelor) or woman (bachelorette) soon to be married (UK: stag night/hen night) bachelorette a young, single woman who has never married backhoe a piece of excavating equipment (UK usually digger, mechanical digger, excavator, or JCB, genericized trademark) baker-acted to be placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold. Derived from Florida's Baker Act. (UK: sectioned) ballpark a baseball stadium; used to mean an approximation ("in the ballpark"; "a ballpark figure") Band-Aid * (trademark) bandage for minor wounds, (UK: plaster [DM], Elastoplast (trademark)); also, a makeshift solution bangs front part of the hair cut to hang over the forehead (UK: a fringe) barrette hair slide baseboard skirting board bayou (from Louisiana French) an often marshy slow-moving minor watercourse, usually located in a low-lying area (as in the Mississippi River delta region of the southern United States) bedroom community a commuter town or suburb (UK: dormitory town [DM]) bear claw A kind of sweet pastry served throughout the United States, named for its large, clawlike shape. bell pepper a mild (not spicy) red or green pepper or capsicum in Australian English and Indian English bellhop a hotel porter beltway a ring road, or orbital motorway found around or within many cities. big-box store a large retail establishment built on one level, typically with few, if any, windows.
blacktop a road surface [DM] composed of asphalt concrete; also a verb ("to blacktop a parking lot") (UK: compare tarmac) bleachers the raised open air tiered rows of seats (stands) found at sports fields or at other spectator events blinders (on a horse) (UK: blinkers) blood sausage black pudding boardwalk a walkway usually made of planking, typically along a beach (as that of Atlantic City) (UK: promenade) bobby pin hair grip, Kirby grip bodega a Spanish term for a winery. A convenience store, especially in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood. booger (slang) a piece of coagulated nasal mucus (UK: bogey) bookmobile a large vehicle housing a mobile lending library (UK: mobile library) boombox a large portable stereo, syn. with ghettoblaster, which is also American in origin but is common in the UK. boondocks (also the boonies) rough country; a very rural location or town; backwoods; the "sticks". Sometimes refers to rough, poor neighborhoods in a city. From Tagalog. boondoggle slang term for a scheme that wastes time and money; originally a braided ornamental cord or leather strap Botts' dot see raised pavement marker breadbox a box for storing bread (UK: bread bin) broil to cook food with high heat with the heat applied directly to the food from above (UK: grill) [DM]. brownstone a type of residential building found in Boston, New York City, and other large cities bullhorn a megaphone, sometimes used to refer to a portable airhorn burglarize to carry out a burglary (UK: burgle; burgle is very rare in US, and burglarize virtually nonexistent in UK) burlap cloth made from jute or sisal, traditionally rough and used to make rope and sacks (UK: hessian) busboy junior restaurant worker assisting waiting staff, table clearer, water pourer etc. butte an isolated hill with steep sides and a small flat top
C caboose a railroad car attached usually to the rear mainly for the crew's use (UK: guard's van or brake van) Canadian bacon Back bacon (bacon made from center-cut boneless pork loin). Also ham, usually pressed and sliced like bacon. candy apple, candied apple toffee apple canola a type of rapeseed that produces an edible oil (originally a trademark, of Canadian origin (from Canada and oleum 'oil')) careen (of a vehicle) to travel fast and out of control, usually swerving or cornering (UK: career) carhop someone serving food at a drive-in, often on rollerskates catercorner (or catercornered, catacorner, kitty-corner, catty-corner, etc.) (adverb) diagonally, diagonally opposite ("The house looks catercorner to mine"). Cater corner is the original form (from the French quatre and English corner = four + corner), but the forms kitty corner and catty corner (folk etymology) are usual in speech, catty corner especially in the North and West, and 'kitty corner prevailing in the Midwest and South. Sometimes (dialectal, regional) also kitty/catty wampus/wumpus (unclearly derived), which can also mean "awry", or "skew-whiff". catsup alternative spelling of ketchup that rarely sees use in the UK. cell phone, cellphone, cell (short for cellular telephone) a portable telephone; UK: mobile phone, often abbreviated to mobile Used in the UK in the early years of mobile telephony."£85 towards your new Jade cellphone from BT ... you'll find it has more than the average cellphone ... to order your Jade cellphone ..." in BT advertisement, London Evening Standard, 1 September 1993 certified mail recorded delivery ChapStick * (trademark, sometimes used generically) a lip balm charge account in a store or shop (UK: credit account) checkers a popular board game (UK: draughts) checking account the type of bank account used for drawing checks; distinguished from savings account. (UK: current account or cheque account; use of cheques is now much less common in the UK) cilantro (from Spanish "cilantro") coriander leaf, while in the US, coriander refers only to the seed. cleats in the context of field sports, athletic shoes with studded soles used for football or soccer (UK: Football boots, rugby boots) cloture a motion in legislative or parliamentary procedure that brings debate to a quick end; especially used by and in the United States Senate (UK: closure) conniption (fit) (slang) temper tantrum. co-ed, coed female student at a coeducational college (e.g., "He saw the party as an opportunity to meet co-eds."); any group of people with members from both genders (e.g., "My soccer team is co-ed.") comfort station a public toilet condo colloquially, any owned (as opposed to rented) apartment (UK: flat); more strictly such an apartment or house with common areas controlled by and charged for by a homeowner association; short for condominium (England and Wales: commonhold) cookout informal meal cooked and eaten outdoors, a cross between a picnic and a barbecue or a cooking competition taking place outdoors cooties fictional disease, a term used by children (UK: germs, lurgy); also a term for lice copacetic fine and dandy; good; well; A-OK; cool. Creole, perhaps from the French "Comme c'est sympathique" costume party party where costumes are worn (UK: fancy-dress party) cotton candy spun sugar often sold at fairs (UK: candy floss) counterclockwise (UK: anti-clockwise) coveralls a one-piece outer protective garment (UK: overall, boiler suit) crapshoot risky and uncertain venture; from craps, a dice game cremains the remains of a dead body after cremation (UK: remains, ashes) criminy, crimony a mild oath or to express surprise; perhaps alteration of jiminy, gemini; probably euphemism for Late Latin Jesu domine ("Jesus Lord!") (UK: crumbs, etc.), of Christ or from Italian crimine (crime) critter (informal) a creature; sometimes a term of endearment
D deplane to disembark from an aeroplane deputy or sheriff's deputy A paid county law enforcement official working for an elected sheriff; roughly equivalent to a police constable in the UK. derby historically, a hat worn by men (UK: bowler) diaper An absorbent undergarment (UK: nappy)