# Spelling: Traveling or Travelling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900 "2021-11-06T17:59:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/1 "2021-11-06T17:59:44Z")
Subject line says it all. I constantly write “travelling” and get spell-checked to “traveling.” Dunno if it happens to anyone else but there are a few words I am just programmed to spell wrong. Even if I know better (I always do) my fingers always tap out the wrong one first. “Traveling” is one of them. But, why isn’t it “travelling?” ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/2 "2021-11-06T18:09:30Z")
That happened to me, too. I think it’s UK vs. US. Cambridge has it as travelling, with traveling as a US variant. Merriam-Webster says it’s traveling but also admits travelling. If you want a reason, it may be because the first syllable is stressed. Compelling, for example. Wait, are you writing in American English and being corrected to UK spelling? If so, could be a problem with the spellcheck function of whatever program you’re using. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/3 "2021-11-06T18:13:26Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > Wait, are you writing in American English and being corrected to UK spelling? If so, could be a problem with the spellcheck function of whatever program you’re using. American living in the US. I tap out “travelling” and it gets highlighted for me to be “traveling.” Google flags it. MS-Word seems ok with either. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/4 "2021-11-06T18:14:11Z")
If you’re using Word, you can fix that. Most other programs, too, although it’s something I haven’t looked at in a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/5 "2021-11-06T18:20:33Z")
Somehow you picked up British spelling, that’s all. Maybe you read a lot of Dickens, Doyle, or Stevenson growing up. One way to solve your problem would be to move to the UK. (Or at least Canada.) Another solution might be to adopt American spelling. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/6 "2021-11-06T18:21:33Z")
There’s nothing to fix - he is in the US using American spelling, and when he types “travelling,” which is British English, he is prompted to change it to traveling. There are a surprisingly large number of differences between US and UK spelling - everyone knows the “or” versus “our” issue - color, colour, labor, labour, neighbor, neighbour, etc. - and the “ization” one (organization, organisation, etc.) but there are dozens more. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/7 "2021-11-06T18:22:02Z")
I’d love to. Doubt they’d have me. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/8 "2021-11-06T18:22:46Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > There’s nothing to fix Fix, as in change to suit his preference. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/9 "2021-11-06T18:24:30Z")
Oh, I see what you mean. Sure, you’re right! ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/10 "2021-11-06T18:25:13Z")
Except I have no idea how to do that! Especially if it’s Google… ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/11 "2021-11-06T18:25:24Z")
To be fair, until now, I just thought I spelled it wrong for some reason. There are a few other words I weirdly type incorrectly. I know that I do it. I still do it. But I know to check because I know I do it. I thought this was one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/12 "2021-11-06T18:26:29Z")
When I was young and couldn’t remember how to spell “no one” (“no one” looked wrong, and “noone” looked even wronger), with no dictionary at hand at the time, I wrote “no-one.” I used the British-style apostrophe in it. I knew I’d read it that way somewhere. I too read a lot of British lit growing up. When I’d made sure I understood the differences between British and American spelling, I came down 100% on the American side. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/13 "2021-11-06T18:27:54Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > There are a few other words I weirdly type incorrectly. Mine was “auxilliary,” which should be “auxiliary” in both dialects. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/14 "2021-11-06T18:30:03Z")
I was a huge fan of British TV while growing up (Dave Allen at Large, Benny Hill, Monty Python, Dr. Who, The Prisoner, The Avengers, The Young Ones…and more I can’t remember right now). EDIT: Fawlty Towers (how could I ever forget that gem) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/15 "2021-11-06T18:30:25Z")
The Two Ronnies? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/16 "2021-11-06T18:31:41Z")
Oh yeah. I remember them. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/17 "2021-11-06T18:32:13Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > That happened to me, too. I think it’s UK vs. US. > > Cambridge has it as travelling, with traveling as a US variant. Merriam-Webster says it’s traveling but also admits travelling. Compare “unravel(l)ing”: [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unravel) spells it with one l, [Cambridge](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/unravelling) with two (but some of their cites are from U.S. sources, like _The New Yorker_). ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/18 "2021-11-06T19:36:10Z")
US English is the default setting on MS products. While it is possible to change it to British English in most cases , if one is sufficiently motivated, most people here just add the obvious spelling differences to the dictionary and leave it on the default setting. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/19 "2021-11-06T19:45:38Z")
The Wilburys use traveling, while the NBA uses neither spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900/20 "2021-11-06T19:49:39Z")
\*Speling [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-traveling-or-travelling/953900.md?page=2)