“Behavior” or “Behaviour”—What's the difference?

Usage by country

Where each spelling is used

Of the 12 countries below, 6 prefer “behavior” and 6 prefer “behaviour”. Usage levels are out of 100; the more common spelling in each country is in bold.

Usage level out of 100 (if available).
Country	behavior	behaviour	Preference
United States	96	4	“behavior”
United Kingdom	23	77	“behaviour”
India	31	69	“behaviour”
Philippines	89	11	“behavior”
Canada	47	53	“behaviour”
Australia	23	77	“behaviour”
Liberia	81	19	“behavior”
Ireland	29	71	“behaviour”
New Zealand	30	70	“behaviour”
Jamaica	54	46	“behavior”
Trinidad & Tobago	55	45	“behavior”
Guyana	51	49	“behavior”

Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“behavior”

…the complexity of nonlinear system behavior and the value of computer…
…substitutes and neutralizers for broad behavior categories, and that an improvement…
…different assumptions as to the behavior and objectives of either the…
…Marketing: Strategies for Changing Public Behavior (co-authored with Philip Kotler)
…of decency, of responsible human behavior," and are an imminent threat…
…in most situations, the grammatical behavior of the location markers resembles…
…on the basis of good behavior.
…energy towards actually performing the behavior.
…AntiBot, SONAR monitors for malicious behavior.
…that electrons show the same behavior, which was later extended to…

“behaviour”

…scientists who have researched dolphin behaviour have proposed that dolphins' unusually…
…Anil Kapoor, copying their mannerisms, behaviour and dressing style by watching…
…for studies reporting associations between behavioural addictions (pathological gambling, problematic internet…
…to focus on ‘green’ (positive) behaviours and reduce opportunities for ‘red’…
Such a behaviour highlights the benefits of cooperative…
Upon his return his behaviour became even more offensive, and…
…Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour (SSAISB)
…to take into account the behaviour of the individual nucleons.
…of a previously observed existing behaviour is a rudimentary form of…
Leigh's behaviour did shape up and her…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license.

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