Stone (st)

What is a stone?

The stone is a British and Irish unit of mass equal to 14 pounds, about 6.35 kilograms. It is used almost exclusively for body weight: people in the UK and Ireland typically describe their weight as, for example, "11 stone 4" (11 stone 4 pounds, about 71.7 kg).

The plural in British usage is usually "stone" rather than "stones".

What stone are used for

• Body weight in the UK and Ireland
• Weight classes in some British sports reports
• Historically, wool, meat and other goods

Stone in real life

• The average UK man weighs about 13 stone (83 kg)
• The average UK woman weighs about 11 stone (70 kg)

One stone is about as heavy as a bowling ball, or about as heavy as 6.4 bags of sugar, or about as heavy as 17 cans of soda, or about as heavy as 1.4 house cats.

History of the stone

The stone was used across Europe with values from about 3 to 13 kg depending on the goods and the town. England standardized it at 14 pounds for most purposes in the 14th century; it was removed from UK trade law in 1985 but remains in everyday use.