Lable or Label: Which Is Correct?

Lable is a misspelling of label. The only correct spelling is label. Lable is incorrect in both American and British English.

"Label" means a small piece of paper, cloth, plastic, or other material that is attached to an object or container that provides information about the item, such as its name, contents, instructions, or other relevant details. For example, a label on the box may indicate the product's weight and ingredients.

As a noun, "label" can also refer to a name, title, or descriptive term given to something or someone to identify or categorize it. For instance, the label "genius" can be used to describe a scientist's groundbreaking work.

As a verb, "label" means to attach a label (noun) or tag to an object or container to provide information or identification. For example, your mother may label the jars in the pantry to keep track of the spices.

"Label" when used as a verb can also mean to assign a name, description, or category to someone or something, often for the purpose of classification or identification. For example, workers at a company can decide to label the project as a priority due to its importance.

As a verb, "label" as a verb can imply categorizing or describing someone or something based on characteristics, often with judgment or stereotype. For instance, your elementary school teacher may tell you it is unfair to label people based on their appearance or background.

English speakers from the US may mistakenly think that lable is the British spelling of label because words like center, theater, and fiber are spelled centre, theatre, and fibre in British English. Lable, however, is simply a misspelling in both American and British English and is always incorrect.

Words that might have caused the confusion may include:

calibre (UK), caliber (US)
centre (UK), center (US)
fibre (UK), fiber (US)
litre (UK), liter (US)
lustre (UK), luster (US)
meagre (UK), meager (US)
metre (UK), meter (US)
theatre (UK), theater (US)

Although the misspelling lable actually has nothing to do with the difference between American and British English, there is a difference in spelling in the past tense form of label between these two most prominent variants of English.

Past tense of the verb label

labelled 🇬🇧(UK)
labeled 🇺🇸(US)

Example sentences

The following are sample sentences containing label, labelled (UK), and labeled (US).

Grady labelled all the books with different coloured sticky notes.
Please put a label on your package so the post office can track it easily.
I labeled each file according to the date created instead of the date modified.
Please take the pile of papers labeled “For administrative use only” and give it to Professor Richards.
Did you see that the photo was labeled with the wrong person’s name in that article?
Jodi forgot to label her drink in the fridge, so naturally, the custodian trashed it.
He labelled each diagram appropriately but forgot to list his references and sources.
Bruce signed a contract with a new record label last summer.
With Post-its, Natalie labeled all the appliances in her apartment in French to help her practice the language.
Did you rip the label off the dress right when you got home?

Notice how in the first example, because we used the British spelling labelled, we stayed consistent and also used the coloured, the British spelling of colored.

Likewise, in the ninth example sentence, the apartment (US) instead of flat (UK) because the American spelling labeled was used.

More example sentences using label

Please read the label on the medicine bottle for dosage instructions.
The label on the clothing indicates the fabric composition and washing instructions.
The label "Made in the USA" assures customers of the product's origin.
He removed the label from the box and recycled it.
The label "dangerous goods" was affixed to the hazardous materials containers.
The students were asked to label the parts of a plant on their biology diagrams.
They decided to label the new species of bird after the renowned ornithologist.
It's important not to label individuals solely based on their ethnicity or appearance.
The media tends to label celebrities with catchy nicknames for easy recognition and branding.
She labeled each folder with the corresponding project name for easy organization.

Other similar words

Below are other words that have a double L in British English and a single L in American English.

Other spelling pairs like labelled and labeled:

cancelled (UK), canceled (US)
levelled (UK), leveled (US)
travelled (UK), traveled (US)
traveller (UK), traveler (US)
modelling (UK), modeling (US)
quarrelled (UK), quarreled (US)

The exceptions

Not all words that have a double L in British English convert to a single L in American English.

Here are some examples:

annulled
controlled
expelled
patrolled

Practice questions

Can you tell the difference between British and American English? Try to see if you know whether to use labelled or labeled in the following sentences. The answers are at the end of this page.

I thought I labelled/labeled my spot in the car park.
Greg realized he labelled/labeled the documents incorrectly.
She dreamt that she labelled/labeled the parts of the human body wrong on the exam.
Travis put his rubbish in the bin labelled/labeled ‘Litter’ and continued down the road.
His behavior changed after they labelled/labeled him “The best-looking man in town.”
Whitney followed the man wearing a backpack labelled/labeled ‘Tour Guide’ to the city centre.
Randal bought the wrong-sized pants because they were labelled/labeled incorrectly.
The young lady went to the shop and grabbed the crisps labelled/labeled ‘Vegan’.
Did Ralph say he labelled/labeled the products after he organized them?
The numerical buttons in the elevator were labelled/labeled horizontally.

Answer to practice questions:

labelled (hint: car park)
labeled (hint: realized)
labelled (hint: dreamt)
labelled (hint: rubbish, bin, Litter in single quotations)
labeled (hint: behavior, period/full stop inside the quotations)
labelled (hint: Tour Guide in single quotations, centre)
labeled (hint: pants)
labelled (hint: shop, crisps, Vegan in single quotations and period/full stop outside of quotes)
labeled (hint: organized)
labeled (hint: elevator)

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