Usage guide · UK vs US
British vs American Number Spelling
Updated: June 2026
British and American English spell the same numbers in slightly different ways, and the gap trips up writers on both sides of the Atlantic. The biggest difference is one small word — “and” — but dates and the meaning of “billion” have history worth knowing too. Here is what actually differs and what doesn’t.
British “and” toggle · Free · No upload
The big one: “and”
The headline difference is the word “and”. British English inserts it before the final tens-and-units of a number: one hundred and one, two thousand and twenty-six, three hundred and fifty. American English drops it: one hundred one, two thousand twenty-six, three hundred fifty. To American ears, “and” signals the decimal point — “a hundred and a half” means 100.5 — which is exactly why traditional US usage avoids it inside whole numbers. Neither version is wrong; each is standard in its own region. The converter’s British “and” toggle switches between them instantly.
Side-by-side examples
| Number | British | American |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | one hundred and one | one hundred one |
| 250 | two hundred and fifty | two hundred fifty |
| 1,005 | one thousand and five | one thousand five |
| 2,026 | two thousand and twenty-six | two thousand twenty-six |
| 1,250,000 | one million, two hundred and fifty thousand | one million two hundred fifty thousand |
Which billion?
For most of the twentieth century, a British “billion” meant a million million — twelve zeros — under the so-called long scale, while America used the short-scale billion of nine zeros. This caused real confusion in finance and journalism. Since 1974, official UK usage has adopted the short scale, so today a billion is nine zeros on both sides, and a trillion is twelve. You will only meet the long-scale billion in old British texts or in some other European languages, where it survives.
Dates and years
Years split the same way as other numbers. 1984 is usually nineteen eighty-four in both dialects, while 2009 tends to be two thousand and nine (UK) or two thousand nine (US). Calendar dates differ in order rather than spelling: British writers say “the fourth of July” and write 4 July, Americans say “July fourth” and write July 4. Both use ordinals for the day — fourth, twenty-first, thirty-first.
What stays the same
- Hyphenation of twenty-one to ninety-nine is identical in both.
- The spelling of every number word — forty, ninety, fifth — is the same.
- The comma as a thousands separator and the point as a decimal marker are shared (unlike much of continental Europe).
Frequently asked questions
Is it “one hundred and one” or “one hundred one”?
British uses “and”; American omits it. Both are correct regionally.
Do Americans ever use “and”?
In speech, often; in formal writing, traditionally only for the decimal point.
Is a billion the same in both?
Today yes — nine zeros. The old British long-scale billion is obsolete.
Can the tool produce both styles?
Yes — toggle British “and” on or off to switch between them.