Shaping up your spelling: Mould vs. mold

How you spell this word – whether referring to fungus or shaping something – depends if you’re in America or not.

American English prefers mold. This extends to its derivatives such as moldy and molding.

British English’s preference is mould, mouldy and moulding. This spelling is favored in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Canada is caught in the middle. Mould generally is taught in schools, but some newspapers, magazines, and websites go with the American spelling of mold.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 300 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.