Carrier strike group versus carrier battle group

What is the difference between a carrier strike group and a carrier battle group?

Functionally very little; the wording emphasizes strike or sea control, while the modern change often lies in the smaller number of escorts.

There is no firm functional distinction between a carrier battle group and a carrier strike group in this comparison. British terminology emphasizes strike, while the larger American carrier force made worldwide sea control a more natural organizing role. The Royal Navy's smaller carrier inventory encourages concentration on particular strike tasks even though its ships can also provide sea control. The examples given are an American carrier with a cruiser, destroyers or ASW escorts, and a submarine, and a British carrier theoretically accompanied by two destroyers, two frigates, and a submarine. Both are compared with older battle groups of about a dozen escorts. The shift in terminology attracts criticism because it can make that reduction in escort numbers sound like a change of concept.