BrE & AmE Differences

British English vs. American English: Word Stress Differences

There are quite some stress differences between American and British English. This page outlines most of those.

Recent Loanwords from French


These 2-syllable words have the following pattern:

  • BrE: /10/ the first syllable is stressed
  • AmE: /01/ the last syllable is stressed
BrE /10/
AmE /01/
English Definition
Adult/ˈæd.ʌlt//əˈdʌlt/a person or animal that has finished growing and is not now a child
Ballet/ˈbæl.eɪ//bælˈeɪ/a type of dancing where carefully organized movements tell a story or express an idea, or a theatre work that uses this type of dancing:
Baton/ˈbæt.ɒn//bəˈtɑːn/a stick used by a conductor (= person who controls the performance of a group of musicians) to show the speed of the music
Beret/ˈbereɪ//bəˈreɪ/a round, flat hat made of soft material
Bidet/ˈbiːdeɪ//bɪˈdeɪ/a small low bath that a person uses to wash their bottom and sex organs
Brochure/ˈbrəʊ.ʃər//broʊˈʃʊr/a type of small magazine that contains pictures and information on a product or a company
Buffet/ˈbʊf.eɪ/ /bəˈfeɪ/a meal where people serve themselves different types of usually cold food / a restaurant in a station, where food and drinks can be bought and eaten
Café/ˈkæf.eɪ//.kæfˈeɪ/a restaurant where simple and usually quite cheap meals are served
Canard/ˈkæn.ɑːd//kəˈnɑːrd/a false report or piece of information that is intended to deceive people
Chagrin/ˈʃægrɪn//ʃəˈgrɪn/anger or disappointment caused by something that does not happen the way you wanted it
Challet/ˈʃæleɪ//ʃælˈeɪ/a small wooden house, often in a mountain area, or for people who are on holiday
Chauffeur/ˈʃəʊ.fər//ʃoʊˈfɝː/someone whose job is to drive a car for a rich or important person
Chiffon/ˈʃɪf.ɒn/ /ʃɪˈfɑːn/a very thin, almost transparent cloth of silk or nylon
Cliché/ˈkliː.ʃeɪ/ /kliːˈʃeɪ/a saying or remark that is very often made and is therefore not original and not interesting
Coupé/ˈkuː.peɪ//kʊˈpeɪ/a car with a fixed roof, two doors, two or four seats, and usually a sloping back
Croissant/ˈkwæsɒŋ//kwɑːˈsɒŋ/a soft, curved piece of bread, eaten for breakfast
Debris/ˈdebriː//dəˈbriː/broken pieces of something
Debut/ˈdeɪbjuː//deɪˈbuː/when someone performs or presents something to the public for the first time:
Décor/ˈdeɪkɔːr//deɪˈkɔːr/the style of decoration and furniture in a room or building
Detail/ˈdiːteɪl//dɪˈteɪl/a fact or piece of information about somethingincluding every part of something
Flambé/ˈflɒm.beɪ//flɑːmˈbeɪ/to pour alcohol over food and set fire to it during cooking
Frappé/ˈfræp.eɪ//fræpˈeɪ/a partly frozen drink made of milk or fruit juice, or a strongly alcoholic drink served with ice
Garage/ˈɡær.ɑːʒ/ /-ɪdʒ//ɡəˈrɑːʒ/a building where a car is kept, built next to or as part of a house
Gateau/ˈɡæt.əʊ// ɡæt̬ˈoʊ/a large, sweet cake, usually with cream or fruit in it
Gourmet/ˈɡɔː.meɪ//ˈɡʊr.meɪ/(of food) very high quality
Parquet/ˈpɑː.keɪ/ /pɑːrˈkeɪ/floor covering that consists of small rectangular blocks of wood arranged in a pattern
Pastel/ˈpæs.təl/ /pæsˈtel/a soft, coloured substance, usually in the form of a small stick, that is used to draw pictures, or a picture made using this
Pastille/ˈpæs.təl/ /pæˈstiːl/a type of small round sweet that can be sucked or chewed
Pâté/ˈpæt.eɪ/ /pætˈeɪ/a thick, smooth, soft mixture made from meat, fish, or vegetables
Sachet/ˈsæʃ.eɪ//sæʃˈeɪ/a small closed container made of paper or plastic, containing a small amount of something, usually enough for only one occasion
Salon/ˈsæl.ɒn/ /səˈlɑːn/a shop where you can get a particular service, especially connected with beauty or fashion
Vaccine/ˈvæksiːn//vækˈsiːn/a substance that is given to people to stop them from getting a particular disease

3-syllable words where BrE stresses the first syllable while AmE stresses the last one:

BrE /100/
AmE /201/
English Definition
Matinée/ˈmætɪneɪ//mætəˈneɪ/an afternoon performance of a play or film
Négligée/ˈneɡ.lɪ.ʒeɪ//ˌneɡ.lɪˈʒeɪ/a woman’s decorative dressing gown (= a loose coat worn inside the house) made of light material
Nonchalant/ˈnɒn.ʃəl.ənt//ˌnɑːn.ʃəˈlɑːnt/behaving in a calm manner, often in a way that suggests you are not interested or do not care
Cigarette/ˈsɪgəˌret//ˌsɪgərˈet/a thin tube of paper filled with tobacco, that people smoke

Other French loanwords with stress differences between BrE and AmE:



English Definition









a line of hair that some men grow above their mouths




a large, expensive car, usually for rich or important people




the form of a verb that usually ends in “ed” or “ing” and is used as an adjective

Two-syllable verbs in -ATE

Many 2-syllable verbs ending in -ate have this pattern:

  • BrE: /01/ the last syllable is stressed
  • AmE: /10/ the first syllable is stressed

This includes:

  • castrate,
  • dictate,
  • donate,
  • locate,
  • migrate,
  • placate,
  • pulsate,
  • rotate,
  • translate,
  • vacate,
  • vibrate,

Here are some 2-syllable verbs ending in -ate are stressed on the last syllable in both BrE and AmE:

  • create, debate, equate, elate, negate, orate, relate

Here are some 2-syllable verbs ending in -ate are stressed on the first syllable in both BrE and AmE:

  • mandate, probate

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