Convert Pound to Ounce (lb → oz)

Converting pounds to ounces is straightforward: multiply by the conversion factor. Follow these three steps to do it by hand or in your head.

1. 1
   Take your value in pounds

   Start with the number of pounds (lb) you want to convert.
2. 2
   Multiply by 16

   The conversion factor from lb to oz is 16. Multiply your value by this number.
3. 3
   Read the result in ounces

   The result is your value in ounces (oz).

Multiply the value in pounds by 16. For the reverse direction, multiply by 0.0625.

• ✓1 lb ≈ 453.6 g ≈ ½ kg. For mental conversion: kg = lb / 2.2.
• ✓1 lb = 16 oz exactly. American recipes often mix pounds and ounces.
• ✓UK shop labels often show kg and lb together; US labels are pounds only.

• ✗Using 2 instead of 2.205 when converting lb to kg — a 10% error on airline luggage.
• ✗Confusing mass pounds (lb) with pound-force (lbf) in engineering.
• ✗Assuming a British and American pound are different — they are identical (0.45359237 kg).

What is the Pound?

The pound equals exactly 0.45359237 kilograms under the 1959 international yard and pound agreement. The unit's name comes from the Latin 'libra pondo' (a pound by weight), and the abbreviation 'lb' derives from 'libra.' The pound has been the everyday weight unit in English-speaking countries for over a thousand years, with regional variations until 20th-century standardization. Today it remains the primary weight unit in the United States for body weight (a person is '170 lb' rather than 77 kg), groceries, and shipping; in the United Kingdom it persists alongside kilograms, especially for personal weight ('11 stone 4' = 158 lb). The pound relates to the ounce (16 oz = 1 lb), the stone (14 lb = 1 stone), the kilogram (1 lb ≈ 0.454 kg), and the US ton (2,000 lb = 1 ton). The international 'avoirdupois' pound is the common standard, distinct from the troy pound used for precious metals.

• Human body weight in the US and UK
• Grocery and retail food pricing in the US
• Boxing and wrestling weight divisions

What is the Ounce?

The ounce equals exactly 28.349523125 grams or 1/16 of a pound. The word derives from the Latin 'uncia,' meaning one twelfth (the original Roman ounce was 1/12 of a Roman pound). The modern avoirdupois ounce, used for everyday weights in the United States and the United Kingdom, replaced the older Tower and Troy systems. It is the standard unit for American kitchen recipes (where 'ounce' refers to weight, distinct from the fluid ounce of volume), postal rates, package sizes (a 12-oz can of soda), and boxing-glove weights. Precious metals like gold and silver use the troy ounce (31.103 g), about 10% heavier than the avoirdupois ounce. The ounce relates to the pound (16 oz = 1 lb), the gram (1 oz ≈ 28.35 g), and the grain (1 oz = 437.5 grains).

• American and British cooking recipes
• Food packaging in the US
• Precious metals (troy ounce = 31.10 g, different from avoirdupois)