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labelled or labeled?
Labelled in the UK, the same applies to labelling. In the US it is labeled and labelling.
labour or labor?
In the UK, Australia and New Zealand (NZ), the word for work is spelt labour. The political party of the same name is spelt Labour in the UK and NZ only. In Australia the political party is called the Labor Party. In the US, labor is another word for work and there is no political party of the same name, even if they have labor unions.
langour or langor?
The spelling langour is always spelt that way in both British and American English.
larva or lava?
Lava comes out of volcanos and larva (larvae) are insects.
launch
Like ship, the word launch is often abused in corporate writing. Much of the time start and begin are better. 'The business launched in 2009' is better written as The business started in 2009.
lay or lie?
depends: To use the word 'lay' you mean place something down carefully, to put something down flat or to sleep with someone. The easiest way to remember this is the term 'lay the table'. The word 'lie' is used to refer to something that is already down, as in "I just want to lie down". Where it gets confusing is in verb forms, which goes Lay > Laid > Laid and Lie > Lay > Lain'. Lay' can be the past tense of Lie or the nominative (normal dictionary form) of Lay, hence the confusion.
leaned or leant?
Leant in the UK (with leaned a variant) and leaned the only US option.
learned or learnt?
Learnt in the UK (with learned a variant) and learned the only US option.
leaped or leapt?
Leapt in the UK (with leaped a variant) and leaped the only US option.
Lebanon or the Lebanon?
It’s simply Lebanon, not the Lebanon.
led or lead?
The past tense of 'to lead' [ee] is led [e], not 'lead' [e]. The metal is called lead [e].
lent or loaned?
...less or fewer?
...
leukaemia or leukemia?
Leukemia in both the UK and the US.
levelled or leveled?
Levelled in the UK, the same applies to leveller and levelling. In the US it's leveled, leveling and leveler.
libelled or libeled?
Libelled and libelling in the UK and libeled and libeling in the US.
licence or license?
...
lightyears or light-years?
It can be spelt either light-years or light years. Also, light-years are a measure of distance, not time. Don't say "Not in a million light-years".
like
Can we, like, just stop inserting this annoying word in every sentence?
likeable or likable?
The standard British and preferred Canadian spelling is likeable and the preferred US spelling is likable.
lineage or linage?
The word for ancestry or descent is lineage, while the word linage means "many lines" (e.g. on a page or road).
licorice or liquorice?
In US English the preferred spelling is licorice and in the UK only standard spelling is liquorice. These differences in spelling are quite absolute on each side of the Atlantic, though a minority write licorice in British English because of the French word it derives from. In Canada and Australia the spelling is usually licorice. Interestingly, the British spelling comes from a misunderstanding that it is conncted with liquor, which it is not. Instead, it comes from Old French licorice, and liquiritia in medieval Latin and glycyrrhiza in the original Greek, meaning "sweet root".
liter or litre?
Litre in the UK and liter in the US..
liveable or livable?
The standard British and Canadian spelling is liveable and the standard US spelling, according to Webster's-Merriam, is livable.
loan or lend?
...
loathe or loth?
...
long-standing
With a hyphen.
longtime
No hyphen.
lose or loose?
I am constantly surprised at how many people get this wrong in writing. Lose ("looz") is to misplace something or not win. Loose ("luce") is something that is not tight or firm.
loser or looser?
The same (above) is true of calling someone a 'looser' ("loozer") when they actually mean loser ("lucer"). As my old high-school teacher used to say: Why are you calling him/her a loser? Do you think that you are a winner?
louver or louvre?
In the UK it is louvre and in the US louver.
loveable or lovable?
In British English, loveable is preferred while lovable is standard in the US.
lowlifes or lowlives?
The plural of lowlife is lowlifes.
lozenger or lozenge?
The correct spelling is lozenge and lozenges (plural).
lucer or lucre?
Lucre is the correct spelling in both British and American English.
luster or lustre?
Lustre in the UK and luster in the US.