Offence vs. Offense: What's the Difference?
Learn the regional difference between offence and offense, plus sports, legal, and derived forms, with examples, a quiz, and FAQs.
Offense is the standard American spelling. Offence is the standard British spelling and common in many other varieties. They share meanings involving wrongdoing, insult, or attack, though sports terminology may follow the conventions of a particular league.
Working with a longer passage? Use our free AI text summarizer to turn it into a focused overview, then return here to check the wording.
An international policy uses offence in its UK guidance and offense in a quotation from US law. Both remain because editorial voice and official source wording call for different regional spellings.
Offence vs. Offense at a glance
| Word | Typical role | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| offence | British English noun | a breach, insult, or act of attacking | The court treated the act as a serious offence. |
| offense | American English noun | the same ideas; also the attacking side in sports | The team's offense controlled the final quarter. |
How to use offence
Use offence in standard British English for legal violations, causes of resentment, and acts of attack. The phrase no offence introduces a remark that the speaker hopes will not insult someone.
The court treated the act as a serious offence.
How to use offense
Use offense in American English. It is especially established in US sports for the players or strategy that attempts to score. Official legal titles should retain their own published spelling.
The team's offense controlled the final quarter.
Rules that make the choice easier
Match the regional audience
Use offense for US English and offence for UK English.
Use s in offensive
The adjective offensive and noun offender use s in both major varieties.
Respect domain conventions
Sports leagues, statutes, and organizations may prescribe terminology that should remain unchanged.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Do not claim that one spelling is wrong everywhere.
- Avoid switching forms in the same editorial voice.
- Do not spell the adjective offencive; offensive is standard.
Quick practice
1. Which noun spelling is standard in US English?
Answer: offense
2. Which is standard in UK English?
Answer: offence
3. How is the adjective spelled?
Answer: offensive
Frequently asked questions
Is offence or offense correct?
Both are correct regional spellings.
Which spelling does American English use?
American English uses offense.
Which spelling does British English use?
British English uses offence.
Is it offensive or offencive?
Offensive is correct in both American and British English.