Offence and offense are two spellings of the same word — the choice between them depends entirely on which variety of English you’re writing in.

The spelling difference

Offense is the American English spelling. Offence is the British English spelling (also used in Canadian, Australian, and other non-American varieties).

This follows the same pattern as other American/British spelling pairs: defense/defence, license/licence (though licence in British English is only the noun; the verb is license in both varieties — a distinction that trips up even careful writers).

Meaning

Offence/offense has several related meanings:

A transgression or violation: the act of breaking a rule, law, or moral standard. The offence carries a maximum penalty of five years. / Tax evasion is a serious offense.

The act of causing someone to feel upset or insulted: No offence intended. / She took offence at the remark.

In sports: the attacking team or side (more common in American English). The team’s offense scored three touchdowns.

As a modifier: offensive (adjective), offend (verb), offender (person who commits an offence).

British/American distinction beyond spelling

In British English, offence and defence are always nouns; the corresponding verbs are offend and defend. In American English, offense and defense serve as both nouns and have given rise to adjectival compounds (offensive line, defensive play) especially in sports contexts.

The verb to license (not to licence) is the same in both British and American English — this is one of the exceptions to the systematic American/British spelling pattern, and it catches writers who expect consistency.

Usage notes

In legal contexts, offence (British) and offense (American) refer specifically to acts defined as criminal or regulatory violations. The distinction matters for formal documents where regional legal terminology must be followed.

In general writing, the only rule is consistency: pick one regional variety and apply it throughout.

Trinka’s grammar checker recognizes both American and British spelling conventions and flags inconsistent spelling within a document.

References

Garner, B. A. (2016). Garner’s Modern English Usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Oxford Dictionaries. (2023). Offence. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/