Color or Colour?

Differences Between US and UK Grammar #3 - Color vs. Colour

Do you know the difference between color and colour?

Color: the preferred spelling in the 🇺🇸US (American English)
Colour: the preferred spelling in the 🇬🇧UK (British English)

Although there is only a one-letter difference, the two spelling variants are used in different regions of the world. Other members of the Commonwealth of Nations tend to also follow the British spelling of colour.

Both spelling variants, color and colour, apply when used as nouns or verbs. In other words, the spelling does not change depending on if the word is used as a noun or a verb.

Noun: What color/colour do you like?
Verb: My dog colored/coloured my world.

Example sentences

Here are some sample sentences using either color or colour. Because the two spellings have the exact same meaning, they can be used interchangeably, but be sure to stay consistent within the same piece of writing.

Jimothy had 100 different colored crayons.
Rosemary’s favourite colour is crimson which is a bit unexpected.
The colour of the light changes if you click this button.
It is illegal to discriminate based on age, religion, or color of skin.
He directed the first film that was shot in color.
The loud crack of thunder drained the colour out of her face.
Marcia coloured in the black-and-white picture with her new coloured pencils.
His children colored his world and gave him the motivation to keep working at the factory.
The bright blue color of Sean’s baseball cap stood out in the crowd.
The composer coloured the piece with musical ornamentation from the Baroque period and dynamic changes in tempo.

Notice how in the second example sentence the British spelling of favourite was used along with the British spelling of colour. Remember that when you choose either British or American spelling and grammar, stay consistent with your choice throughout the rest of your piece of writing. When using colour, use British spelling and grammar throughout your piece of writing; when using color, use American spelling and grammar.

Other spelling pairs like color and colour

Below is a list of other commonly used words that have different spellings in American and British English. Notice how there is an extra U in the British spelling of each word and that U is placed between the O and R.