Programme vs Program: When Each Is Used

Program is the American spelling for every meaning of the word. Programme is the British spelling for a broadcast, a schedule, a printed event guide or a planned set of activities, while British English uses program for computer software. Australia sits closer to the US than you might expect: it mostly uses program for everything.

That makes this one of the few UK/US pairs where British English itself uses both spellings, depending on the meaning. If you have ever wondered why a British IT manager writes "software program" while the BBC lists its "programmes", this is why.

Quick answer: US: always program. UK: programme for TV, events, plans and booklets; program for computer software. Australia: usually program for everything, though programme appears in some contexts. Pronounced PROH-gram everywhere.

On this page

1. Meanings of the word
2. Why there are two spellings
3. Spelling by country and meaning
4. Example sentences
5. Common mistakes
6. A memory trick
7. Writing for different audiences
8. Program, show or course? Choosing the right noun
9. Related words at a glance
10. Editing exercise: one email, three audiences
11. Practice quiz
12. What to take away

Meanings of the word

Program(me) is both a noun and a verb, and its meanings have grown over two centuries.

As a noun:

1. A planned series of activities or actions: a training program, a vaccination programme.
2. A broadcast on television or radio: my favourite programme.
3. A schedule of events, or the printed booklet listing them: the theatre programme.
4. A course of study: a master's program.
5. A set of coded instructions for a computer: a computer program.

As a verb:

6. To write code for a computer: She programs in Python.
7. To set a machine to operate automatically: program the oven.
8. To schedule or plan: The festival programmed three new plays.
9. To condition someone's behavior: We're programmed to fear snakes.

Pronunciation: PROH-gram. Some British and Australian speakers say PROH-grum, with a reduced second vowel. The extra -me in the British spelling is silent.

Why there are two spellings

The word goes back to Greek programma, "a public notice", from pro- ("before, forth") and graphein ("to write"). It came into English via late Latin, and early English writers spelled it program, which is closer to the Greek.

In the nineteenth century, British writers increasingly adopted the French-style programme, under the influence of French programme, which was fashionable in the world of theater, music and diplomacy. Spellings that look French often carried prestige at the time, much like cheque and catalogue.

Americans kept, or returned to, the shorter program. Noah Webster's reforms favored dropping unnecessary letters, and American dictionaries and newspapers settled on program during the nineteenth century, although programme was also seen in the US for a while.

Computing changed British usage

When electronic computers arrived in the mid-twentieth century, much of the early technical vocabulary came from American research and industry. The term computer program came with it. British computing professionals adopted the American spelling, and it stuck. Major British dictionaries and style guides today recommend program for software and programme for everything else.

So in modern British English you get sentences like this:

The BBC's technology programme explained how the new program detects fake videos.

Spelling by country and meaning

United States

American English uses program in every sense, without exception. You'll see after-school program, TV program, graduate program, loyalty program and program the remote. Programme appears only in proper names (such as a British organization) or in quotations.

The past tense is usually programmed and the present participle programming. American dictionaries also list programed and programing with one m, but these are rare in practice. The double-m forms are standard in the US technology industry.

United Kingdom

British English splits the word by meaning. The general sense is programme: a government programme, the Erasmus programme, a degree programme, the evening's programme, a breakfast programme on the radio. The software sense is program: a computer program, a spreadsheet program.

As a verb, British writers use program for computing (She programs robots) and sometimes programme for scheduling or conditioning (The festival has programmed three new plays; We are programmed to seek approval). Usage in the verb is less settled, and many British writers simply use program or rephrase.

Australia

Australia is where people are most often surprised. Although Australian English generally follows British spelling (colour, centre, organise), it tends to use program for all meanings. Australian government style guidance has long preferred program, and you'll find it in government departments' "program guidelines", in school and university "programs", and in TV listings.

Programme still appears in Australia, particularly in the arts world (concert and theatre programmes), in some newspapers, and in organizations with British links. Both spellings are recognized in Australian dictionaries, but program is the more common choice. If you're writing for an Australian employer, check the house style.

Canada

Canadian English generally uses program throughout, in line with American practice, though programme turns up in some institutional and federal contexts, often as a mirror of the French programme in bilingual documents.

Example sentences

Broadcasting and entertainment

1. Did you watch that nature programme on BBC One last night? (UK)
2. My favorite TV program growing up was a cartoon that aired after school in Phoenix. (US)
3. The ABC has commissioned a new current-affairs program for next year. (AU)
4. The theatre programme lists the full cast and crew. (UK)
5. Ushers handed out programs before the concert at Carnegie Hall. (US)

Plans, schemes and courses

6. The government launched a national programme to plant more trees in Yorkshire. (UK)
7. The Queensland Government expanded its free TAFE program this year. (AU)
8. Harvard's MBA program receives thousands of applications. (US)
9. She's on a twelve-week fitness program and swears by it. (US/AU)
10. The council's housing programme has been delayed by rising costs. (UK)

Computing

11. Liam wrote a program that sorts photos by location. (all countries)
12. Our IT team in Birmingham is testing a new accounting program. (UK)
13. Which program do you use to edit video? (all countries)
14. She learned to program at a coding bootcamp in Austin. (US)
15. The program crashed twice before I could save the file. (all countries)

Workplace and email

16. "Hi Emma, I've attached the programme for next week's conference in Edinburgh." (UK)
17. "Our mentorship program pairs new hires with senior engineers." (US)
18. "Can you send me the program for the Sydney leadership summit?" (AU)
19. "Please note that the training programme starts at 9:30, not 9:00." (UK)

Verb uses

20. Can you program the thermostat to turn on at six? (all countries)
21. The festival has programmed several new Australian plays this season. (AU)
22. Humans are programmed to notice faces everywhere. (all countries)
23. The robot was programmed to sort parcels by postcode. (UK/AU)

Common mistakes

❌ I installed a new computer programme. (UK) ✅ I installed a new computer program. Software is program even in British English.

❌ The BBC program about volcanoes was excellent. (UK) ✅ The BBC programme about volcanoes was excellent.

❌ He's enrolled in a graduate programme at Ohio State. (US) ✅ He's enrolled in a graduate program at Ohio State.

❌ She is a talented programer. ✅ She is a talented programmer. The noun takes a double m everywhere.

❌ The software was programed by a small team. (UK/AU) ✅ The software was programmed by a small team.

❌ The conference programme includes a workshop on how to programme in Java. (UK) ✅ The conference programme includes a workshop on how to program in Java.

A memory trick

For British English, remember:

Computers don't need the extra letters. People do.

Software is short and efficient: program. Everything aimed at human audiences (a TV show, a concert booklet, a training scheme) gets the longer, more elaborate programme, like a theatre program printed on glossy paper.

Another way to think about it: programme ends in -me, and a TV programme is something made for me to watch. A computer program is for the machine.

For American English, it's simple: one word, one spelling, program.

Writing for different audiences

If your document is international, pick one spelling system and apply it consistently. A few tips:

• British writing: search your document for program and check each one. If it's software, leave it; if it's anything else, change it to programme.
• American writing: change every programme to program, except in proper names (for example, a UK charity's official name).
• Australian writing: default to program, unless the publication or organization has a different style.
• Proper names stay as they are. The United Nations Development Programme keeps its spelling even in an American article.

The same pattern of "British keeps a French-style ending" appears in centre vs center and theatre vs theater. For a word where British English uses two spellings for different jobs, as it does here, see licence vs license. And our British vs American vs Australian spelling guide puts all these patterns in one place.

Program, show or course? Choosing the right noun

Sometimes the real question isn't the spelling but whether program(me) is the most natural word at all. Native speakers in different countries often reach for a different noun.

• On TV: Americans most often say show ("a cooking show"). British speakers say programme or show fairly equally, with programme sounding a little more traditional. Australians say show or program.
• At university: Americans enroll in a program ("a PhD program"). British students usually take a course or a degree, and programme is common in official university writing. Australians use course and degree in conversation and program on official websites.
• For a government scheme: Americans and Australians say program. British writers use programme, but also scheme, which is very common in the UK ("a government scheme") and can sound slightly negative in American English, where scheme often suggests a plot.

So a British sentence like "She's on a training scheme" might become "She's in a training program" for American readers. Changing the spelling alone isn't always enough to make text sound local.

Related words at a glance

Notice that programmer, programming and programmable are identical in every country. The spelling difference only shows up in the base noun and verb.

Editing exercise: one email, three audiences

Here is a short email written for a British audience. Every use follows British rules. Before reading the notes below, try converting it for an American reader and then for an Australian government department.

Hi all, the programme for Thursday's induction is attached. After lunch, Priya will demo the new rostering program, and we'll finish with an overview of the graduate development programme. If you need to reprogram your door pass, IT can help on the day.

For an American reader: both programme spellings become program. Rostering would usually become scheduling, and door pass might become key card. Program and reprogram stay as they are.

For an Australian department: both programme spellings usually become program, matching common Australian government style. Rostering and door pass are already natural in Australian English, so they stay.

What never changes: the software sense (rostering program) and the verb reprogram, which use the short spelling in all three countries.

Practice quiz

Choose program or programme for the audience shown.

1. (UK) "The new cookery ______ airs on Thursday evenings."
2. (US) "The school's music ______ was cut last year."
3. (UK) "Download the latest version of the antivirus ______."
4. (AU) "The state's apprenticeship ______ supports 5,000 young workers." (most common choice)
5. (UK) "The ______ for the Edinburgh Festival is out tomorrow."
6. (all) "She works as a computer ______er at a bank."

Answers

1. programme — British English uses programme for broadcasts.
2. program — American English uses program for all meanings.
3. program — software is program even in the UK.
4. program — Australian English, including government usage, generally prefers program.
5. programme — a British schedule of events.
6. programmer — the noun has a double m in every country.

What to take away

In American English, you never have to think: it's always program. In British English, ask whether you mean software. If you do, write program; if you mean a show, an event, a plan or a booklet, write programme. In Australian English, program is the safe default for nearly everything. Whatever you choose, keep programmer and programming with a double m and stay consistent from the first page to the last.