Acknowledgement or Acknowledgment: Which Is Correct?

⏱ Reading time: 6 min read

Quick answer: Both acknowledgment and acknowledgement are correct spellings of the same word. Acknowledgment (without the “e”) is the preferred and standard spelling in American English, while acknowledgement (with the “e”) is the standard spelling in British English and other Commonwealth varieties.

The debate over whether to include the silent “e” before the suffix “-ment” is a classic stumbling block in English writing, frequently landing on the desks of professional copy editors. The root word, “acknowledge,” naturally ends with an “e,” making the instinct to retain it when forming a noun feel entirely logical and grammatically sound. As a copy editor, I see this hesitation constantly in cover letters, academic manuscripts, and corporate communications. Writers pause, second-guess their spellcheck, and wonder if they are making a fundamental grammatical error that might undermine their credibility. The truth is much simpler than it appears. The difference is not a matter of right versus wrong, but rather a matter of geographic style conventions and historical orthographic evolution. Understanding this distinction will instantly clean up your prose, boost your confidence, and align your writing with the appropriate regional standards expected by your readers.

Term	Meaning / When to use	Example sentence
Acknowledgment	The preferred American English spelling; use in US business, academic, and legal writing.	The author included a heartfelt acknowledgment in the book’s preface.
Acknowledgement	The preferred British English spelling; use in UK, Australian, and Canadian formal writing.	The committee sent a formal acknowledgement of receipt for the proposal.

When to use acknowledgment

In the United States, dropping the silent “e” is the established norm. According to Merriam-Webster, acknowledgment is the primary spelling listed for this noun, reflecting standard American usage where the silent “e” is typically dropped before a consonant-starting suffix. Major American style guides, including The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook, The Chicago Manual of Style, and the APA Publication Manual, all mandate this shorter form. This rule applies uniformly across business correspondence, journalistic writing, and academic publishing. When you are drafting a document for a US-based audience, omitting the “e” is the most professional and polished choice.

Let us look at concrete examples of how this error appears in real-world writing and how to correct it.

• Business Email:
  • Error: “We are waiting for your acknowlegement of the new vendor terms.”
  • Fix: “We are waiting for your acknowledgment of the new vendor terms.”
• Resume Line:
  • Error: “Received formal acknowlegement from the board of directors for outstanding quarterly performance.”
  • Fix: “Received formal acknowledgment from the board of directors for outstanding quarterly performance.”
• Text Message:
  • Error: “Just sent the acknowlegement form to HR, let me know when it clears.”
  • Fix: “Just sent the acknowledgment form to HR, let me know when it clears.”

Notice that in each correction above, we also fixed the missing “d” in the root word, which is a separate but highly common typo that often accompanies this confusion.

When to use acknowledgement

If your audience is primarily located in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada, the orthographic rules shift. As Grammarly points out, retaining the “e” in acknowledgement is the standard convention in British English, ensuring the soft “g” sound is visually preserved, even though the pronunciation remains identical. British style guides, including the Oxford University Press guidelines, favor retaining the “e” to maintain the visual integrity of the root word “acknowledge.” This prevents any potential misreading of the “g” as a hard “g” (as in “got”), although context usually makes this clear regardless.

Here is how this applies in practical Commonwealth contexts:

• Academic Paper (UK):
  • Error: “The thesis includes a brief acknowlegement section thanking the research participants.”
  • Fix: “The thesis includes a brief acknowledgement section thanking the research participants.”
• Legal Document (UK):
  • Error: “The solicitor requested a written acknowlegement of the contract amendments.”
  • Fix: “The solicitor requested a written acknowledgement of the contract amendments.”
• Text Message:
  • Error: “Did you get my acknowlegement about the meeting time change?”
  • Fix: “Did you get my acknowledgement about the meeting time change?”

In these regions, inserting the “e” signals a strong command of local orthographic norms. It shows attention to detail that regional readers, editors, and legal professionals will immediately recognize and appreciate.

How to remember the difference

Memorizing regional spelling differences can be tedious, but a simple mnemonic makes it effortless. Use the phrase: “American = Absent E”. In American English, the “e” is absent. Conversely, you can remember that the “UK Keeps the E”.

For a deeper, editor-level insight, consider the parallel word: judgment. In American English, we write judgment (no “e”), while British English writes judgement (with an “e”). The linguistic logic is identical. The root words “acknowledge” and “judge” both end in a soft “g” sound. In English orthography, we often retain a silent “e” after a “g” to guarantee it stays soft (compare “change” to “changeable”). American English makes a specific exception for these “-ment” nouns, dropping the “e” anyway because the “g” is already soft enough before the “m”. British English plays it safe and keeps the “e” to guarantee the soft “g” reading. Grouping acknowledgment/acknowledgement with judgment/judgement in your mental filing cabinet will help you recall both rules simultaneously without having to look them up.

Common mistakes and exceptions

While the “e” versus “no e” debate gets the most attention, it is not the most frequent actual error. The most common mistake writers make is misspelling the root word itself as “acknowlege” (missing the “d”). This is a fundamental spelling error that will trigger red squiggly lines in any word processor, regardless of your regional settings. Always ensure the root is spelled a-c-k-n-o-w-l-e-d-g-e before attaching any suffix.

Another frequent pitfall involves pluralization and verb forms. When making the noun plural, American English writes acknowledgments, and British English writes acknowledgements. The regional rule remains entirely consistent. However, when converting the word into a present participle verb, both American and British English drop the “e”. You are always acknowledging a receipt, never acknowledgeing. The “e” must fall away before the “-ing” suffix to prevent a double-vowel clash and maintain standard English morphology.

Consistency is the ultimate hallmark of professional writing. If you are drafting a 50-page report for a US audience, do not mix acknowledgment and acknowledgement in the same manuscript. Pick your designated style guide and apply it uniformly from the title page to the appendix. In US legal contexts, the term “Acknowledgment” refers to a specific formal declaration made before a notary public. In these highly formalized templates, the spelling is almost universally standardized without the “e”, leaving no room for stylistic preference.

In the publishing industry, the section at the beginning or end of a book where the author thanks their supporters is universally titled “Acknowledgments” in the US and “Acknowledgements” in the UK. I have reviewed countless dissertation drafts where students laboriously typed out “Acknowledgements” only for their American university’s formatting guide to demand the removal of the “e”. Knowing this specific, named context prevents unnecessary revision cycles. Furthermore, autocorrect software can be unreliable with this specific word, sometimes “correcting” a deliberately chosen British spelling to the American version, or vice versa, depending on the device’s hidden language settings. Always double-check your final draft manually rather than blindly accepting automated suggestions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is acknowledgement wrong in American English? No, it is not strictly “wrong,” but it is considered a variant spelling. Most US style guides (Chicago, APA, AP) mandate acknowledgment without the “e”.

Which spelling should I use in Canada? Canadian English generally follows British conventions for this word, making acknowledgement the more common and accepted choice, though acknowledgment is also widely understood and sometimes used in legal contexts.

Does the pronunciation change between the two spellings? No. Both acknowledgment and acknowledgement are pronounced exactly the same way: uhk-NOL-ij-muhnt. The extra “e” is entirely silent.

What is the most common actual spelling mistake with this word? The most frequent error is not the presence or absence of the “e”, but misspelling the root as “acknowlege” (missing the “d”). Always ensure the root is spelled a-c-k-n-o-w-l-e-d-g-e before adding any suffix.