Cups (cup)

The US customary cup is a cooking measure equal to 8 US fluid ounces, half a pint, or 16 tablespoons, about 236.6 mL.

Convert cups to any volume unit

1 cup = 0.2365882365 liters

Quick facts

Unit
Cup (plural: cups)
Symbol
cup
Measures
Volume / Capacity
System
US liquid
Equals
0.2365882365 liters
Definition
8 US fluid ounces, half a US pint (about 236.59 mL).
Also written
US cup, customary cup, c

1 cup in other units

Liters0.2365882365 L
Gallons0.0625 gal
Milliliters236.5882365 mL
Fluid ounces8 fl oz
Tablespoons16 tbsp
Teaspoons48 tsp
Cubic meters0.000236588237 m³
Pints0.5 pt

What is a cup?

The US customary cup is a cooking measure equal to 8 US fluid ounces, half a pint, or 16 tablespoons, about 236.6 mL. It is the standard measuring cup in American recipes.

Nutrition labels in the US use a slightly different "legal cup" of exactly 240 mL, and most other countries use a metric cup of 250 mL. The differences rarely matter in cooking but can add up in baking.

Where the cup sits among volume units

The cup is number 61 of 234 on our scale of volume units, ordered from smallest to largest.

Imperial fluid ounce1 cup = 8.32674 imp fl oz Fluid ounce1 cup = 8 fl oz Shot1 cup = 5.33333 shot Deciliter1 cup = 2.36588 dL Cupthis unit Metric cup1 metric cup = 1.05669 cup Pint1 pt = 2 cup Imperial pint1 imp pt = 2.4019 cup Quart1 qt = 4 cup

What cups are used for

  • Measuring flour, sugar, milk and liquids in US recipes
  • Serving sizes on packaging

Cups in real life

  • 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 120–125 g
  • 1 cup of water weighs about 237 g
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar weighs about 200 g

One cup is enough to fill about 5.3 shot glasses, or enough to fill about 47 teaspoons, or about 67% of a soda can, or about 32% of a wine bottle.

Top cup conversions

Common amounts of cups

Convert cups to all 233 other units

Metric

US liquid

US dry

Imperial (UK)

Wine & spirits

Cooking (metric & informal)

Oil, gas & shipping

Scientific

Ancient

East & Southeast Asian

European (pre-metric)

Everyday comparisons

Convert to cups

Frequently asked questions

What is a cup?

The US customary cup is a cooking measure equal to 8 US fluid ounces, half a pint, or 16 tablespoons, about 236.6 mL.

How is the cup defined?

8 US fluid ounces, half a US pint (about 236.59 mL).

How many liters are in a cup?

One cup equals 0.2365882365 liters.

How many gallons are in a cup?

One cup equals 0.0625 gallons.

How many milliliters are in a cup?

One cup equals 236.5882365 milliliters.