Difference between British and American words, different words for the same objects and different meanings for the same words.

For other examples Part 2 ,Part 3 and
Part 4 and here!

Kristina Hackenburg
has written as follows –

Wow where are you getting your info? 

Bun– in the US we have cinnamon buns and sticky buns that are sweet too.

Bottom/bum– we most def don’t use the word glutes unless we are working out or at a doctors
office  its a technical term. we say ass, butt, backside, rear end, and we do say
bum- its not a word we say alot but its an english word that came here but one of the most common words that people say in music and songs in america is BOOTY. 

Ive never heard the word flagstaff, just
flagpole.

we DEFINITELY don’t use the word
shoestring– we ALWAYS say
laces, or shoelaces, and we have heard of the word shoestring, its not odd, but no one says it.

I HAVE never heard of the word movie-house. its
movie theater why do you think all american commericals end or begin with the
phrase – coming soon to a theatre near you. now if we said we went to the theatre, we would mean like,
broadway, not a movie.. and another very common use is just movies.. we went to the movies. we were at the movies. 

As for movie and film. in school i would say film, to a friend i would say movie. do you want to watch this movie- is much more common then do you want to watch this film.. but say, an award for best new film- would not sound odd at all. 

class/grade– we say class of 2001, highschool class of 1994, or kindergarden class of 2000. we say what class do you have next referring to a specific subject (like biology).. and we say get to class, (if you are late for school), pick your classes (When in college) and also always, senior class, junior class, sophmore class and the whole freshman class.. now we always say 1st grade- 12th grade too for school before college. and when you get to high school you are a freshman in high school,. sophmore in
highschool, junior, senior etc. but we use those terms for college too. 

also, when saying toilet– sometimes because we teach children to say “little girls room, or little boys room- sometimes in joking, teenagers or adults might say
“ive just got to hit the little boys room real fast” 

oh and we park in the driveway, and we drive on the
parkway.

trousers/pants– okay, we say pants as in anything that is a full length bottom.. but most commonly americans where denim, and we just call them jeans, and if they aren’t jeans, we call them by what they are- khakis, sweat pants, and if they are anything else we will say dress pants, work pants, depending on what we use them for.. dress pants are worn to church, or somewhere nice, work pants (if you are a painter) refer to pants you already ruined, but if you are a lawyer (work pants are dress pants). we dont say trousers.. if we did, i would assume they are khakis. oh and a side note: to pants someone (verb) is to pull there pants down in public. 

braces/suspenders.. suspenders in the us are not for socks, or stockings, women use garter belts for that with little straps that attach.. but suspenders attach at the belt loop on the outside of slacks/pants/trousers and are held up by your shoulders then attach on the back of your trousers on the belt loops.
Braces are for teeth. 

side walk/pavement – in the US we use either. my mother has yelled plenty at me when i was a child saying “get on the pavement, get out of the street”

chips/ chips are hard and packaged in bags they aren’t served fresh those are fries. the bigger fries are called steak fries, then we have french fries (which is a common term for any) that are regular sized and then curly fries that come in curly cues. 

ground floor/first floor– we always say ground floor for the one that is the lowest (usually underground)(but not to be mistaken with the basement) the term ground floor is only used in big buildings, like hospitals that have floors underground that are used not for storage. and first floor for the floor that is the first floor above ground.

dummy/pacifier.. we would never say dummy, unless we were referring to someone dumb, and we would never never be allowed to say dummy tit, because its offensive in america to say tit. pacifier is used, and
binky, or bink. binky more commonly to other adults, but adults will say to children
“wheres your bink?” 

we say angry just as much as we say
mad

tights/ panty hose.. ahh this is complicated.. okay tights are thicker that pantyhose, pantyhose are see through, pantyhose are also known as stockings, and tights are also known as stretch pants (but the word stretch pants is frowned apon because its like an old lady thing to say), all are also known as leggings, now if they go to the knee and no higher they are known as knee highs, and if they go to the thigh, they are thigh highs, and if they go above the stomach they are called control tops. 

we say taxi just as much as we say
cab

we say shops as in smaller stores

time tables are what we call multipication “do you know your timetables

estate agent– is called a
realator or
real estate agent

we say jam just as much as we say
jelly

we will never call jello jelly

a garden grows vegetables or flowers, a
yard is just grass

we say plug for outlet too. and
socket. we never say power point. 

Jacob Kuntzman
comments that ‘If you say “power point” in America, people will
think you are talking about the presentation software by Microsoft.’

pub isnt uncommon in the names of bars here. but we dont say we are going to the pub

solicitors in the us are people who come door to door to sell things. and there are tons of people with stores that say “no solicitors” on the fronts

surgery is what you get when they cut you open. not where you go to get it done

a tap is what you put in a keg of beer

gravy is a brown sauce used on turkey, but many italian americans still refer to gravy as tomato sauce, and all the generations after them still use it

PLEASE UPDATE“

Kim writes as follows:_

It mentions that roundabouts
are rare in America. I can count at least five within ten minutes from
my house in New Jersey. They aren’t at all rare. I’ve driven to Canada
quite a few times and also all over the East coast and LA area in
California. Roundabouts, or circles as they call it in my area, can be
found all over the continent as far as I know. Also, “in a
roundabout way” is a phrase I use and have heard used all my
life.

Pavement could mean
anything paved, depending on the context.

Tap and faucet are
synonymous here. For example, one wouldn’t say faucet water, but tap
water.

Pissed off is used the
same, to be “pissed” means to be drunk but is sometimes a
shortened way of saying pissed off.

Git, probably from movies
and books, has become a word not totally rare. I’m an Anglophile at
heart, but I’ve heard classmates call someone else a git before. It
could also be “get out” if you have a lazy way of speaking.

Bum, derriere, backside,
rear-end, bottom, butt, buttocks, and tush are the most common word to
refer to the gluteus maximus. Bum could also be slang for someone
homeless or lazy. A tramp is used for a woman who… doesn’t respect
her body – usually a street walker/hooker/”skank”, etc.

I’ve never heard anyone refer to
a flagpole as a flagstaff except in old (as in over 200
years) literature.

The same goes for shoelaces.
(Except for the old literature part)

I prefer the word film, but movies
is more commonly used. Film is more likely to refer to a work of art,
whether it be “arty” or not.

Mailmen could also be
referred to as a postal worker.

Porridge and oatmeal are
the same but porridge could also be a similar substance.

It’s never movie-house.
I’ve never heard that. Cinema is less common, but used.

A lounge means the same
as a living room, but a living room is not the same as a lounge. A
lounge could be anywhere, but a living room is found only in a home.

We do say waistcoat for
certain types of vests.

A cafeteria could also be
called a canteen or cafe.

To be “sacked”
is the most common way of saying fired that I know of.

Plug and socket are
synonomous with outlet.

Dustbins are any bins you
can dispose something in, but trashcans are larger and sturdier.

Old ladies say pantyhose.
Most people would call thin tights stockings and if they aren’t
see-through, tights.

The underground can refer
to where the subway train is located. As in, you’d go to the
underground to catch the subway.

Fall is not the proper
term we use. That’s more just for little kids, but at least half of
the country says fall for autumn.

The ground floor is
located on the ground. The first floor could be the second floor or
the ground floor, depending on what the building is. Most hotels,
hospitals, and large buildings call the floor on the ground the ground
floor or lobby – the button in the elevator/lift would be a G or an L.

Most people say taxi. I
think certain regions say cab, but it’s not very popular. Although,
there would not be any confusion if one did say “I’m catching a
cab”.

Yes, mad means angry. But
if I wrote a paper for English and put “mad” instead of
“angry”, my teacher would be “mad”. Mad can also
mean insane or “very”. Example of very: I’m mad thirsty.
Only teenage boys say that, however.

I’ve never heard of a fall hair
piece. I’m guessing it’s a completely obsolete meaning.

We have jam, jelly, and
preserves. Jam is thicker than jelly, and preserves are the same
as the ones everywhere else.

If someone is ill, they’d
say they’re sick. But ill would be more proper.

A queue would be where
people line up to wait for something. A line would be a line as in a
straight angle or where people stand. Line is just used most often.

This
subject has created a great deal of interest and input from visitors. 
For ease of use these have been split into several different pages
including:-

Differences between
Australian,
British and American English.

Different meanings
for American and British words.

a second list of
words
and phrases which have different meanings.  

Then there are all the
suggestions of language differences (2, 
3 and 4) which have been sent in by visitors which
are shown on three more pages.