Favourite is the British English spelling, and favorite is the American English spelling — both are correct, and the one you should use depends on which version of English your audience expects. There’s no rule of grammar at play here, only geography. If you’re writing for a UK, Australian, or Canadian reader, favourite is standard. If you’re writing for a US reader, favorite is standard.
The Short Answer
This is a spelling variant, not a spelling error. Both words mean exactly the same thing: something or someone preferred above all others. The difference comes down to one letter — that extra “u” — and it traces back to a much bigger pattern in how British and American English diverged.
- Favourite — British, Australian, Canadian, Irish, South African English
- Favorite — American English
Why There Are Two Spellings
English inherited a batch of words from French that carried a “-our” ending: colour, honour, labour, favour, and their derivatives. British English kept that French-influenced spelling. American English didn’t.
The reason traces back to Noah Webster, the lexicographer behind the first major American dictionary in the early 1800s. Webster wanted American English to look distinct from British English, partly for national identity and partly to simplify spelling. He dropped the “u” from words like colour, honour, and favour, giving American readers color, honor, and favor — and, by extension, favorite instead of favourite.
So this isn’t a case of one country getting it “right” and the other getting it “wrong.” It’s a deliberate 19th-century spelling reform that stuck in the US and never caught on elsewhere.
The Same Pattern Shows Up Elsewhere
| British spelling | American spelling |
|---|---|
| colour | color |
| honour | honor |
| labour | labor |
| favourite | favorite |
| flavour | flavor |
| humour | humor |
Once you spot this “-our” versus “-or” pattern, you can predict dozens of similar spelling pairs without memorizing each one individually.
Examples in a Sentence
- British: “Blue has always been my favourite colour.”
- American: “Blue has always been my favorite color.”
- British: “She’s the favourite to win the race.”
- American: “She’s the favorite to win the race.”
Notice that the word functions the same way in both — as a noun (“my favourite/favorite”) or an adjective (“the favourite/favorite team”) — only the spelling shifts.
Which to Use When
Pick your spelling based on your audience, not your personal preference, and then stay consistent for the entire piece of writing.
- Writing for a US company, publication, or app store listing? Use favorite.
- Writing for a UK, Irish, Australian, or Canadian audience? Use favourite.
- Writing for a global or unspecified audience? Pick one spelling and use it consistently rather than switching mid-document — mixing the two looks like a typo, not a style choice.
- Editing someone else’s work? Match the spelling convention already established in that document or publication’s style guide.
Spell-check tools will usually flag whichever variant doesn’t match your selected language setting (English UK vs. English US), so it’s worth confirming that setting before you start writing anything long-form.
Key Takeaways
- Favourite and favorite are both correct — they’re regional spelling variants, not a right-versus-wrong pair.
- Favourite is used in British, Australian, Canadian, and other Commonwealth English; favorite is used in American English.
- The split comes from Noah Webster’s 19th-century push to simplify American spelling by dropping the “u” from French-derived words.
- The same “-our” to “-or” pattern applies to colour/color, honour/honor, and labour/labor.
- Choose your spelling based on your audience and keep it consistent throughout the same piece of writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is “favourite” or “favorite” correct in English?
Both are correct. Favourite is standard British English; favorite is standard American English. Neither is a misspelling — they’re regional variants of the same word.
Which spelling should I use in Canada or Australia?
Canadian and Australian English generally follow British conventions, so favourite is the expected spelling in both countries, though you may occasionally see American influence in casual or online writing.
Does Microsoft Word or Google Docs flag one as wrong?
Only if it doesn’t match your selected language setting. If your document is set to English (US), favourite will be underlined as an error, and vice versa for English (UK) with favorite. Check your language setting rather than trusting the squiggly line alone.
Why does American English drop the “u” in words like this?
It comes from Noah Webster’s early 1800s dictionary reforms, which simplified several French-derived spellings to make American English distinct and more phonetic.
Is “favorited” or “favourited” used as a verb, like on social media?
Yes, both appear as informal verbs meaning to mark something as a favorite (for example, on a website or app), and they follow the same regional split — favorited in American English, favourited in British English.
Can I mix both spellings in one document?
You shouldn’t. Pick one regional spelling and apply it consistently throughout a single piece of writing; mixing British and American spellings in the same document reads as inconsistent or careless.
Spelling pairs like this trip up even experienced writers, mostly because both versions look and sound completely correct. If words like this keep catching you off guard, browse more spelling comparisons on Meaningiffied to build a sharper instinct for when to use which.
