Favourite vs Favorite: UK, US and Australian Spelling

Favorite is the American spelling and favourite is the British, Australian and Canadian spelling. They are the same word, pronounced the same way, with the same meaning; only the u differs.

So if you are writing for readers in New York or Chicago, drop the u. If you are writing for readers in Manchester, Sydney or Toronto, keep it. The choice follows the same logic as colour vs color, and once you see the pattern you can apply it to dozens of other words.

Quick answer: Write favorite for American readers and favourite for British, Australian, Canadian, Irish and New Zealand readers. Related words follow suit: favor/favour, favorable/favourable, favoritism/favouritism.

On this page

1. The word itself
2. Why there are two spellings
3. Spelling by country
4. US vs UK vs Australia in practice
5. The -our family
6. Example sentences
7. Common mistakes
8. Favourite as a noun, adjective and verb
9. Fave, fav and other short forms
10. Writing for a mixed audience
11. Remember it this way
12. Quick quiz
13. Before you hit publish

The word itself

Favourite / favorite works as an adjective and a noun.

• As an adjective, it means "liked more than the others of the same kind": my favourite song, her favorite teacher.
• As a noun, it means "a person or thing that is liked most" (This one's my favourite) or "the competitor expected to win" (The home team are favourites).
• In digital contexts it has also become a verb: to favourite a post or favorite a page.

How to say it

The pronunciation is identical in the US, UK and Australia: FAY-vuh-rit, often squeezed to two syllables, FAYV-rit, in casual speech. The u in the British spelling is silent; it changes nothing about the sound.

Where it came from

The word entered English in the late 1500s from Old French favorit (later favori), via Italian favorito, "favored," ultimately from Latin favor, "goodwill." For centuries English writers spelled it with and without the u. The u-spelling reflects the French route the word took into English; the u-less spelling looks back to Latin.

Why there are two spellings

The short version: an American dictionary maker chose one spelling, and British printers had already settled on the other.

By the 1700s, British printers had largely settled on -our endings for words like honour, colour and favour, partly following French models. Samuel Johnson's dictionary of 1755 used many of these forms and lent them authority.

In the United States, Noah Webster published An American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828. Webster wanted a distinct, simpler American spelling, and he championed -or endings. Some of his proposals failed (few Americans adopted "tung" for tongue), but the -or spellings caught on. American printers, schools and newspapers followed, and by the late 1800s favor, color and honor were the US standard.

Australia, colonized from Britain, inherited British spelling. Canada mixed both influences but kept -our for this group of words.

Spelling by country

US vs UK vs Australia in practice

In the US, favorite is universal. "Favourite" looks distinctly foreign to American readers, and in American school writing it would usually be marked as a spelling error, even though dictionaries recognize it as the British form.

In the UK, favourite is standard in newspapers, books, schools and government. British readers recognize favorite as American and may notice it, particularly in formal writing. You will see favorite in the UK mainly in tech interfaces and in content imported from the US.

In Australia, favourite is standard. Australian schools, universities, the public service and major mastheads all use the -our spelling. There is one well-known Australian quirk in the -our family: the Australian Labor Party, whose name has been spelled without a u since the early twentieth century, while the ordinary word "labour" keeps its u in Australia. That exception does not extend to favourite, which Australians always spell with a u.

In Canada, the -our forms are standard in this group, though American influence means favorite appears in commercial settings.

A note on grammar rather than spelling: when "favourites" refers to a sports team, British and Australian English often treat the team as plural ("Leeds are favourites to win"), while American English treats it as singular ("Ohio State is the favorite"). That is a separate difference from the spelling, but it often shows up in the same sentence.

The -our family

Favourite belongs to a large group of words that end in -our in British and Australian spelling and -or in American spelling. Learning them as a set helps.

Words that never take the u

Not every -or word gets a British -our. These are spelled the same way everywhere: doctor, actor, author, error, mirror, horror, terror, motor, tutor, emperor, governor. If you add a u to these in British writing, it is simply a mistake.

Where British English drops the u too

Even in British spelling, the u often disappears before certain suffixes, especially -ous, -ation, -ize/-ise and -ific: humorous (not humourous), vigorous, glamorous (though glamour keeps it), coloration, honorific, laborious. But favourite and favourable keep the u, as do colourful, honourable and behavioural. If you are unsure about a specific derivative, a British dictionary will settle it in seconds.

Example sentences

Everyday

1. Pumpkin pie is my favorite part of Thanksgiving. (US)
2. Fish and chips on a Friday is still Dad's favourite meal. (UK)
3. Which flavour is your favourite: mango or passionfruit? (AU)
4. My favorite coffee shop in Portland closed last week. (US)
5. The kids each picked a favourite book for the trip to Cairns. (AU)
6. Grandma never admits she has a favourite grandchild. (UK)

Workplace and email

7. "Could you do me a favor and send the slides before 3 p.m.?" (US)
8. "Thanks for your favourable review of our proposal." (UK/AU)
9. Save the dashboard to your favorites so you can find it quickly. (US software)
10. The Perth team responded favourably to the new roster. (AU)
11. Accusations of favouritism in promotions damaged morale at the Leeds branch. (UK)
12. "Our client in Denver is looking for favorable payment terms." (US)

Academic

13. Survey participants were asked to name their favourite form of exercise. (UK/AU)
14. The results were broadly favorable to the hypothesis. (US)
15. Historians have long debated royal favouritism at the Tudor court. (UK)
16. Students at the University of Queensland rated the online module more favourably than lectures. (AU)

News and sport

17. Liverpool are favourites to win the league this season. (UK)
18. The Yankees enter the series as the clear favorite. (US)
19. The Melbourne Cup favourite was scratched on the morning of the race. (AU)
20. Polls show the incumbent remains the favorite in Ohio. (US)
21. The drama was named the nation's favourite TV programme of the year. (UK)
22. Conditions are favourable for planting after last week's rain in Victoria. (AU)

Common mistakes

Mixing spellings in one document. Once you choose a variety, carry it through every related word.

• ❌ Our favourite clients receive favorable rates.
• ✅ Our favourite clients receive favourable rates. (UK/AU)
• ✅ Our favorite clients receive favorable rates. (US)

Misspelling the middle. "Favourate," "favorate" and "faverite" are common slips, because the middle syllable is barely pronounced.

• ❌ My favorate film is Jaws.
• ✅ My favorite film is Jaws. (US)

Adding a u where British English doesn't use one.

• ❌ That joke was very humourous.
• ✅ That joke was very humorous. (all varieties)

Dropping the u from proper names. If a business or place is spelled with or without a u, respect the official name, even if it clashes with your usual spelling.

• ❌ Pearl Harbour (in an American context)
• ✅ Pearl Harbor (the official US name)

Using "most favourite" in formal writing.

• ❌ Of all the proposals, this is the most favourite.
• ✅ Of all the proposals, this is the favourite (or the most popular).

Favourite as a noun, adjective and verb

The spelling question applies equally to every grammatical use of the word, but each use has its own quirks.

As an adjective, favourite is technically an absolute: it already means "most liked," so it doesn't need "most" or "very" in formal writing. In speech, "my very favourite" is common and perfectly acceptable as emphasis.

As a noun, it has two distinct senses. The first is "the one you like most" ("Which one's your favorite?"). The second, from horse racing and sport, is "the competitor most expected to win" ("the favourite for the Melbourne Cup"). Related terms include odds-on favourite (a very strong favourite) and crowd favourite. In politics, "the favourite to win the seat" uses the same sense.

As a verb, "to favourite" or "to favorite" means to mark something as a favorite online: "I've favourited the recipe." It is informal and mainly digital. Note that the older verb to favour / to favor means something different: to prefer or treat someone better, or to support an option ("The committee favoured the second proposal").

Common phrases

• play favourites / play favorites — treat some people better than others unfairly
• a firm favourite — something consistently popular, mainly British and Australian
• fan favorite — popular with fans of a show, team or band
• an all-time favourite — liked best over a long period
• curry favour / curry favor — try to win approval through flattery

Fave, fav and other short forms

In texts, captions and casual posts, many people skip the spelling question by shortening the word. Fave is the most established clipped form and appears in British, American and Australian dictionaries as informal. Fav is also common online, especially in usernames and hashtags. Neither has a u, so they look the same in every country.

• "New season of that show just dropped, an instant fave." (casual, any country)
• "Mum's fav cafe in Hobart is reopening." (text message, AU)

These shortcuts are fine with friends and on social media, but keep them out of essays, reports and client emails, where the full word is expected. And note the plural: faves is the usual spelling, though favs is common online.

Editing exercise

This sentence is going into a newsletter for readers in Auckland and Sydney. Fix it.

Our faves this month include a favorite local bakery that has won favorable reviews and a brand-new flavour of gelato.

Answer: "Our favourites this month include a favourite local bakery that has won favourable reviews and a brand-new flavour of gelato." Faves is too casual for a newsletter, the two -or words need a u for New Zealand and Australian readers, and flavour was already correct.

Writing for a mixed audience

If you publish for readers in several countries, pick one spelling standard and apply it to the whole site or document. A global brand might standardize on American spelling to match its software; a British charity would naturally choose British spelling. Style guides for international organizations generally say the same: choose one, document it, apply it consistently.

Proper nouns, quotations and product names keep their original spelling no matter which standard you use. If you quote an American source in a British report, leave its "favorite" alone.

For a wider view of these choices, including -ise and -ize, -re and -er, and doubled consonants, see our British, American and Australian spelling guide.

Remember it this way

Picture the British and Australian spelling as having one extra guest: "favo-U-rite — U are my favourite." If you are writing for readers who say "mum" rather than "mom" (see mum vs mom), the u belongs in the word.

For American spelling, think "favor-ite = favor + ite." Americans drop the u from favor, so it stays dropped in favorite, favorable and favoritism.

Quick quiz

Pick the right spelling for each audience.

1. A Boston restaurant menu: "Our chef's __ dish." — favorite / favourite
2. A BBC sports report: "Arsenal are strong __ for the match." — favorites / favourites
3. An Australian job advert: "We offer __ conditions." — favorable / favourable
4. A US HR policy: "We do not tolerate __ in hiring." — favoritism / favouritism
5. A UK essay: "The weather was __ for the expedition." — favourable / favorable
6. Any country: "That was a very __ story." — humorous / humourous

Answers

1. favorite — American audience, so no u.
2. favourites — British spelling, and the team takes a plural verb.
3. favourable — Australian English keeps the u in the whole family.
4. favoritism — American spelling drops the u throughout.
5. favourable — British spelling.
6. humorous — no u in any variety before -ous.

Before you hit publish

Check your audience, then search your document for "favo" and make sure every hit matches: favourite, favour, favourable and favouritism for British, Australian and Canadian readers; favorite, favor, favorable and favoritism for American readers. That single search catches most inconsistencies, and the same trick works for the rest of the -our family.