british

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈbrɪtɪʃ/ 🇺🇸 /ˈbrɪtɪʃ/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Of, relating to, or characteristic of Great Britain, its people, or its culture.; Of or relating to the ancient Britons, the Celtic inhabitants of Britain before and during the Roman occupation.; Of or relating to the Brittonic branch of Celtic languages, including Welsh, Cornish, and Breton.
  2. noun
    The people of Great Britain collectively; British people.; The Brittonic group of Celtic languages, comprising Welsh, Cornish, and Breton.; The ancient Celtic language spoken by the Britons before the Anglo-Saxon invasions; also called Common Brittonic.; The English language as spoken or written in Great Britain, as distinguished from other varieties such as American English.
  3. adjective
    Of or relating to the British Empire or the Commonwealth of Nations.

🔗 Details

Word forms

uncountable

Collocations

British EnglishBritish IslesBritish EmpireBritish CouncilBritish Museumthe British

Derivatives

BritishnessBritishismun-British

Synonyms

Anglo-Saxon

Commonly confused

English
EN: 'English' refers specifically to England or its language; 'British' encompasses all of Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales).
UK
EN: 'UK' (United Kingdom) includes Northern Ireland, which is not part of the island of Great Britain, though its citizens hold British citizenship.

Spelling tips

EN: Always capitalize 'British' as it is a proper adjective derived from a proper noun (Britain).

💬 Examples

  1. She has a very distinct British accent.

  2. The British tribes resisted Roman conquest for decades.

  3. Welsh is the most widely spoken of the British Celtic languages.

  4. The British are known for their love of tea.

  5. British is one of the two main branches of the Insular Celtic languages.

  6. British evolved into Welsh, Cornish, and Cumbric over several centuries.

  7. In British, the word 'colour' is spelled with a 'u'.

  8. Many former British colonies gained independence in the mid-twentieth century.