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Is It Color or Colour? | Meaning, Spelling & Examples

Is It Color or Colour? | Meaning, Spelling & Examples

UK vs US updated on December 6, 2023 3 min read

Color and colour are two ways of spelling the same noun, meaning “shade” or “hue.” It can also be used as a verb to mean “change something’s color” (e.g., by painting). The spelling depends on the version of English you use.

In American English, “color” is correct.
In British English, “colour” is standard.

It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.

Examples: Color or colour in a sentence
Hank's favorite color/colour is green.
I love your ginger hair! Did you color/colour it?
The children eagerly sat down to color/colour in the doctor's practice.

The plural noun form is colors or colours.

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The same spelling difference applies to the adjective colorful or colourful, the past tense/past participle verb (or adjective) colored or coloured, and the present participle or gerund coloring or colouring.

In American English, "colorful," "colored," and "coloring" are correct.
In British English, “colourful,” "coloured," and “colouring” are standard.

Examples: Words related to color or colour in a sentence
Her dress was so colorful/colourful that it brightened up the entire room.
The tattoo artist colored/coloured in the intricate design on the client's arm.
I was coloring/colouring Lydia's hair when I noticed I'd run out of hair dye.

Expressions with color or colour

Color or colour is used in many idioms. The spelling difference carries over to these too.

Expression	Meaning
Wake up, Adam! You're viewing the world through rose-colored/coloured glasses.	Having a naively positive perspective on something
I thought I failed the test, but I passed with flying colors/colours.	Doing something exceptionally well
I wish I'd seen your true colors/colours before I married you!	Seeing someone’s true character (normally with a negative connotation)

Main differences between American and British English

American and British English are very similar, but there are a few main differences in spelling. Five important differences are:

Difference	Rule	Examples
-or vs -our	In American English, many Latin-derived words end in -or. In British English, these same words end in -our.	Behavior or behaviour Labor or labour Favor or favour Favorite or favourite Humor or humour Honor or honour
-er vs -re	In American English, some French, Latin, or Greek words end in -er. In British English, these same words end in -re.	Theater or theatre Center or centre Meter or metre Liter or litre Saber or sabre Fiber or fibre
-ize vs -ise	In American English, many Greek-derived words end in -yze or -ize. In British English, these words end in -yse or -ise.	Realize or realise Recognize or recognise Analyze or analyse Organize or organise Minimize or minimise Finalize or finalise
-ed vs -t	In American English, most verbs are regular and form their past tense with the suffix -ed. In British English, some of these verbs are irregular and form their past tense with the suffix -t.	Learned or learnt Burned or burnt Kneeled or knelt Dreamed or dreamt Smelled or smelt Spelled or spelt
Single vs double consonant	In American English, many words are spelled with a single consonant. In British English, these same words are spelled with a double consonant.	Modeling or modelling Traveling or travelling Canceled or cancelled Labeled or labelled Buses or busses Focused or focussed

Commas	Parts of speech	Commonly confused words
Comma before because	Nouns	Flier vs flyer
Comma before such as	Collective nouns	Its vs it’s
Comma splice	Verbs	Use to or used to
Comma before or after but	Noun clauses	Alright vs all right
Comma before too	Predicate nominative	Affective vs effective

Frequently asked questions about color or colour

Is it color or colour in Australia?

Color and colour are two spellings of the same noun (which can also be used as a verb). The spelling depends on the type of English.

In American English, you use “color.”
In British English, you use “colour.”

Australian English mostly follows UK guidelines, so colour is standard.

The same difference applies to similar words, such as “behaviour or behavior,” “honor or honour,” “labor or labour,” “favorite or favourite,” “favor or favour,” and “humor or humour.”

It's important to choose one type of English and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.

Is it color or colour in Canada?

Color and colour are two spellings of the same noun (which can also be used as a verb). The spelling depends on the type of English.

In American English, you use “color.”
In British English, you use “colour.”

Canadian English mostly follows UK guidelines, so colour is standard.

It's important to choose one type of English and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.

Julia Merkus

Julia has master's degrees in Linguistics and Language and speech pathology. Her expertise lies in grammar, language and speech disorders, foreign language learning, and child language acquisition.

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