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Spilled or Spilt?
What Is the Difference between "Spilled" and "Spilt"?
Spilled and spilt are interchangeable in the UK, but not in the US. If you're following US writing conventions, use "spilled." If you're following UK writing conventions, you should also use "spilled," but "spilt" is widely accepted.
This graph shows that "spilled" has been more popular than "spilt" in British English since the 1940s.
More about "Spilled" and "Spilt"
As a verb, "spill" means "to let a liquid flow over the edge of its container (especially by accident).""Spill" has both an irregular form and a regular form. In other words, the past tense and the past participle can be written as either "spilled" or "spilt." However, "spilled" is the more popular in the UK and the US.
Americans Demand "Spilled"
In the US, "spilled" dominates. The use of "spilt" as the past tense or past participle of "to spill" is considered a spelling mistake.Brits Prefer "Spilled" but Will Accept "Spilt"
Outside America, "spilled" is the more common of the two, but "spilt" is generally accepted. ("Spilt" was more common in British English throughout the 20th century, but "spilled" is now more common. [evidence] (The change is almost certainly a result of American influence spreading.)Spilt Milk
The idiom "Do not cry over spilt milk" is advice not to get upset about something which cannot be changed.If you're an American, this might be your big chance to use the word "spilt." You can always claim you're quoting an old idiom with British origins. ("Spilled milk" is also frequently written, so please don't think this is a rule. It's more of an opportunity.)
Verbs with Irregular and Regular Forms
Here are some other verbs that can be regular or irregular:Verb | Past Simple | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
burn | burned OR burnt | burned OR burnt |
dream | dreamed OR dreamt | dreamed OR dreamt |
learn | learned OR learnt | learned OR learnt |
smell | smelled OR smelt | smelled OR smelt |
spell | spelled OR spelt | spelled OR spelt |
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See Also
adverse or averse? affect or effect? Ms., Miss, or Mrs? avenge or revenge? bare or bear? complement or compliment? dependant or dependent? discreet or discrete? disinterested or uninterested? dived and dove e.g. or i.e.? envy or jealousy? hanged and hung imply or infer? its or it's? learned and learnt material or materiel? poisonous or venomous? practice or practise? principal or principle? tenant or tenet? who's or whose? What are verbs? What are regular verbs? What are regular verbs? What is the past tense? What are past participles? What are nouns? List of easily confused wordsPage URL