A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
- T-shirt, t-shirt, tee-shirt, tee shirtT-Shirt with a capital T is the most common form.
- Tabula rasa
- Tack vs. tactTact is sensitivity in social situations. A tack is a course or an approach. When switching to a different approach, one changes tack, not tact.
- Tad bit vs tidbit
- Tail vs. taleTail: something at the rear of something else. Tale: a story.
- Take a shine to
- Take over vs. takeoverTake over is a phrasal verb. Takeover is a noun or an adjective, never a verb.
- Take the mickey out of someone
- Takeaway and takeouttakeout in the U.S. and usually in Canada; takeaway everywhere else.
- Taken abacksurprised or disconcerted.
- Talk turkey
- Teeth vs. teetheTeeth (n.): plural of tooth. Teethe (v.): to grow teeth.
- Teetotaler, teetotallerone who abstains from alcoholic beverages. Teetotaler in the U.S.; teetotaller outside the U.S.
- Telegram vs. telegraphTelegraph is the technology, and the word doubles as a verb meaning (1) to send a telegram, and (2) to make known in advance. A telegram is a message sent via telegraph.
- Tenant vs. tenetTenet: a principle held as being true. Tenant: one who occupies a place.
- TerminateIt's overharsh when used with a person as its direct object.
- Terra firma
- Terza rima
- Testament vs. testimonyTestimony: a declaration of truth or fact. Testament: something that serves as proof or evidence.
- Tete-a-tetea meeting or private conversation between two people.
- Textish
- Than vs. thenThen is mainly an adverb used to situation actions in time. Than is a conjunction used mainly in making comparisons.
- Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day
- That or whoThat is generally used for inanimate things and animals, and who for humans, but this non-rule is widely broken.
- That vs. whichThey are often interchangeable, but that usually introduces restrictive clauses, and which usually introduces nonrestrictive ones.
- That whichIt can often be shortened to a one-word equivalent.
- The $64,000 questionthe crucial or essential question.
- The BronxAs a noun, it takes the definite article (which is uncapitalized). As an adjective, it goes without the article.
- The die is castThere is no going back.
- The lateIt is a respectful way of saying "recently deceased."
- The ruba difficulty or impediment.
- Theater vs. theatretheater in the U.S.; theatre everywhere else.
- Their, them, themselves, they (as singular pronouns)They will continue to face resistance in some circles, but they are well-established in general usage.
- Their, there, they'reTheir: possessive of they. There: a versatile adverb, noun, and pronoun. They're: contraction of they are.
- ThereforeIt is often at the center of run-on sentences.
- Thesauri or thesaurusus
- Third railan issue no one wants to touch.
- Tho, althoThey are likely to be considered out of place in formal writing.
- Threw vs. throughThrew: past tense of throw. Through (prep.): in one side and out the other.
- Through vs. thruThe longer form is still preferred by a large margin.
- Throw the baby out with the bathwater
- Throw under the bus1. to betray; 2. to callously dispose of; 3. to pass blame onto another for selfish reasons. It is overused.
- Thrust, thrustedThe verb is usually uninflected.
- ThuslyIt's not wrong, but it can always give way to thus, which is an adverb in its own right.
- Tic vs. tickTic: 1. a spasmodic muscle movement; 2. a recurrent trait or quirk. Tick: 1. a clicking sound; 2. a moment; 3. a mark used to check off an item; 4. a bloodsucking insect or arachnid.
- Tidbit vs. titbittidbit in North America; titbit everywhere else.
- Tide over
- Till, until, 'tilTill and until bear the same meanings and are always interchangeable. There is no reason to shorten either of them to 'til.
- Timber or timbreTimbre: tone quality. Timber: wood.
- Timeout vs. time outOutside North America, it's always two words. In North America, it's one word in sports and two words in all other contexts.
- Timpanum, timpani, tympanum, tympaniA kettledrum is a timpanum. Multiple kettledrums are timpani. For senses of the word unrelated to music, tympanum and tympani are the preferred spellings.
- Tire vs. tyretire in North America; tyre outside North America.
- Title capitalization
- To a Tperfectly or exactly.
- To bootin addition, besides.
- To vs. tooTo: a versatile preposition with many definitions. Too: 1. also; 2. excessively; 3. very.
- To witnamely or that is to say.
- Toe the lineto do what is expected or to follow rules.
- Toilettethe act or process of dressing or grooming oneself.
- Tolerance vs. tolerationToleration is mainly a less common variant, with some exceptions.
- Ton vs. tonneTon: 2,000 pounds in the U.S. Tonne: a metric ton, or 1,000 kilograms.
- Tongue-in-cheekmeant ironically or facetiously.
- Topography vs. typographyTopography: surface features of a place. Typography: the art of typing.
- Torturous vs. tortuousTorturous: of, related to, or causing torture. Tortuous: twisted, winding, or complicated.
- Totaled/totaling vs. totalled/totallingtotaled and totaling in the U.S.; totalled and totalling everywhere else.
- Touch and goA touch-and-go situation is one that is risky or precarious and has a significant chance of failure.
- Touch base
- Touche or touché
- Tough row to hoea large, challenging undertaking.
- Tour de forcean impressive display of skill, effort, or strength.
- Toward vs. towardsusually toward in North America, and toward everywhere else, but both appear everywhere.
- Toxicology vs. toxologyToxicology: the study of poisons and of chemical effects on the human body. Toxology: the study of archery.
- Transgender, transsexual, transvestiteTransvestite: a person who dresses in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. Transsexual: one who wishes to be considered as a member of the opposite biological sex. Transgender: a general term covering many people who don't conform to traditional gender roles.
- Translucent vs. transparentTransparent: so clear one can see through as if nothing's there. Translucent: allows light but with diffusion or distortion.
- Transpireoften just a formal word for happen.
- Transport vs. transportationtransportation in the U.S. and usually in Canada; transport outside North America.
- Traveled/traveling vs. travelled/travellingtraveled and traveling in the U.S.; travelled and travelling everywhere else.
- Trawl vs. trollTrawl: to catch fish with a large net. Troll: to fish by trailing a line behind a boat.
- Treacle
- TreasurysIn reference to U.S. Treasury bonds, treasury is pluralized in an unconventional way: Treasurys.
- Treble vs. tripleWhere they have to do with threes, there is no substantive difference between them, but triple is far more common.
- Trick or treat vs trick-or-treat
- Trocheein poetry, a metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one.
- Troika
- Troop vs. troupe
- Trooper or trouper
- TropeTraditionally, a figure of speech in which a word or phrase conveys a meaning other than its literal sense; in modern use, anything that recurs.
- Truck withdo business.
- Trustee vs. trustyTrusty: trustworthy or reliable. Trustee: a person to whom something is trusted.
- Tsk-tsk1. shame on you; 2. an expression of disappointment or condemnation; 3. to express disappointment or to condemn.
- Tumor vs. tumourTumor in the U.S.; tumour everywhere else.
- Tunneled, tunneling vs. tunnelled, tunnellingtunneled and tunneling in the U.S.; tunnelled and tunnelling outside North America. Both forms are common in Canadian writing.
- Turbid, turgid, torpidTurbid: having sediment. Turgid: 1. bloated; 2. excessively ornate or complex. Torpid: lethargic or sluggish.
- Turtle, tortoise, terrapinTurtle: an order of reptiles with bony shells. Tortoise: a land-dwelling turtle. Terrapin: a species of turtle native to coastal southern U.S.