Spelling

Overview

WFP follows British spelling (with some exceptions).

✅ Do

programme

❌ Don’t

program

✅ Do

colour

❌ Don’t

color

Use z (not s) in words such as organize, realize and mobilization.

✅ Do

organize

❌ Don’t

organise

Use s in words such as analyse, catalyse and paralyse.

✅ Do

analyse

❌ Don’t

analyze

Spelling guides

Refer to the following lists, in order of preference:

WFP word index (listed on this page)
United Nations spelling list
Oxford English Dictionary (if more than one spelling is given, use the first one listed)

WFP word index

A

above-mentioned; aforementioned
abridgement (not “abridgment”)
accommodation
acknowledgement (not “acknowledgment”)
acreage (prefer area)
addendum (pl. addenda)
ad hoc
advice (n.); advise (v.)
adviser (except: respectful workplace advisor)
after-care
after-effect
afterwards (not “afterward”)
ageing (not “aging”)
agenda (pl. agendas; don’t use “agendum/agenda”, even though it’s strictly correct)
aggregate data
agriculturalist; agriculturist
agro-ecology, agro-ecosystem
agro-industry
agroprocessing
agroforestry
agropastoral, agropastoralists
aide-mémoire (pl. aides-mémoire; use “memorandum”, pl. “memoranda”)
air-drop
air cargo (preferred to “airfreight”)
airlift
alkaline
allotment
all together (all in one place)
altogether (completely)
aluminium (not “aluminum”)
among (not “amongst”)
anaemia (not “anemia”)
analyse
annex (I, II, III etc.)
annual performance report
annual session of the Board
antenatal (compound words with prefix ante are closed artifact)
anti-fraud and anti-corruption (policy)
anti-personnel mine
assist + in + gerund or noun (e.g. “assist in planning”; never assist + infinitive)
appraisal mission
artefact
artisan (noun), artisanal (adj.)
as at (on a specified date)
as of (on and after a specified date)
autumn (not “fall”)

B

back-loading
backstop
baseline data
basic healthcare
bedridden
benchmark
benefited, benefiting (not “benefitted”, “benefitting”)
biannual (ambiguous: avoid it; use “twice a year” or “every two years”)
biennial (every second year)
biennium (period of two years) pl. biennia; e.g. the 2001–2002 biennium
bi-monthly (ambiguous; avoid it. Use “every two months” or “twice a month”)
bio- compound forms closed, no hyphen: e.g. biodegradable
birth rate
birthweight
the Board
bulgur wheat
breadwinner
breakdown (n); break down (v.)
breastfeeding
breastmilk
brushfire
budgeted; budgeting
budget increase (not “budgetary”)
build-up (n.); build up (v.)
built-in (adj.); built in (v.)
bureau, bureaux
the Bureau of the Board
by-product

C

capacity building
Capital Budgeting Facility
capacity strengthening
caregiver; but: care provider
carry-over (noun or adjective); carry over (verb phrase)
case study
cash flow
cash in lieu of commodities
ceasefire
centre
centuries; spell out, e.g. twentieth century
change-over
channelling
checklist
chickpea
Chief Risk Officer
childbearing; childbirth; child rearing
childcare
children under 5
classroom
coefficient
co-finance
combating
commodity (avoid, use “food” or “food item”)
cooperation
coordination
co-worker
cold store; cold storage
colour
combating
commercial sex (prostitution; as opposed to transactional sex such as sex for food)
complementary = additional
complimentary = conveying compliment, as a gift
corporate partnership strategy
corporate results framework (Corporate Results Framework when used in the title of a specific framework (e.g. Corporate Results Framework (2017-2021)
corporate risk register
cost recovery
cost–benefit analysis
cost-effective; cost effectiveness
counsellor, counselling
counter-productive
country director (Country Director of X)
country office (not “CO”)
country operation management plan
country portfolio budget
country strategic plans
country strategic review
country strategy outline
country team
cowpea
cropland
cross-cutting

D

database
day care; day-care centre
day labourer
day-school
daytime
death rate
decision maker; decision making (no hyphen)
defence
de-mining
dependent (adj.) (on); dependant (n.)
desertification
deworming
developing country (not “underdeveloped country”)
developing world (not “Third World”)
dialogue
draught (re animals used for haulage etc.)
drawback
drinking water
dropout (noun and adjective); drop out (verb)
drought-affected
drought-prone; flood-prone
dry farming
dryland (adj.); dry land (noun)

E

ecosystem
elderly - replaced with older persons
email, e-business, e-marketing, e-customer, e-vouchers
end product; end-use; end-user
end-to-end telecommunications network
enrol; enrolled; enrolment
enterprise risk management
euro
equalled; equalization
Executive Board; in most documents, “Board” is sufficient
Executive Director
expectant and nursing mothers (use “pregnant and lactating women” instead)
ex post; ex-post evaluation (avoid: use English “after”)
External Auditor

F

extra-budgetary
FAO Finance Committee
farm worker
farmhouse
farmland
farmyard
far-reaching
far-seeing
“female-headed household(s)” (use “households headed by women”)
“female beneficiaries” (use “women beneficiaries”)
fertilizer
field office (do not confuse with “country office”)
fieldwork; fieldworker
Financial Framework Review
first regular session of the Board
first hand (even if adjective)
fit for purpose
five-year plan
focusing
follow-up (adj., noun); to follow up (verb)
food assistance for assets: a blanket term that applies to food, cash or vouchers for work, asset building, training etc.
food basket
food crop
food-deficit country
foodgrains, foodstuffs
food-insecure (adj.); food insecurity
formatted
fortnightly
-free (compound forms hyphenated (e.g. disease-free)
freelance
freshwater (adj.)
front line (noun); front-line (adj.)
fruit crop; fruit fly
fruit tree
fuel oil
fuelwood
fulfil, fulfilling, fulfilled, fulfilment
full cost recovery
full-scale
full-time (adv. and adj.)
fundraiser; fundraising

G

gauge
General Assembly resolution
General Regulation II.2(a)
General Rule VII.2
general service (GS) posts
the Government of … (when referring to a specific national government, not local government)
government (adj.)
grain-fed
gram(s) (not gramme(s); g after a numeral)
grass roots (n.), grass-roots (adj.)
grey (not “gray”)

H

handover
hand tool
headquarters (do not abbreviate as HQ)
heavy-duty
health care
health-care worker
high-yielding (variety)
hillside
home-grown
home-made
homepage
home-making
host Government; host governments
household (spell out; do not use “hh” or “HH”)
household(s) headed by women/children/elderly people (not “female-headed households” or “child-headed households” etc.)
Human Development Index

I

inasmuch as
inbred
inbuilt; built-in
income-generation; income-generating
in-depth
index, indexes (literary)/indices (numbers)
Indigenous Peoples
infra-red
infrastructure
in-house
in kind (adv.: contributions in kind; adj.: in-kind contributions)
in-patient
in-service
insofar as
install, instalment
inter alia; avoid and use “among other things” instead
inter-agency (NB Inter-Agency if part of title)
Integrated Road Map
internal control framework
internally displaced person (IDP); internally displaced persons (IDPs)
internet
inter-sectoral
inter-regional
interrelated
inter-village
intra-regional
iodine deficiency

J

judgment
Joint Inspection Unit

K

kilocalorie(s) (kcal after a numeral)
kilogram(s) (not kilogramme; kg after a numeral)
kilometre(s) (km after a numeral)
know-how
knowledge-sharing

L

labour, labour force
labour-intensive
landfill
landholder, landholding
land-locked
landmine
landowner
landownership
large-scale (adj.)
learned (not “learnt”)
letter of agreement
liaison
licence (n.); license (v.)
life cycle; lifespan
lifeline
lifelong
life-saving
lifestyle
lifetime
list (but List when referring to a specific list, e.g; List D)
livestock
logical framework (“logframe” in tables)
long term; long-term (adj.)
long-standing (adj.)
low birthweight, low-birthweight baby

M

macroeconomics; macroeconomic
management plan (Management Plan in the title of a specific management plan, e.g. WFP Management Plan (2018-2020)
maize meal
make-up
“male” (avoid it; use “men”, as in “households headed by men”, not “male-headed households”)
Management result dimension
man-made (use “from human causes”, “human-induced” or similar phrasing)
manpower (use “human resources” or “personnel”)
market place
market town
matching contribution
matching expenditures
matching funds
meantime (but “Greenwich mean time”)
Member States (of WFP, but States Members of the United Nations)
members of the Board; Board members
memorandum of understanding / memorandums of understanding (if it’s a specific title, in full, of a specific agreement it may be capitalized)
metre (m after a numeral; but: parameter; diameter)
micro- (compound forms closed, except before o (e.g. micro-organize)
micronutrients
midday
middle income countries (no hyphen)
mid-term
mid-1970s, mid-August
mine-detector
mindset
minefield
mission statement
monetization, monetize
monocrop, monocropping, monoculture
multi-purpose
multisector; multisectoral
multi-year

N

national zero hunger strategic review
nationwide
never-ending
non- compound forms hyphenated (non-aligned; non-existent; non-food)
no-objection basis
northeast (n.), northeastern (adj.)
note for the record

O

observer
offence
off-season
offshore
oil-seed production
on-farm
ongoing
online; offline
onset
on-site (adj.)
on-the-job (adj.)
organigram
orient
overcropping
overestimate
overexploitation
overnutrition
over-reliance
overriding
oversight framework

P

paddy field; paddy rice
para- compound forms solid (paramedical; parastatal)
paragraph 2
paralyse; paralysis
participatory
peacebuilding
peacekeeping
per capita
percent (not %, except in tables; not “per cent”)
permanent representative (Permanent Representative when referring to a spefic person)
phase-in (n.)phase in (v.)
phase-out (n.)phase out (v.)
piecework
pipeline
pisciculture (avoid it: use “fish breeding”, “fish rearing”, “fish farming”)
plan of action
plan of operations
plateau; plateaux
pledging target
plenary
plough, ploughing
Plumpy’Doz; Plumpy’Nut; Plumpy’Sup
policyholder
policymaker; policymaking
post-date
post-harvest
postnatal
practice (n.); practise (v.)
principles (IASC principals)
pre- compounds hyphenated in verb tenses
prenatal
pre-package
pre-positioned
pre-record
pregnant and lactating women (not “expectant and nursing mothers”)
prerequisite
preschool; preschool-aged child
preventive; preventative
professional staff
pro forma
programme (not capitalized when referring to WFP)
programme of work (but capitalized when the title of a specific document)
-proof compound forms closed (airproof, rainproof)
pro rata
prorated
proved (not “proven”); but “proven ability”
PSA equalization account
pure-bred

R

rainfall; rainstorm
rainfed
rainforest
rainproof
rainwater
rangeland
Rapporteur
re- compound forms solid, except before e (e.g. re-examine, re-estimate)
real time (n); real-time (adj)
reforestation
regional bureau (not “RB”); plural: regional bureaux
regional director (Regional Director of X)
resilience building
resolution
rights-based approach
risk taking
riverbed; riverbank; riverside
road map
rollout(noun)roll out (verb)
rollover (noun); roll over (verb)
Rome-based agency
root crop
round table (even if adjective)
run off

S

safety net
the Sahel
Sahelian zone
savannah
school-aged children
schoolbook
schoolchildren; schoolgirl, schoolboy
school day, school year
school-leaver; school-leaving
schoolteacher
school feeding programme
second-hand
second regular session of the Board
Secretary-General (of the United Nations; other organizations may use Secretary General without the hyphen, e.g., Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe)
sectoral (not “sectorial”)
seed bank
seed-cake
seed-protection ration
self-: compound forms hyphenated
semi-: compound forms hyphenated
setback; to set back
sharecropper; sharecropping
shelf-life
shortfall
short term (n.); short-term (adj.)
side effect
silage; ensilage
sirocco
sizeable; medium-sized
slaughterhouse (alternative: abattoir)
smallholder; smallholding
small-scale (adj.)
socio-: compound forms hyphenated, with some exceptions such as socioeconomic
southern Africa (not South Africa, the country)
soybean
spill-over (noun and adj.); spill over (verb)
standby
States Members (of WFP; but Member States is preferred)
state-wide
stockbreeder
stockpiling
stopgap
storeroom
strategic goal (Strategic Goal when referring to a specific strategic goal of the Strategic Plan (2017-2021), e.g., “Strategic Goal 1: Support countries to achieve zero hunger (SDG 2)”)
strategic objective (Strategic Objective when referring to a specific strategic objective of the Strategic Plan (2017-2021), e.g., “Strategic Objective 1: End hunger by protecting access to food”)
strategic outcomes (lower case, even when referring to a specific strategic outcome in a country strategic plan)
strategic plan
strategic result (Strategic Result when referring to a specific strategic result of the Strategic Plan (2017-2021), e.g., “Strategic Result 1: Everyone has access to food (SDG Target 2.1”)
strategic review
subcomponent (compound forms closed except when followed by “b” and the following:
- sub-account
- sub-amendment
- sub-aquatic
- sub-area
- sub-assembly
- sub-centre
- sub-discipline
- sub-element
- sub-issue
- sub-item
- sub-lessee; sub-lessor
- sub-office
- sub-prefect
- sub-prefecture
- sub-prime
- sub-Saharan
- sub-theme
- sub-working group
- sub-district
sugarcane
sun-dried
Super Cereal
Super Cereal Plus
supplementary budget
system-wide

T

takeover (noun)
take-home rations
task force
teacher training
teamwork
test run
textbook
Third World (use “developing world”, “developing countries”)
timeframe
time-lag
time-limit
timeline
time-saving (adj.); time-saver
time-span
timetable
tire (use tyre; “tire” is US English)
to date
tone at the top
tonnage
tons (not “tonnes”; the standard WFP unit is metric tons, mt after a numeral)
toolbox
topsoil
towards
traffickers
transactional sex (sex in exchange for food as opposed to commercial sex, i.e., prostitution)
transborder
transferring
transhipment
transhumance; transhumant
travelled, traveller, travelling
trouble shooter; troubleshooting
turnover
two-week (adj.)
twofold