Neighbour and neighbor are both correct — they’re the same word spelled two different ways. Neighbour is the standard spelling in British English, Canadian English, and Australian English. Neighbor is the standard spelling in American English. Neither version is a mistake; the choice depends entirely on which form of English you’re writing in. The difference goes back to 19th-century American spelling reform, when lexicographer Noah Webster dropped the “u” from many English words to simplify spelling in the United States.
Quick Answer: Neighbour or Neighbor?
There’s no true “wrong” spelling here — only a spelling that doesn’t match your audience.
- Use neighbour for UK, Canadian, Australian, Irish, New Zealand, and most international readers.
- Use neighbor for American readers.
For example, “My neighbour waved from the garden” is correct for a British reader, while “My neighbor waved from the yard” is correct for an American one. Swapping the spelling doesn’t create a grammar error — it just signals the wrong regional convention for your audience.
The one version that’s genuinely wrong in any variety of English is a misspelling like nieghbor or naighbor — that’s a typo, not a regional choice.
Neighbour vs Neighbor at a Glance
| Feature | Neighbour | Neighbor |
|---|---|---|
| Standard in | UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand | United States |
| Meaning | Identical in both | Identical in both |
| Pronunciation | /ˈneɪbə/ (“NAY-buh”) | /ˈneɪbər/ (“NAY-ber”) |
| Plural | neighbours | neighbors |
| Related noun | neighbourhood | neighborhood |
| Related adjective | neighbourly | neighborly |
| Verb forms | neighbours, neighbouring, neighboured | neighbors, neighboring, neighbored |
What Does Neighbour/Neighbor Mean?
As a Noun
Most commonly, a neighbour (or neighbor) is a person who lives near or next door to you.
“The Petersons have been our neighbours for twelve years.”
The word also describes anything positioned close to something else — a country, a building, even a planet.
“France shares a border with several European neighbors.”
In older and more formal writing, “neighbor” can also mean a fellow human being generally — the sense behind the well-known instruction to “love thy neighbour,” which refers to people in general, not just the person next door.
As a Verb
Less commonly, neighbor (or neighbour) works as a verb meaning “to be located next to or close to something.” This use is intransitive and often shows up in descriptive or formal writing.
“The bakery neighbors a small bookshop on Elm Street.”
You’ll see this verb form in real estate listings, geography writing, and news reporting far more often than in everyday conversation.
The Only Real Difference: Spelling, Not Meaning
Neighbour and neighbor mean exactly the same thing, follow the same grammar rules, and sound the same when spoken. The only thing that changes is one letter — the “u.” This isn’t like a pair of words that look similar but mean different things (such as affect and effect). It’s a single word with two accepted spellings, in the same category as colour/color, favour/favor, and honour/honor.
British English vs. American English Spelling Patterns
Neighbour in British, Canadian, and Australian English
Words ending in -our — colour, favour, honour, neighbour — are the standard across the UK and most Commonwealth countries. This pattern reflects spelling conventions that entered English through French and Latin influence centuries ago and were never simplified in these regions the way they were in the United States.
Australian English follows British spelling closely, and neighbour is the expected form in Australian writing, publishing, and education. Canadian English sits in a more mixed position: government publications, education, and traditional Canadian style generally favor neighbour, though day-to-day and digital writing in Canada trends closer to American spelling because of heavy exposure to US media.
Neighbor in American English
Merriam-Webster, the primary American dictionary of record, lists “neighbor” as the main entry and defines “neighbour” simply as the chiefly British spelling of neighbor. That’s a useful shorthand for the whole relationship between the two spellings: American English treats neighbor as its standard, and everything else is a regional variant.
Regional Usage by the Numbers
Usage-frequency research (not an official grammar rule, just observed writing patterns) shows roughly how strongly each region leans toward one spelling:
| Region | Neighbor | Neighbour |
|---|---|---|
| United States | ~98% | ~2% |
| United Kingdom | ~30% | ~70% |
| Australia | ~27% | ~73% |
| India | ~30% | ~70% |
| Canada | ~55% | ~45% |
Canada’s near-even split stands out. Its formal and institutional writing traditionally favors neighbour, but the numbers show American spelling has made real inroads in everyday Canadian text.
Where Does the Spelling Difference Come From?
The Old English Origin of Neighbour
Both spellings trace back to the Old English compound nēahgebūr — a combination of nēah (“near,” related to “nigh”) and gebūr (“dweller” or “farmer”). Over time, this evolved through Middle English neighebor into the modern forms. The word has always meant, at its root, “someone who dwells near.”
Noah Webster and American Spelling Reform
In the early 1800s, American lexicographer Noah Webster set out to simplify and standardize spelling in the United States, partly to make written English match American pronunciation more closely and partly to give the young country its own linguistic identity, separate from Britain. His work, culminating in An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), dropped the silent “u” from a whole family of words — colour, favour, honour, and neighbour among them — giving American English color, favor, honor, and neighbor. Britain never adopted these changes, so British and Commonwealth English kept the older spellings.
Which Spelling Is Correct — Neighbour or Neighbor?
Both are correct English spellings. The only thing that determines which one is “right” in a given piece of writing is your audience. Write for American readers, US publications, or US-based platforms, and neighbor is correct. Write for UK, Canadian, Australian, Irish, or most international readers, and neighbour is correct. Style guides reflect the same split: American-style guides like AP and the Chicago Manual of Style expect neighbor, while British and Commonwealth guides like the Oxford Style Manual and major UK newspaper style guides expect neighbour.
A Simple Rule to Remember
Here’s a memory trick, not a formal grammar rule: neighboUr has a U, just like the United Kingdom. If you’re writing for a British, Canadian, or Australian reader, keep the U. If you’re writing for a US reader, drop it. When in doubt, match whatever spelling convention the rest of your document already uses.
Pronunciation: Do Neighbour and Neighbor Sound Different?
No — both spellings are pronounced the same way. The word has two syllables, with the stress on the first: NAY-ber in American English (/ˈneɪbər/) and NAY-buh in British English (/ˈneɪbə/). The small difference at the end reflects general American versus British pronunciation habits — American English pronounces the “r” at the end of words, while many British accents don’t — not anything caused by the spelling itself. Words that are spelled identically in both dialects, like car or here, show the same pattern.
Syllables and Phonetic Spelling
Both words break down the same way: neigh-bor / neigh-bour. The first syllable rhymes with “day” or “hay,” and the second is a quick, unstressed “ber” or “buh” sound.
Word Forms: Neighbouring, Neighbourhood, and Neighbourly
Every related form follows the same British-versus-American pattern as the base word.
| Form | British | American | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plural noun | neighbours | neighbors | “Our neighbours brought over a housewarming gift.” |
| Verb (present) | neighbours | neighbors | “The clinic neighbours a small pharmacy.” |
| Verb (-ing) | neighbouring | neighboring | “They visited a neighbouring village.” |
| Verb (past) | neighboured | neighbored | “The two estates neighboured each other for centuries.” |
| Related noun | neighbourhood | neighborhood | “They grew up in the same neighbourhood.” |
| Related adjective | neighbourly | neighborly | “It was a neighbourly thing to do.” |
The rule is simple once you see it: whichever spelling you choose for the base word, apply the same pattern to every related form throughout your writing.
What Do Dictionaries Say?
Merriam-Webster treats “neighbor” as the primary entry and cross-references “neighbour” as its British counterpart. Collins English Dictionary and the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries do the reverse for their British-based entries, listing “neighbour” as the headword and noting “neighbor” as the US spelling. This split simply reflects each dictionary’s home region — a British dictionary naturally treats neighbour as its standard form, and an American one does the same for neighbor. Neither treatment implies the other spelling is wrong.
Neighbour and Neighbor in Sentences
Everyday English (US): “Our neighbor lent us a ladder last weekend.”
Everyday English (UK): “Our neighbour lent us a ladder last weekend.”
Workplace communication (US): “The proposal was reviewed by our neighboring branch office before approval.”
Academic writing (UK): “The study compared crime rates across several neighbouring districts.”
Online forms: Match the spelling to the platform’s regional setting — a UK government or council website will expect “neighbour,” while a US federal or state form will expect “neighbor.”
Common Phrases: Good Neighbour, Next-Door Neighbour, Nearest Neighbour
Good neighbour / good neighbor describes someone friendly, helpful, and respectful toward the people living nearby. “Bringing soup over when someone’s sick is a good neighbor thing to do.”
Next-door neighbour / next-door neighbor refers specifically to the person living in the home immediately next to yours. “Our next-door neighbour keeps chickens in her garden.”
Nearest neighbour / nearest neighbor describes the closest person, place, or object to something — used both literally and in technical fields like astronomy and data science. “Proxima Centauri is the sun’s nearest neighbor.”
Idioms and Figurative Uses
Love thy neighbour — a well-known biblical instruction to treat other people with kindness and compassion, now used broadly as a call to be considerate toward others, not just the people who live nearby.
Good fences make good neighbors — a proverb suggesting that clear boundaries help maintain friendly relationships. The saying was popularized by Robert Frost’s 1914 poem “Mending Wall,” though the poem itself is often read as questioning the idea as much as endorsing it.
Good Neighbor Policy — the name of a US foreign-policy approach toward Latin America, most closely associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural address, in which he pledged the nation to “the policy of the good neighbor.”
Beggar-thy-neighbour — an economics term describing a policy that improves one country’s economic position at another country’s expense, often through tariffs or currency devaluation.
Which Spelling to Use by Context
There’s no single global rule — the right spelling depends on your style guide, your publication, and your audience.
- US-facing content: Follow AP Style or the Chicago Manual of Style, both of which expect neighbor.
- UK and Commonwealth-facing content: Follow the Oxford Style Manual or major British newspaper style guides, which expect neighbour.
- Academic writing: Match your institution’s or journal’s convention — UK universities generally expect neighbour, US universities generally expect neighbor.
- International or global business writing: Pick one spelling and apply it consistently across the whole document. Mixing the two looks like an inconsistency even though each spelling is individually correct.
- Software and localization: Match the language setting of the interface — en-US content should use neighbor, en-GB content should use neighbour.
Common Misspellings to Avoid
These are different from the regional variants above — they’re genuine errors in any form of English.
- nieghbor / nieghbour — the classic “ei” reversal
- naighbor — an extra “a” replacing the correct “eigh” pattern
- nabor — an overly simplified, phonetic-style spelling
- neighber — swapping the “o” for an “e” in the final syllable
Memory trick: Break the word into two familiar chunks — neigh (the sound a horse makes) plus bor or bour. If you can spell “neigh,” you’ve already nailed the hardest part of “neighbor.” This is a learning aid, not an official spelling rule.
Common Mistakes with Neighbour and Neighbor
Mistake 1 — Mixing spellings in one document Incorrect: “Our neighbour called the neighbor association about the noise.” Correct: “Our neighbour called the neighbourhood association about the noise.” Explanation: Pick one spelling system and use it consistently, including in related words.
Mistake 2 — Misspelling the word itself Incorrect: “Our nieghbor came over for coffee.” Correct: “Our neighbor came over for coffee.” Explanation: “Nieghbor” reverses the “ei” and isn’t a recognized spelling in any English variety.
Mistake 3 — Treating a regional spelling as an error Incorrect assumption: A British-published article “misspelled” neighbour. Correct understanding: Neighbour is the expected, standard spelling in British and Commonwealth English. Explanation: A spell-checker set to American English will flag “neighbour,” but that doesn’t make it wrong — only regionally different.
Mistake 4 — Forgetting to update related forms Incorrect: An otherwise American-spelled document that switches to “the neighbouring towns.” Correct: “the neighboring towns” Explanation: Related forms — neighborhood, neighboring, neighborly — should match the same regional spelling as the base word throughout the piece.
Practice: Neighbour vs Neighbor
Fill in the Blanks
- (Choose the correct spelling — American audience) Complete the sentence for a US reader: “Our ____ waved to us from across the street.” (neighbour / neighbor)
- (Choose the correct spelling — British audience) Complete the sentence for a UK reader: “The ____ next door just moved in.” (neighbor / neighbour)
- (Identify the verb) Which sentence uses “neighbor/neighbour” as a verb? A) “My neighbor is a teacher.” B) “The farm neighbors the lake.”
- (Correct the sentence) Find and fix the errors: “The two coutries have been peaceful nieghbors for decades.”
- (Choose the correct word form) Complete: “They live in a quiet ____.” (neighborhood / neighborly)
- (Choose the correct word form) Complete: “It was very ____ of them to help us move.” (neighborhood / neighborly)
- (Spot the inconsistency) One word breaks the pattern in this American-style sentence: “Our neighbor waved hello, and the neighbouring house was for sale.” Which word is inconsistent, and how should it be fixed?
- (Choose the correct plural) Which is the correct British plural form? A) neighbours B) neighbors
Answers
- neighbor — matches the American audience specified in the prompt.
- neighbour — matches the British audience specified in the prompt.
- B — “neighbors” here means “is located next to,” which is the verb use.
- “The two countries have been peaceful neighbors for decades.” — corrects “coutries” to “countries” and “nieghbors” to “neighbors.”
- neighborhood — the noun referring to the area or community.
- neighborly — the adjective describing kind, considerate behavior.
- “neighbouring” is inconsistent — it should be “neighboring” to match the American spelling used earlier in the sentence.
- A) neighbours — the standard British plural form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it neighbour or neighbor?
Both are correct. Neighbour is standard in British, Canadian, Australian, and most international English; neighbor is standard in American English. The right choice depends on your audience, not on correctness.
Which spelling came first, neighbour or neighbor?
Neighbour is the older form, inherited through Middle English from Old English nēahgebūr. Neighbor emerged later, after Noah Webster’s early-1800s push to simplify American spelling.
Is neighbour or neighbor correct in Canada?
Canadian style guides and government writing traditionally favor neighbour, following British convention. Everyday and digital writing in Canada is closer to an even split, due to heavy exposure to American spelling.
Is neighbour or neighbor correct in Australia?
Neighbour is the standard spelling in Australian English, and usage data shows Australian writing favors it by a wide margin over neighbor.
Can I use both neighbour and neighbor in the same piece of writing?
It’s best to avoid this. Both spellings are individually correct, but mixing them in one document looks inconsistent. Choose one spelling system and apply it — including related forms like neighbouring or neighboring — throughout the piece.
Why does British English keep the “u” in neighbour?
British English preserved spelling patterns influenced by French and Latin. American English later dropped the “u” from many of these words during Noah Webster’s 19th-century spelling reforms, but Britain never adopted the change.
Is “neighbor” ever used as a verb?
Yes, though it’s far less common than the noun. As a verb, it means “to be located next to or close to something,” as in “the bakery neighbors a small bookshop.”
How do you pronounce neighbour and neighbor?
Both are pronounced the same way — two syllables, stress on the first: roughly “NAY-ber” in American English and “NAY-buh” in British English. The spelling difference doesn’t change how the word sounds.
What is the plural of neighbor?
The plural is formed regularly by adding “-s”: neighbors in American English, neighbours in British English.
Is it neighbouring or neighboring, and neighbourhood or neighborhood?
Both follow whichever base spelling you’re using. British English uses neighbouring and neighbourhood; American English uses neighboring and neighborhood.
What does “good fences make good neighbors” mean?
It’s a proverb suggesting that clear boundaries help maintain friendly relationships, popularized by Robert Frost’s 1914 poem “Mending Wall.”
Final Takeaway
Neighbour and neighbor are the same word with two correct spellings. Neighbour belongs to British, Canadian, Australian, and most international English; neighbor belongs to American English. The meaning, grammar, and pronunciation never change — only the letter “u” does. When you’re unsure which to use, match your audience: keep the U for UK-style readers, drop it for US readers, and stay consistent with related words like neighbourhood or neighborhood throughout your writing.
