🌍 American vs British · vocabulary

license plate vs number plate

The metal plate on a vehicle displaying its registration number.

American
license plate

“The witness managed to memorize the car's license plate.”

British
number plate

“The witness managed to memorise the car's number plate.”

Good to know

Americans say "license plate," while Britons say "number plate" or "registration plate." Note the British spelling "licence" for the noun in other contexts, though both terms describe the same item.

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