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

Often, the second form (e.g., "learnt," "dreamt") is more common in British English, but this is not the case with "spilt." Read also about "hanged" and "hung."

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