Acknowledgement or acknowledgment?
acknowledgement is a noun meaning “Alternative spelling of acknowledgment”; acknowledgment is a noun meaning “The act of acknowledging”. Wiktionary gives them as spellings of the same word. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) acknowledgement is about 1.6 times as common as acknowledgment.
What is the difference between acknowledgement and acknowledgment?
| acknowledgement | acknowledgment | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun |
| Meaning | UKAlternative spelling of acknowledgment | The act of acknowledging The act of recognizing in a particular character or relationship; recognition of existence, authority, truth, or genuineness |
| Example | none recorded | |
| Forms | acknowledgements | acknowledgments |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /əkˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ.mənt/ /əɡˈnɒl.ɪd͡ʒ.mənt/ /əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ.mənt/ |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words | 1.3 times per million words |
Sources: acknowledgement and acknowledgment in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of acknowledgement and acknowledgment
acknowledgement
- 1
UKAlternative spelling of acknowledgment
acknowledgment
- 1
The act of acknowledging
- 2
The act of recognizing in a particular character or relationship; recognition of existence, authority, truth, or genuineness
He just grunted in acknowledgment of my greeting
- 3
A reward or other expression or token of gratitude
- 4
An expression of gratitude for a benefit or an obligation
the acknowledgment of a favor
- 5
A message from the addressee informing the originator that the originator's communication has been received and understood
the acknowledgment of a wedding invitation
- 6
A response (ACK) sent by a receiver to indicate successful receipt of a transmission (See Wikipedia article on transmission)
- 7
A recognition as genuine or valid; an avowing or admission in legal form
acknowledgment of a deed
- 8
The act of a person admitting a child as their own
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, acknowledgement or acknowledgment?
acknowledgement appears 2.1 times per million words; acknowledgment 1.3 times per million words.
acknowledgement 2.1 times per million wordsacknowledgment 1.3 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).