Name for a tall residential building

[lindenharp]

I know that apartment = flat.  What would be the proper British term for an apartment building; ie., a residential building at least 10-15 stories high.  (And are the levels called "stories"?)

I want to describe a cliff as being higher than a 12-story apartment building.  If necessary, I can compare it to some other kind of high-rise, such as an

Comments

[loganberrybunny]

One small point which is probably already apparent from other replies: in British English (in this context) we write one storey/two storeys, not one story/two stories. I'm not sure whether or not the American spelling is accepted by British dictionaries, but it would look strange to many British readers.

[londonkds]

The other difference to remember is that in Britain we name the floors of buildings going up as the ground floor, then the first floor, second floor and so on. So you need to add one if translating from American English.

[thekumquat]

What others have said - news stories will report someone falling off "a hundred-foot cliff" or "thirty metres - that's one hundred feet...". I have no idea how tall a 12-storey building is even though I live in London where we have a fair few nearby - I suppose about 9 feet per floor so just over 100 feet.

Someone might possibly compare a cliff to "as tall as Big Ben" or in London, Centrepoint or the Post Office Tower, but they'd probably just use feet. Or compare to a well-known cliff like Beachy Head (frequently on the news for people jumping off it).