Aluminium or aluminum: which is correct?
Correct
aluminium (UK) / aluminum (US)
Avoid
aluminum (in UK English)
Avoid
aluminium (in US English)
Summary
Correct: aluminium (UK) / aluminum (US) — Avoid: aluminum (in UK English) / aluminium (in US English). Aluminium / aluminum = the light, silvery metal with the chemical symbol Al.
Both spellings are correct in their own variety; pick one and use it consistently.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Source
- Oxford / Merriam-Webster
Why
Oxford gives aluminium, the -ium form that matches element names such as sodium and potassium and the spelling IUPAC uses internationally; Merriam-Webster gives aluminum, a form Humphry Davy himself used, which became the American standard.
Examples
- The frame is made of aluminium (UK) / aluminum (US).
- Recycling aluminium saves most of the energy needed to make it.
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- Checked against
- Merriam-Webster / Oxford
- Spelling authority
- Merriam-Webster · Oxford English Dictionary / Oxford spelling · SCOWL
- Commonly confused and non-standard forms
- 64
- Dictionary
- Hunspell en_US / en_GB / en_AU / en_CA · Dictionary license: MIT AND BSD (SCOWL combined licence)