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Cups to Milliliters (US) (cup to ml)
Convert cup to ml instantly — ml = cups × 236.588. Multiply cups by 236.588 for US recipe cups. Half a cup is 118 ml, a quarter cup is 59 ml. Everything is computed locally in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How to convert cup to ml
The conversion formula is ml = cups × 236.588. Multiply cups by 236.588 for US recipe cups. Half a cup is 118 ml, a quarter cup is 59 ml.
Going the other way? See the milliliters to cups (us) converter, which uses the reciprocal relationship.
Worked examples
Example: convert 0.5 cup to ml. Apply the formula — ml = cups × 236.588 — and you get 118.3 ml. Reverse-check it by using the milliliters to cups (us) to come back to 0.5 cup; if you do not land on the original number, a factor was inverted.
Example: convert 4 cup to ml. Apply the formula — ml = cups × 236.588 — and you get 946.4 ml. Reverse-check it by using the milliliters to cups (us) to come back to 4 cup; if you do not land on the original number, a factor was inverted.
Where the factor comes from
The US legal cup of 236.588 ml is the standard behind American recipes, defined from the US gallon (exactly 231 cubic inches). Australia, Canada and most of Europe use a metric cup of 250 ml — 5.7% larger. Spoon measures follow the same split: a US tablespoon is 14.79 ml versus the 15 ml metric tablespoon. Over a six-cup batch of dough, that difference is more than a third of a cup.Common mistakes
US cup vs metric cup. Australian and Canadian recipes use a 250 ml cup. Baking a US recipe with metric cups over-measures every volume by 5.7%.
Tablespoon drift. A US tablespoon is 14.79 ml; a metric (Australian) tablespoon is 20 ml — 35% larger. This is the classic trap in recipes from UK/AU sources.
Packing brown sugar like flour. Volume charts assume the packing style stated. Brown sugar is measured packed, flour spooned-and-level — applying one style to both corrupts both.
Quick mental shortcuts
Mental shortcuts: cups → ml ≈ ×240 (exact 236.588); tbsp → ml ≈ ×15 (exact 14.79); tsp → ml ≈ ×5. Eight US fl oz is one cup; sixteen tablespoons are also one cup.
FAQ
How do I convert cup to ml?
ml = cups × 236.588. Multiply cups by 236.588 for US recipe cups. Half a cup is 118 ml, a quarter cup is 59 ml.
What is 1 cup in ml?
1 cup = 237 ml.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
This converter uses the US legal cup of 236.588 ml, which is what US recipes mean by "cup". Metric cups (250 ml) are about 5.7% larger — worth remembering when baking from Australian or Canadian recipes.
Does ingredient density matter here?
No — this pair converts volume to volume, so the factor is fixed. Density only matters when converting between weight (grams, ounces) and volume (cups, milliliters).
More conversions
cm → inin → cmmm → inin → mmm → ftft → mkm → mimi → kmkg → lblb → kgg → ozoz → g°C → °F°F → °Cgal → LL → galg → cupcup → gg → tbsptbsp → gg → mlml → gml → cupfl oz → mlml → fl oz
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