Pint | |
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![]() A full pint glass. The fill line indicates a half pint. | |
General information | |
Unit of | volume |
Symbol | pt, p |
Conversions (imperial) | |
1 imp pt in ... | ... is equal to ... |
SI derived unit | 568.26125 mL |
Conversions (US) | |
1 US pt in ... | ... is equal to ... |
SI derived unit | 473.176473 mL (liquid) |
SI derived unit | 550.610471 mL (dry) |
The pint (/ˈpaɪnt/, ; symbol pt,[1][2] sometimes abbreviated as p[3]) is a unit of volume or capacity in both the imperial and United States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems it is traditionally one eighth of a gallon. The British imperial pint is about 20% larger than the American pint because the two systems are defined differently. Almost all other countries have standardized on the metric system, so although some of them still also have traditional units called pints (such as for beverages), the volume varies by regional custom.
The imperial pint (≈ 568 mL) is used in the United Kingdom and Ireland and to a limited extent in Commonwealth nations. In the United States, two kinds of pint are used: a liquid pint (≈ 473 mL) and a less common dry pint (≈ 551 mL). Other former British colonies, such as Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, converted to the metric system in the 1960s and 1970s; so while the term pint may still be in common use in these countries, it may no longer refer to the British imperial pint once used throughout the British Empire.