“Rumors” or “Rumours”—What's the difference?

Usage by country

Where each spelling is used

Of the 12 countries below, 7 prefer “rumors” and 5 prefer “rumours”. Usage levels are out of 100; the more common spelling in each country is in bold.

Usage level out of 100 (if available).
Country	rumors	rumours	Preference
United States	99	1	“rumors”
United Kingdom	11	89	“rumours”
India	45	55	“rumours”
Philippines	97	3	“rumors”
Canada	81	19	“rumors”
Australia	34	66	“rumours”
Liberia	53	47	“rumors”
Ireland	16	84	“rumours”
New Zealand	42	58	“rumours”
Jamaica	70	30	“rumors”
Trinidad & Tobago	62	38	“rumors”
Guyana	100	0	“rumors”

Usage

Examples in context

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

“rumors”

Rumors of possibly changing from the…
…New York Knicks, in trade rumors, but the Knicks were reportedly…
…leaders were so strong that rumors started to appear about a…
Suddenly, all the rumors and suspicions voiced for years…
In September 2016, rumors circulated that Stowers would reprise…
…of playing together again open, rumors and speculation frequently circulated that…
…and gave rise to the rumors of rivalry announced between Shannen…
Rumors about his resignation
…the contestants to know the rumors, secrets, and even gossip from…
…to Lithuania and spread pro-Lithuanian rumors and convert remaining pagans; many…

“rumours”

…ship's identity was forgotten, and rumours of Spanish gold were linked…
…the Kościuszko Uprising, there were rumours that Polish Jacobins had been…
…Brunning, The Fleetwood Mac Story: Rumours and Lies - Omnibus Press,…
Confirmation of the rumours started to arise when it…
…did nothing to quell the rumours, publicly urging him to improve…
In Trincomalee, false rumours started spreading that the LTTE…
…actions, and occasionally there were rumours of his death.
Rumours claimed that Portuguese prime minister…
There previously circulated rumours of Daniel with singers Agnes…
Rumours in the French press over…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license.

Too much to remember?

Looking for a tool that handles this for you wherever you write?

Install Sapling Try the grammar checker