1. Spelling of words ending in "our" in British English are "or" in American English.
A representative list of such words is:
British

American

 

British

American

 

British

American

 

British

American

arbour

arbor

 

armour

armor

 

candour

candor

 

colour

color

ardour

ardor

 

clamour

clamor

 

enamour

enamor

 

behaviour

behavior

favour

favor

 

fervour

fervor

 

flavour

flavor

 

fervour

fervor

harbour

harbor

 

honour

honor

 

humour

humor

 

labour

labor

odour

odor

 

parlour

parlor

 

rancour

rancor

 

rumour

rumor

tumour

tumor

 

valour

valor

2. Many American words ending in "or" also end in "or" in British English.
Some examples of this are:
actor

anchor

captor

censor

debtor

decor

donor

error

factor

jailor

manor

minor

pallor

pastor

razor

sector

terror

tremor

tutor

victor

visitor

3. The spelling of some American words ending in "er" such as center are spelled with "re" such as "centre."
Some examples of this are:
British

American

  British

American

 

British

fibre

fiber

  centre

center

  theatre

metre

meter

  louvre

louver

 

sabre

saber

American
theater

lustre

luster

 

British

  calibre
 

litre

American
caliber
liter

4. But beware of some French words that end in "re" that are the same in both British and American English.
Some examples of these are:
genre

Notre

Entrée

émigré

cadre

lucre

5. Also beware of some Spanish words such as "hombre" and "padre" which are also exceptions to the rule.
6. The French word "cadre" requires special attention. It is a word that means the nucleus of a group that is intended to form a
larger group. For many years the Chinese have pronounced it a "cotter." It is correctly pronounced as "ka dray."
7. One word that deletes the "o" and changes and the "re" is "manoeuvre" in British English and "maneuver" in American English.

American and British English Differences -- Page 3
8. Some other spelling differences are as follows:
British

American

cheque

check

British American

British American

British

American

plough

storey

behove

behoove

plow

story

9. The use of articles is different in the two languages. The American rules for the use of the articles "a," "an" and "the" and British
English is somewhat different and allows the following "The man went to hospital to see nurse." American English would require the
following "The man went to a/the hospital to see a/the nurse." The choice of "a" and "the" would depend on whether he wanted to
see a particular nurse at a particular hospital or any nurse at any hospital.
10. Many British words ending in "ize" also appear as ending as "ise."
Both are accepted as correct in British English while the "ize" is only acceptable in American English.
A small representative sample is shown below.
I have only included a small sample starting with the letters "a" through "g."
apologize

atomize

authorize

barbarize

bastardize

brutalize

cannibalize

canonize

capitalize

carbonize

categorize

cauterize

centralize

characterize

civilize

collectivize

colonize

conceptualize

containerize

emphasize

epitomize

equalize

familiarize

finalize

formalize

fossilize

galvanize

11. British English has some vocabulary differences from American English.
Some representative examples are:
British

American

British

American

British

American

British

American

British

American

lorry

truck

lift

elevator

biscuit

cookie

petrol

gasoline

flat

apartment

post

mail

ring

call

packet

present

pillion

seat

crisp

potato chip

holiday

vacation

hired

rented

waggon

wagon

aeroplane

airplane

chaff

tease

billy

tin pan

barrister

lawyer

bonnet

hood

football

soccer

handbarrow

wheelbarrow

reck

care

pub

bar

nil

nothing

tyre

tire

snigger

snicker