These are two spellings of the same word, with no difference in meaning: "it was an honour to be asked" and "it was an honor to be asked" are identical statements. Honor is standard in the United States; honour is standard in Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Match whichever variety of English the rest of your writing uses.
The core difference: spelling only
Honour belongs to a large group of words that end -our in British English and -or in American: colour/color, favour/favor, neighbour/neighbor, labour/labor, behaviour/behavior. The pronunciation is the same on both sides of the Atlantic, and so is every shade of meaning.
Which to use
- American English: honor, honored, honoring, honorable.
- British, Irish, Australian, New Zealand English: honour, honoured, honouring, honourable.
- Canadian English: honour is the usual spelling, though usage is less rigid than in Britain.
The rule to apply is simply consistency: if you write colour, write honour. If you write color, write honor. Setting your document language in a word processor enforces this automatically.
The trap: some derivatives lose the u everywhere
This catches out careful British writers regularly. When a Latin-derived suffix is added, the u disappears in all varieties of English:
- honorary — an honorary doctorate (never honourary)
- honorific — a title used out of respect
- honorarium — a payment for services
The same pattern holds across the family: British English has humour but humorous, glamour but glamorous, vigour but vigorous. Honourable is the exception that keeps its u in British spelling, because -able is not one of the suffixes that triggers the change.
Names and titles keep their own spelling
Proper nouns and official terms do not adapt to your dialect. A British judge is addressed as "Your Honour" and an American one as "Your Honor," and you should reproduce whichever is correct for the court in question. British universities award an honours degree; American ones have honors programs. The Congressional Medal of Honor keeps its American spelling in a British newspaper, and the Queen's Birthday Honours List keeps its British one in an American paper.
The one meaning difference worth flagging
There is none in the word itself, but note that some fixed expressions are regional rather than spelling-based. "Maid of honour" and "maid of honor" describe the same wedding role, but a maid of honour is also a small English custard tart. And "do the honours" — pouring the drinks, cutting the cake — is a set phrase in both varieties, spelled to suit the writer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it 'honourary' or 'honorary'?
Always honorary, with no u, even in British English. The -ary suffix drops the u, exactly as humour becomes humorous and vigour becomes vigorous. Honourary is simply a misspelling everywhere.
Should a British writer spell 'Medal of Honor' with a u?
No. Proper names keep the spelling of whoever owns them, so the Medal of Honor stays American even in a British publication — just as the Birthday Honours List stays British in an American one.