Convert pounds to ounces

Pound (lb) to ounce (oz). One pound equals 16 ounces.

1 lb =16oz (ounces)

Formula

ounces = pounds × 16

Pound to ounce conversion table

PoundsOuncesOuncesPounds
1 lb16 oz1 oz0.0625 lb
2 lb32 oz2 oz0.125 lb
3 lb48 oz3 oz0.1875 lb
5 lb80 oz5 oz0.3125 lb
10 lb160 oz10 oz0.625 lb
20 lb320 oz20 oz1.25 lb
50 lb800 oz50 oz3.125 lb
100 lb1600 oz100 oz6.25 lb
500 lb8000 oz500 oz31.25 lb
1000 lb16000 oz1000 oz62.5 lb

Decimal pounds to ounces conversion table

The exact decimal amounts people look up most often, worked out with the same factor the converter above uses. Every row is calculated, not rounded off a chart.

PoundsOunces
0.06 lb0.96 oz
0.1 lb1.6 oz
0.15 lb2.4 oz
0.16 lb2.56 oz
0.2 lb3.2 oz
0.25 lb4 oz
0.28 lb4.48 oz
0.3 lb4.8 oz
0.32 lb5.12 oz
0.33 lb5.28 oz
0.35 lb5.6 oz
0.38 lb6.08 oz
0.4 lb6.4 oz
0.45 lb7.2 oz
0.5 lb8 oz
0.55 lb8.8 oz
0.58 lb9.28 oz
0.6 lb9.6 oz
0.62 lb9.92 oz
0.63 lb10.08 oz
0.65 lb10.4 oz
0.66 lb10.56 oz
0.67 lb10.72 oz
0.7 lb11.2 oz
0.75 lb12 oz
0.8 lb12.8 oz
0.85 lb13.6 oz
0.86 lb13.76 oz
0.9 lb14.4 oz
0.95 lb15.2 oz
1 lb16 oz
1.05 lb16.8 oz
1.1 lb17.6 oz
1.15 lb18.4 oz
1.2 lb19.2 oz
1.25 lb20 oz
1.3 lb20.8 oz
1.35 lb21.6 oz
1.4 lb22.4 oz
1.45 lb23.2 oz
1.5 lb24 oz
1.55 lb24.8 oz
1.6 lb25.6 oz
1.65 lb26.4 oz
1.7 lb27.2 oz
1.75 lb28 oz
1.8 lb28.8 oz
1.85 lb29.6 oz
1.9 lb30.4 oz
1.95 lb31.2 oz
2 lb32 oz

Ounces back to pounds

The same conversion in reverse, for when you have the answer and need the question.

OuncesPounds
1 oz0.0625 lb
2 oz0.125 lb
4 oz0.25 lb
6 oz0.375 lb
8 oz0.5 lb
10 oz0.625 lb
12 oz0.75 lb
14 oz0.875 lb
16 oz1 lb
24 oz1.5 lb
32 oz2 lb

Where the pound to ounce factor comes from

  1. The international avoirdupois pound has been defined as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms since the international yard and pound agreement of 1959, which aligned the US, UK, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and South African definitions.
  2. The avoirdupois ounce is defined as exactly one sixteenth of that pound, so one ounce is 0.028349523125 kg, or 28.349523125 g.
  3. Dividing one by the other cancels the kilogram entirely: 0.45359237 ÷ 0.028349523125 = 16, exactly. The 16 is a definition, not a rounded measurement.
  4. ounces = pounds × 16. Because the factor is a whole number, decimal pounds convert cleanly: 0.38 × 16 = 6.08 oz, and 0.5 × 16 = 8 oz.

Sources

Common mistakes

Troy ounces are not the ounces on this page

A troy ounce is 31.1034768 g, roughly 10 percent heavier than the 28.349523125 g avoirdupois ounce used for everyday weight. Gold, silver and other precious metals are priced per troy ounce; food, parcels and body weight use avoirdupois. The trap is the pound: a troy pound is 12 troy ounces, not 16, so 0.5 troy lb is 6 troy oz while 0.5 lb is 8 oz.

Fluid ounces measure volume, not weight

An ounce (oz) is mass, a fluid ounce (fl oz) is volume. The two only line up for water, and even then only roughly: one US fluid ounce of water weighs about 29.6 g, while one ounce of mass is 28.3 g. For anything denser or lighter than water the gap grows, so 0.5 lb of syrup and 8 fl oz of syrup are not the same quantity. If your recipe or shipping label says fl oz, this is not the converter you want.

To convert pounds to ounces, multiply the number of pounds by 16. One pound equals 16 ounces, and one ounce equals 0.0625 pounds, so the relationship is fixed and exact. As a worked example, 10 lb comes to 160 oz. Enter your own figure in the converter above to get an instant answer, or use the swap button to flip the direction. This is a mass conversion, and like every tool on UnitGlide it runs locally in your browser with no account or upload required. The table further down shows a range of common pound values already worked out in ounces, plus the reverse ounce to pound direction, which is handy for quick reference or double-checking a result by hand.

Pound to ounce in practice

Pounds to ounces is the workhorse of an imperial kitchen and post room, splitting a pound into the sixteen ounces that recipes and parcel scales count in.

Cooking, post and boxing

Recipes drop from pounds to ounces for smaller amounts, so half a pound of chocolate is 8 oz and a quarter-pound patty is 4 oz. Postage bands are set in ounces up to the first pound, so a letter's price can hinge on whether it is 3 oz or 4 oz, and combat-sport weigh-ins split a fighter's limit into pounds and ounces in the same way.

Rounding stays exact

Because a pound is exactly sixteen ounces, decimals convert cleanly and there is nothing to round: 0.75 lb is 12 oz and 1.25 lb is 20 oz. That tidy whole-number factor is why a kitchen scale can flip between the two units without ever disagreeing with itself, and why the split is easy to do in your head.

Sixteen, not a metric ten

The one thing to remember is that the pound divides into sixteen, not ten. Half a pound is 8 oz rather than 5, and a third of a pound is a fraction over 5 oz. Anyone used to metric may reach for a base of ten out of habit, which turns every ounce answer into a wrong one.

Weight ounces, not fluid ounces

The ounce here is a weight, not the fluid ounce used for liquids. They share a name but measure different things, and only line up for water, and even then roughly. A recipe that says 8 fl oz of milk means a volume, so converting a weight in pounds to fluid ounces would answer the wrong question.

Reading pounds-and-ounces on a scale

Old-style scales and baby weigh-ins give a result as pounds and ounces together, like 7 lb 9 oz, which is not 7.9 lb. To turn a decimal pound into that form, keep the whole pounds and multiply the fraction by sixteen: 7.56 lb is 7 lb and 9 oz. Getting that split right matters most at birth weights and postage thresholds, where the ounces decide the outcome.

Frequently asked questions

How many ounces is 0.38 lb?

0.38 lb is 6.08 oz. Multiply the pounds by 16: 0.38 × 16 = 6.08. That is a little over 6 ounces, or just under 108 grams.

How many ounces is 0.66 lb?

0.66 lb is 10.56 oz. The same rule applies to any decimal pound: 0.66 × 16 = 10.56. Two thirds of a pound (0.6667 lb) is almost the same, at 10.67 oz.

Why is a pound exactly 16 ounces?

Because the avoirdupois ounce is defined as one sixteenth of the avoirdupois pound. It is a definition rather than a measurement, so the 16 is exact and holds at every decimal value. Troy weight, used for precious metals, splits its pound into 12 ounces instead.

How many ounces are in a pound?

One pound equals 16 ounces. The ratio is constant, so you can multiply any number of pounds by 16 to get ounces.

What is the formula to convert pounds to ounces?

Use ounces = pounds × 16. UnitGlide applies this exact formula for every value, so results stay accurate across the whole range.

How do I convert ounces back to pounds?

Go the other way by using one ounce equals 0.0625 pounds. You can also press the swap button in the converter above to flip the direction in one click.

Is this pound to ounce converter accurate?

Yes. It uses internationally defined SI conversion factors, as maintained by the BIPM, and all math runs in your browser so nothing is rounded away on a server. For everyday use the displayed precision is more than enough.

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