Liter or Litre | Spelling & Examples
Liter is the spelling of the metric unit of volume in American English, while litre is the spelling in British English.
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will suggest the correct spellings for your variety of English.
The car has a 1.4-liter/litre engine.
Producing a cotton t-shirt requires over 2,500 liters/litres of water.
Litre or liter
Liter is the standard spelling in US English, but most other English-speaking countries spell it litre, including Canada and the UK.
Other words of French origin that are spelled with “-er” at the end in American English and “-re” at the end in British English include center/centre, fiber/fiber, and theater/theatre.
Some modern dishwashers use as little as 10 liters/litres of water during an eco-cycle.
Main differences between American and British English
American and British English are very similar, but there are a few main differences in spelling. Some differences are:
| Difference | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -or vs -our | In American English, many Latin-derived words end in -or. | Behavior or behaviour Color or colour Favor or favour Flavor or flavour Favorite or favourite Honor or honour Humor or humour Labor or labour Neighbor or neighbour |
| In British English, these same words end in -our. | ||
| -er vs -re | In American English, some French, Latin, or Greek words end in -er. | Center or centre Fiber or fibre Theater or theatre |
| In British English, these same words end in -re. | ||
| -ize vs -ise | In American English, many Greek-derived words end in -yze or -ize. | Analyze or analyse Organization or organisation Realize or realise Recognize or recognise |
| In British English, these words end in -yse or -ise. | ||
| -ed vs -t | In American English, most verbs are regular and form their past tense with the suffix -ed. | Burned or burnt Dreamed or dreamt Kneeled or knelt Learned or learnt Smelled or smelt Spelled or spelt Spilled or spilt |
| In British English, some of these verbs are irregular and form their past tense with the suffix -t. | ||
| Single vs double consonant | In American English, many words are spelled with a single consonant. | Buses or busses Canceled or cancelled Counselor or counsellor Focused or focussed Labeled or labelled Modeling or modelling Traveling or travelling |
| In British English, these same words are often spelled with a double consonant. | ||
| Dropping vs retaining the “e” | In American English, “e” is often dropped when forming a noun from a verb | Acknowledgment or acknowledgement Aging or ageing Judgment or judgement |
| In British English, the “e” is often retained. | ||
| Different verb and noun spellings | In American English, most words have identical verb and noun spellings. | License or licence Practice or practise |
| In British English, some words have different spellings for the verb and noun forms. | ||
| Other spelling differences | There are many other spelling differences between the two English variants. | Airplane or aeroplane Aluminum or aluminium Check or cheque Cozy or cosy Defense or defence Dependent or dependant Enrollment or enrolment Fulfil or fulfill Gray or grey Jewelry or jewellery Karat or carat Mold or mould Offense or offence Pajamas or pyjamas Program or programme Skeptical or sceptical Tire or tyre |
Other interesting articles
If you want to know more about job applications, research, or idioms, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
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