Programme or program: which is correct?
Correct
programme (UK, except for software) / program (US; computer program in both varieties)
Avoid
program (in UK English for a broadcast, event or course)
Avoid
programme (for software, in any variety)
Summary
Correct: programme (UK, except for software) / program (US; computer program in both varieties) — Avoid: program (in UK English for a broadcast, event or course) / programme (for software, in any variety). Programme / program = a planned series of events, a broadcast, or a leaflet listing them; a computer program is spelled program everywhere.
Both spellings are correct in their own variety; pick one and use it consistently.
- Part of speech
- noun / verb
- Source
- Oxford / Merriam-Webster
Why
Oxford: British English uses programme for broadcasts, events and courses of study but program for computer software and the verb to program; Merriam-Webster gives program for every sense in American English.
Examples
- The theatre programme (UK) / program (US) lists tonight's cast.
- The update fixes a bug in the program.
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Native spelling engine
- 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)