Labelled or Labeled | Difference & Examples

Labelled and labeled are two different spellings of the past tense of the verblabel,” referring to the act of attaching a label or identifying marker to something. The verb is also used negatively to refer to the act of assigning someone or something to a specific category.

The spelling tends to vary based on whether you’re using UK or US English:

  • In US English, “labeled” (one “l”) is standard.
  • In UK English, “labelled” (double “l”) is correct.
Examples: Labeled and labelled in a sentence
Many items were labeled/labelled incorrectly.

Even though the two politicians labeled/labelled each other dangerous, they were quite alike in their beliefs.

All of Niamh’s files were meticulously labeled/labelled.

When you’ve labeled/labelled the new products, please put them on the shelves.

Check US or UK English for free
grammar-checker-us-uk

Fix mistakes for free

Labelling or labeling

The same spelling distinction applies to the present participle (“-ing”) forms of the verb.

  • In US English, it’s “labeling” (one “l”).
  • In UK English, it’s “labelling” (double “l”).
Examples: Labelling and labeling in a sentence
Gus is currently labeling/labelling the different types of baked goods.

The media has been unfairly labeling/labelling Charlie as a callous thief.

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing - try for free!

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

Try for free

Other interesting language articles

If you want to know more about commonly confused words, definitions, and differences between US and UK spellings, make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Ryan, E. (2023, March 14). Labelled or Labeled | Difference & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved January 8, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/us-vs-uk/labelled-or-labeled/

Is this article helpful?
Eoghan Ryan

Eoghan has a lot of experience with theses and dissertations at bachelor's, MA, and PhD level. He has taught university English courses, helping students to improve their research and writing.