List of words having different meanings in American and British English (M–Z)

Word British English meanings Meanings common to British and American English American English meanings saloon closed car having two or (usu.) four doors, a front and rear seat and a separate boot/trunk (US: sedan)
(saloon bar) posh bar within a pub or hotel
passengers’ lounge on a liner or luxury train (US approx.: parlor car) officers’ dining room on a merchant ship bar, especially in the American Old West

bar that serves only spirits and no food
a room in a house used for receiving guests; a salon

scalp (v.)   to cut the scalp off; to take something away

(n.) trophy, spoils of victory (informal)

to resell (as tickets) at higher prices (UK: tout)

to trade (as stocks) for quick profits

scheme official systematic plan (as of the government) (“a pension scheme”)
(Scotland) Low-cost public housing (US: project) a plan, often secret or devious; a plot (“criminal scheme”)   school place of primary or secondary education grouping of departments or large department within a university faculty (among other meanings, e.g., a group of experts sharing perspective or methods, or a group of fish) any educational institution; in school: state of being a pupil in any school normally serving minor children of any age, or in a college or university at any level; at school: usually, physically present on campus. (UK: at school for both) scrappy not neatly organised or poor

a scrappy player is one who sometimes plays well, but often plays badly.

fragmentary bellicose or fightingly determined

a scrappy player is one who compensates for a lack of size or speed with grit and determination.

second (v.) to transfer temporarily to alternative employment (pronounced /sɨˈkɒnd/, to rhyme with “beyond”) to endorse, support, or bring reinforcements   section (v.t.) to detain under the Mental Health Act 1983
On section, detained in a mental hospital. to cut or slice into sections   sedan   a chair or windowed cabin, carried by at least two porters in front and behind a common car body style (UK: saloon, q.v.) seeded (grapes, etc.) with the seeds left in   having had the seeds removed (uncommon usage) (also seedless, used in UK) semi semi-detached house (US: duplex), semi-erection (vulgar)   semi-trailer truck (UK: articulated lorry) set square a triangular object used in technical drawing (US: triangle)   a T-square (also used in technical drawing) shade   penumbra, partial obscurity; nuance
(pl.) sunglasses (orig. US); reminder of the past window blind

a sneer, or derisive remark (slang, especially as in “throw shade“)

shag to copulate, or copulate with [understood in some (but certainly not all) demographics in the US also, see Austin Powers] a seabird (various members of the cormorant family)
a kind of fabric with a thick, long strands; often used in carpets
long, matted hair (cf. Shaggy from the Scooby-Doo cartoon)
a type of shredded coarse tobacco (v.) to chase after; to chase and fetch (as a fly ball in baseball)
a style of long hair with numerous layers (not matted or untidy)
a kind of a dance, associated with “beach music,” esp. from the Carolinas (orig. US) shattered exhausted broken into many small pieces.
devastated emotionally   sherbet a fizzy powdered confectionery   a type of frozen dessert (also spelled sherbert; UK similar: sorbet) sheriff chief royal peace officer of a county, now (as high sheriff) largely only a ceremonial role (England and Wales)
local judge, in full sheriff-depute or sheriff-substitute (Scotland)   elected chief legal officer of a county, usu. also in charge of the county’s law enforcement service; elsewhere any member of a county (vs. state or local) police shingle pebbles, particularly those on the seashore * to cut a woman’s hair in an overlapping style
(shingles) a painful disease of the skin, caused by the chickenpox virus
wooden roof tile
to cover a roof with wooden tiles sign proclaiming one’s name and calling (“hang a shingle out”)
to cover something like a shingled roof ship (verb), shipping   To transport goods by sea, movement of goods by sea
Relationship (fandom) To transport goods, movement of goods
Shipping & handling, standard form of charge for delivery of goods (UK: Postage & packing) shop consumer retail establishment of any size (US: store); hence shopfront (US: storefront), shop-soiled (US: shopworn), shop assistant (US: (sales) clerk)
workshop, only in combination (“machine shop”) to buy at a retail establishment of any size small or specialized consumer retail establishment (e.g. coffee shop, dress shop);

workshop;

shop class: practical class at school taught in a workshop, i.e. industrial arts(overlaps with Design and Technology (England & Wales) and Technical (Scotland) curricula);

shortening of Automobile repair shop (UK: garage, car mechanic).

shorts strong alcoholic drinks served in multiples of 25 ml, sometimes with mixers (US & UK also: shots) short trousers (US: short pants) underpants, boxers

(take it in one’s shorts) endure a painful situation (“He really took it in the shorts that time.”)

shot Shot (disambiguation) an injection with a hypodermic needle, as in the case of an inoculation (UK: jab) shower   spray of water used to wash oneself

a short period of rain

a celebratory party where gifts are given to an individual e.g. a baby shower to celebrate an imminent birth sic   Latin for “Thus”, “just so” — states that the preceding quoted material appears exactly that way in the source, usu. despite errors of spelling, grammar, usage, or fact. pronunciation spelling of “seek” used as a dog command, and by extension as a verb meaning to set (as a dog, etc.) to attack someone (“I’ll sic my attorney on you”) sick (to be sick) to vomit
(off sick) not at work because of illness
(n.) vomit (“a puddle of sick”) unwell, not in good health (except with “to be” in UK English)^[59]
(slang) disgusting (corruption of sickening)
(slang) cool, good, interesting (to be sick [somewhere]) nauseous
(out sick) not at work because of illness sickie a day taken as sick leave, esp. when not actually ill a mentally ill or perverted person (also: sicko) sideboard (pl.) sideburns, side-whiskers an item of furniture also known as buffet   siding   a dead-end railway track leading off the main line and used to store rolling stock a short section of railroad track connected by switches with a main track, enabling trains on the same line to pass (UK: loop)
external wall covering, cladding, weatherboarding silencer device to silence a car/automobile (US: muffler) device to silence a firearm   silk a Queen’s Counsel material made from unwound silkworm cocoons

(silky) smooth, having the texture of silk (cf., silky words)

the silky, pistillate flower of corn (maize)
a parachute (orig. slang of the United States Air Force) silverware things made from silver, including bowls, spoons, etc. Also trophies won by a sports team (i.e. FA Cup, Challenge Cup…)   eating implements (spoon, fork, knife) (UK: cutlery; US also flatware) sketchy lacking detail or substance^[60][61] questionable, disreputable^[60][61] skillet (regional dialect) a frying pan
a type of stir-fried food item   a frying pan, often cast iron
a long-handled stewing pan or saucepan, often having short legs or feet skip (n.) large rubbish container (US approx: Dumpster) an act of leaping or omitting; see skip (radio), skip (in audio playback) one who disappears without paying their debts (“finding a good skip tracer is harder than finding your debtors”) (UK: Gone Away) skive (v.) to avoid work or school (play truant) v. to cut or pare leather/rubber; n. an indentation made from skiving   skivvy a scullery maid or lowest servant doing menial work, somebody at the bottom of the pecking order [origin of both senses is unknown; they are likely unrelated] [note that skivvy has a third distinct meaning in Australian English] (pl.) men’s underwear (trademark; colloquial when used in lower case) slag (derogatory) promiscuous woman (US & UK also: slut)
a general insult directed at someone of either sex A product from the iron-smelting blast furnace; mainly used in tarmac production   slash (colloq.) an act of urinating (“to have a slash”) to cut drastically

the symbol ‘/’ (orig. US) (also virgule, solidus; UK also: oblique, stroke)
short for slash fiction, a genre of fan fiction that explores romantic or sexual relationships between same-sex characters

an open tract in a forest strewn with debris, especially from logging
a swampy area slate (v.) to disparage (“many critics have slated the film”), hence slating (n.) a type of rock; a greyish colour
(v.) to cover with slate (v.) to schedule *(“slated for demolition”)
to designate (a candidate, as for political office)
(n.) a list of candidates sleeper A horizontal member which lies beneath, and binds together, the rails of a railway. (US: railroad tie, crosstie) A railway vehicle providing sleeping accommodation (a sleeping car).
Sleeper agent – A deep cover secret agent Sleeper (automobile), an automobile modified for high performance but with a normal-looking exterior (UK: Q-car) sleet snow that has partially thawed on its fall to the ground   (partially) frozen raindrops, ice pellets; a mixture of rain and snow or hail; also, glaze (q.v.) slough (hydrology) (usu. pronounced /ˈslaʊ/, to rhyme with “plough”) a marshy area, a swamp a secondary channel; a small backwater; a pond (usu. pronounced /ˈsluː/ and often spelled slew) Smarties a sugar-coated chocolate confectionery manufactured by Nestlé (similar to M&M’s)   a fruit-flavored tablet candy produced by Ce De Candy, Inc smashed   beaten, destroyed as in “it was smashed” Exceedingly drunk smokestack   a system (as a pipe) for venting hot gases and smoke: such a system on buildings, locomotives (UK primarily: chimney or funnel), and ships (UK & US also: funnel) (attrib.) heavy industry, manufacturing industry *(“smokestack industries”, “smokestack stocks”) smudge   a blurry spot or streak a smouldering mass placed on the windward side to protect from frost or keep insects away (as in smudge pot) snout police informant
tobacco (slang) pig’s nose
nose (slang)   sod unpleasant person, originally short for sodomite (“He’s a sod, isn’t he?”)
unfortunate person when prefixed by ‘poor’ (“The poor sod’s had his wallet nicked.”) or ‘silly’ (“The silly sod really got it knackered.”); also an exclamation of frustration, esp. as an abbreviation for sodomy: “Sod it!” layer of grass and earth (in UK in a formal/literary sense), cf. ‘sodden’ turf soda carbonated water, or any non-alcoholic drink made with it, but not usu. one sold ready-mixed any of various chemical compounds containing sodium (as sodium bicarbonate or sodium carbonate), carbonated water (regional) carbonated soft drink, usu. one sold ready-mixed (also ‘pop,’ ‘soda pop’) (UK: fizzy drink or colloquially (fizzy) pop) solicitor lawyer who advises clients, represents them in the lower courts, and prepares cases for barristers to try in higher courts *(considered overly formal in US)   one that solicits (e.g. contributions to charity), an advertiser, a salesperson, a promoter; often annoying

chief law officer of a city, town, or government department

solitaire peg-jumping puzzle game (see peg solitaire)   any of a family of one-player card games (see solitaire) (UK: patience) sort (v.) to deal with; hence sorted as expression of appreciation; (slang) to be adequately supplied with narcotics

all used with out:
to arrange or take care of (something) *
to solve an esp. difficult situation (also reflexive) *
(informal) to set (someone) straight, or to get even with (someone)
sorted, to have or get fixed, have problems worked out, so things are working correctly (“He’s really got it sorted now.”)

to arrange or classify; often used with out   spanner general term for a tool used for turning nuts, bolts, etc. (US: wrench, q.v.)
something interfering (US: (monkey) wrench)   a wrench with holes or pins at its end for meshing with the object to be turned (UK: C spanner) spaz (offensive) Incompetent, useless, disabled person (from spastic, person with cerebral palsy)   uncoordinated, hyperactive, messing something up. Can be used self-referentially. Has less offensive connotations in American usage. spigot   a spile in a cask a tap or faucet spook   a ghost; a spy, government undercover agent (both orig. US) a black person (insulting) spotty pimply (“a spotty teenager”)   of inhomogeneous quality (“a spotty record”) sprouts (n.) brussels sprouts   alfalfa sprouts spunk (vulgar) seminal fluid (US: cum) courage, daring, or enthusiasm   squash (n.) fruit cordial drink (squash (drink)) sport (squash (sport))* vegetable (squash (plant))*(UK also gourd) squat   (n.) premises occupied by squatters (v.)
to occupy (as premises) illegally
to bend deeply at the knees while resting on one’s feet
(n.) the act of squatting
an exercise in weightlifting (n.) nothing (slang; short for diddly-squat)
(more at cop) stabiliser (UK), stabilizer (US & UK) (pl.) additional wheels to help learner cyclists (US: training wheels) something that stabilises, as stabilizer (aircraft) or stabilizer (chemistry)   stall (pl.) front seats in a theatre (US: orchestra) compartment for an animal in a barn
a booth or counter (as in a marketplace)
seat in a church’s choir
abrupt loss of lift of an airfoil due to excessive angle of attack compartment containing a shower or toilet (UK: cubicle)
a marked-off parking space
enclosure for a locomotive in a roundhouse
(box stall) compartment in a barn where an animal can move untethered (UK: loose box) stand (v.) to be a candidate in an election *(US: run) to be vertical; to remain stationary; to buy (someone) (something)   starter first course of a meal *(US usu. appetizer); more s.v. entree one that starts (as a device to start an engine) transportation dispatcher or elevator (q.v.) dispatcher
starting pitcher (baseball)
the official who starts a track race. stash (v.) to quit, put an end to (“to stash it”) (v.) to store away [old criminals’ slang revived in US] (n.) a hiding place, or something (esp. drug or liquor) stored away* staycation travelling for pleasure or business within one’s country (US: domestic vacation) a holiday or vacation where the people return home each night (or most nights) stick abuse, insult, or denigration (“to give stick“) a long, thin piece of wood stone (pl. usu. stone) 14 pounds in weight (14 lb), normally used when specifying a person’s weight (“My weight is twelve stone four”, meaning 12 stone and 4 pounds; US “172 pounds”) a small rock   stoop A post or pillar, especially a gatepost. (Rare except in dialect). forwards bend of the spine bringing the shoulders in front of the hips
dive of a predatory bird towards its prey raised porch or entrance veranda (orig. Dutch; esp. Northeast). Also refers to the external stairs leading up to a row house, “Sitting on the stoop.” store place for storage of items not needed for immediate use* large consumer retail establishment (as department store or superstore) consumer retail establishment of any size (UK: shop), e.g. grocery store, hardware store, convenience store, dime store; hence storefront (UK: shopfront), storekeeper (UK: shopkeeper) story   an account of events, usu. fictional but sometimes factual a floor of a building (UK: storey) stove a hothouse or greenhouse for plants
the grate of a fireplace wood- or coal-burning room-heating appliance (but in AmE this usage almost always limited to historical contexts, e.g. “one-room schoolhouses usually had potbelly stoves for warmth.”) (or cookstove) appliance for cooking food *– compare range (UK usu. cooker)
see also Franklin stove straight away, straightaway (usu. spaced) immediately, right away *   (solid) a straight (in a road, racecourse, etc.) strike a good solid shot, as in scoring a goal in soccer
(Strike off) to remove a professional’s license (e.g., for attorneys: US disbar) (“What do you call a priest who’s been stricken off?” – Dick Francis) to temporarily stop working (often as part of a union)
knock down all pins in bowling
to ignite a match to miss, as to miss the ball with the bat in baseball,
(strike three, three strikes) (colloq., from baseball) gone, fired, ejected; said of someone especially after they’ve been given three chances to improve their (presumably) bad behavior (“Strike three, he’s out!”) stroke slash symbol (/) cerebrovascular accident

stroke (rowing), various meanings in the sport of rowing
stroke play, a scoring system used in golf
swimming stroke, a swimming style
a scuba diver not following the rules of Doing It Right
stroke (engine), a single action of some engines
the recognition, attention or responsiveness that one person gives another in transactional analysis

student   person studying at a post-secondary educational institution person studying at any educational institution * stuff (v) to have sex – often used as a milder form of “fuck”, e.g. “Get stuffed!” *(for “Fuck off!”), “Our team got stuffed in the match”, etc. to pack tightly with, especially with food: “I’m stuffed”=”I’ve eaten too much”.   sub to subsidise (pay for something in place of someone else – often used for any sort of informal loan)
(in newspaper publishing) edit copy for length or house style (in full: sub-edit)

subscription (UK: membership dues, as in an association or club)
sub-lieutenant (Royal Navy rank)
subaltern (British Army second lieutenant or lieutenant)

subscription: a purchase by prepayment for a certain number of issues, as of a periodical
submarine
(n. & v.) substitute (usu. in sport)
(sexual) submissive substitute teacher (UK: supply teacher)
to teach in place of the normal teacher
(regional) submarine sandwich* subdivision   the process or an instance of subdividing the division of a tract of land into lots (q.v.) for the purpose of sale, or the tract of land so divided. (UK: estate, development) subway pedestrian underpass
Glasgow subterranean railway (Subway) restaurant chain for submarine sandwiches underground commuter railway (UK: underground or tube) suck to draw something by suction to be of poor quality, objectionable, very bad (informal)^[62][63][64] sucker   One who sucks (lit. and fig.): fool, dupe, gullible person
Secondary shoot produced from the roots of a plant A lollipop
any person or thing (used either humorously or in annoyance) suds   (n.) froth, lather; (v.) to lather (v.) to form suds; hence sudser (a soap opera) and adj. sudsy (in both lit. & fig. senses)
(n.) beer, less commonly root beer superintendent senior police rank (US approx.: deputy inspector) senior official in various undertakings (railways, public works, etc.) person in charge of a building (UK: caretaker)
the head of a school district or a State Department of Education
sometimes, the head of a police department
(dated) a train conductor surgery the place where a physician or dentist practises (US: (doctor’s) office);^[65]
the period of time in which they are available for consultation; a period of time in which a politician is available to constituents, for consultation^{[66][13][67][68][69][70]} act of performing a medical operation   suspenders elasticated support for stockings (US: garter)   elasticated support for trousers (UK: braces, q.v.) swede Swedish (yellow) turnip (US: rutabaga) (Swede) a person from Sweden   sweet (n.) An after-meal dessert, more s.v. candy (adj.) Sweet-tasting; (adj.) to describe someone who is kind, gentle, or giving (n.) Short for sweetheart. Also, to be sweet on someone is to have a crush on them.
(adj.) used to describe something as good (“That car is sweet!”) switch   (n.) see switch, telephone switch, network switch
(v.) to operate a switch
to exchange, swap, make a shift (n.) mechanism that allows a railway vehicle to change tracks (UK: points); hence switch engine or switcher (UK: shunter), switchyard (UK: marshalling yard), switch tower (UK: signal box)
(v.) to change tracks by means of a switch
see also bait and switch switchback a road or railway that alternately ascends and descends
a roller coaster   a zigzagging road or railway, usu. in the mountains; also, a hairpin turn in a road or trail