Measure · 43 units
Volume
The litre is exactly one cubic decimetre. The US gallon (231 cubic inches) and the imperial gallon (4.546 09 L) are different units with the same name: an imperial gallon is about 1.2 US gallons, and so are its pints and quarts.
Convert volume
Then and now
The US gallon is the English wine gallon of 1707; Britain replaced its wine, ale and corn gallons with the imperial gallon in 1824. Casks such as the hogshead meant different volumes for wine and for beer, and the litre itself was about 28 parts per million larger from 1901 to 1964.
All volume units
“Exact” means the unit is defined as an exact multiple of the SI unit; the decimal is printed in full when it ends. Rows marked historical or obsolete are kept for reading old documents.
| Unit | Defined as | In SI | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SI | ||||
| cubic metre m³ | 1 m × 1 m × 1 m | 1 m³ | exact | BIPM SI Brochure |
| SI (accepted) | ||||
| millilitre mL | 1/1000 L = 1 cm³ | 0.000 001 m³ | exact | BIPM SI Brochure |
| litre L | exactly 1 dm³ (since 1964) | 0.001 m³ | exact From 1901 to 1964 the litre was the volume of 1 kg of water, about 1.000 028 dm³. | BIPM SI Brochure |
| Imperial / US | ||||
| cubic inch in³ | 1 in × 1 in × 1 in | 0.000 016 387 064 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| cubic foot ft³ | 1728 cubic inches | 0.028 316 846 592 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| cubic yard yd³ | 27 cubic feet | 0.764 554 857 984 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| Imperial | ||||
| imperial fluid ounce | 1/20 imperial pint | 0.000 028 413 062 5 m³ | exact | UK Weights and Measures Act 1985 |
| imperial gill | 1/4 imperial pint | 0.000 142 065 312 5 m³ | exact | UK Weights and Measures Act 1985 |
| imperial pint pt | 1/8 imperial gallon = 568.261 25 mL | 0.000 568 261 25 m³ | exact | UK Weights and Measures Act 1985 |
| imperial quart | 1/4 imperial gallon | 0.001 136 522 5 m³ | exact | UK Weights and Measures Act 1985 |
| imperial gallon gal | exactly 4.546 09 L | 0.004 546 09 m³ | exact Defined in 1824 as the volume of 10 lb of water; fixed in litres in 1985. | UK Weights and Measures Act 1985 |
| US liquid | ||||
| US fluid ounce fl oz | 1/128 US gallon | 0.000 029 573 529 562 5 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US gill | 4 US fluid ounces | 0.000 118 294 118 25 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US cup | 8 US fluid ounces | 0.000 236 588 236 5 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US pint pt | 1/8 US gallon | 0.000 473 176 473 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US quart qt | 1/4 US gallon | 0.000 946 352 946 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US gallon gal | 231 cubic inches = 3.785 411 784 L | 0.003 785 411 784 m³ | exact 231 in³ is the old English wine gallon of 1707, kept by the United States. | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US kitchen | ||||
| teaspoon (US) tsp | 1/3 tablespoon | 0.000 004 928 921 593 75 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| tablespoon (US) tbsp | 1/2 US fluid ounce | 0.000 014 786 764 781 25 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US apothecaries’ | ||||
| minim (US) | 1/60 US fluid dram | 0.000 000 061 611 519 921 875 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US fluid dram | 1/8 US fluid ounce | 0.000 003 696 691 195 312 5 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US dry | ||||
| US dry quart | 1/32 US bushel | 0.001 101 220 942 715 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US peck pk | 1/4 US bushel | 0.008 809 767 541 72 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| US bushel bu | 2150.42 cubic inches (the old Winchester bushel) | 0.035 239 070 166 88 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| Imperial dry | ||||
| imperial peck | 2 imperial gallons | 0.009 092 18 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| imperial bushel | 8 imperial gallons | 0.036 368 72 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| Timber | ||||
| board foot | 144 cubic inches (1 ft × 1 ft × 1 in of timber) | 0.002 359 737 216 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| cord (of wood) | 128 cubic feet (a stack 8 × 4 × 4 ft) | 3.624 556 363 776 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| Shipping | ||||
| freight ton (measurement ton) | 40 cubic feet | 1.132 673 863 68 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| register ton | 100 cubic feet of enclosed ship space | 2.831 684 659 2 m³ | exact historical Replaced for ship measurement by the dimensionless gross tonnage of the 1969 Tonnage Convention. | NIST Handbook 44 |
| Oil industry | ||||
| barrel (petroleum) bbl | 42 US gallons | 0.158 987 294 928 m³ | exact | NIST Handbook 44 |
| Wine casks | ||||
| barrel (wine) | 31½ wine gallons | 0.119 240 471 196 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| tierce (wine) | 42 wine gallons | 0.158 987 294 928 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| hogshead (wine) | 63 wine gallons | 0.238 480 942 392 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| puncheon (wine) | 84 wine gallons | 0.317 974 589 856 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| pipe or butt (wine) | 126 wine gallons | 0.476 961 884 784 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| tun (wine) | 252 wine gallons of 231 in³ | 0.953 923 769 568 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| Beer casks | ||||
| pin | 4½ imperial gallons | 0.020 457 405 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| firkin | 9 imperial gallons | 0.040 914 81 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| kilderkin | 18 imperial gallons | 0.081 829 62 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| barrel (beer) | 36 imperial gallons | 0.163 659 24 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| hogshead (beer) | 54 imperial gallons | 0.245 488 86 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |
| butt (beer) | 108 imperial gallons | 0.490 977 72 m³ | exact historical | NIST Handbook 44 |