American Spellings and Word List
Below is a brief list of words with American spellings different from Canadian and British spellings. The list also provides guidance on how to style words that may or may not be hyphenated, italicized, abbreviated, or one or two words.
A
a.m./p.m.
acknowledgment (no “e”)
AD/BC/BCE/CE (all caps and no periods)
advisor or adviser
analog
analyze
apologize
attorney general
B
behavior
benefited
bylaw
bypass
C
caliber
canceled
catalog
center
characterize
checkbook
checkup (n.), check up (v.)
child care or childcare
clear-cut
coauthor or co-author (both are acceptable, but just use one for consistency)
cochair or co-chair
codirector or co-director
coeditor or co-editor
coexisting
cofounder or co-founder
color
cookbook
cooperate
coordinate
copayment or co-payment
counseling, counselor
coworker
criticize
cross-reference
D
data (singular and plural)
database
data set
day care or daycare
de facto (no italics)
defense
dependent (n. and adj.)
desktop
dos and don’ts
E
e.g. (follow with comma)
e-learning
emphasize
endeavor
endpoint
enroll, enrolled, enrolling, enrollment
F
favor
favorite
fiber
firsthand
flavor
focused, focusing
fueled
fulfill
fundraising
G
glamor
gray
H
honor
hotline
humor
I
i.e. (follow with comma)
installment
internet
J
judgment
K
L
labeled, labeling
labor
license
life cycle
lifelong
lifesaving
lifestyle
lineup (n.), line up (v.)
liter
login (n.), log in (v.)
long-term (adj.)
M
maneuver
meter
midair
midday
midsemester
mid-sentence
modeled, modeling
N
nationwide
neighbor
nonprofit
O
offense
ongoing
online
on-screen
on-site
organize, organization
oriented
outpatient
overprotective
overrepresented
overuse
P
pastime
payoff
percent
per se (no italics)
postgraduate
practice
preventive or preventative
prioritize
program, programmed, programming
publicly
Q
R
raison d’être (no italics)
reassessment
recognize
recreate (to give new life)
re-create (to create again)
reevaluate or re-evaluate
reinstate
S
secondhand
shortcut
skeptical
skillful
subtype
sulfur
T
theater
toward (not “towards”)
traveler, traveled, traveling
tumor
U
underrated
underrepresented
usable
username
utilize
V
videoconference, videoconferencing
vis-à-vis
voicemail
W
waitlist (n.), wait-list (v.)
wavelength
website
widespread
Wi-Fi
workday
workforce
workload
workout (n.), work out (v.)
workplace
World Wide Web
worldwide
X
X-ray (n.), x-ray (v.)
Y
Z
This chapter was adapted from the BCcampus Self-Publishing Guide, Appendix 3: Canadian Spellings and Word List, published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, with edits to reflect American spellings of words.
