Convert yards to meters
Enter a value in yards and read the result in meters. A yard is 0.9144 meters, so 100 yards comes to 91.44 meters. Below you will find a table of ready-made conversions, the sporting distances that are quoted in yards, and what a yard of fabric works out to. A distance of 100 yd, for example, is exactly 91.44 metres.
What is a yard and what is a meter?
The yard is a unit of length in the imperial system and divides into three feet or thirty-six inches. Its symbol is yd, and the name goes back to an old word for a straight measuring rod.
The yard has no physical definition of its own today, because it takes its length from the meter. On 1 July 1959 Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States adopted an agreement that gave the yard a value of 0.9144 meters[1]. Before that each of those countries kept its own standard, and a conference in 1958 had already settled that the English-speaking nations would base their standards of length and mass on metric measures[2].
The unit stayed in daily use. In Britain the law requires yards on road signs for short distances: anything under half a mile is shown either in quarter miles or in yards rounded to the nearest ten[3]. In the United States a football field and a swimming lane are measured in yards, and fabric is sold by the yard in both countries.
The meter stands on the other side of this conversion and is one of the seven base units of the SI system. Since 1983 its length has rested on the speed of light: it is the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second[4].
How many meters are in a yard?
A yard is 0.9144 meters, or 91.44 centimeters. That figure is exact to the last digit: it is the definition of the unit as it has stood since 1959.
Larger distances show it best. A hundred yards is 91.44 meters. Two hundred yards gives 182.88 meters. A thousand yards works out at 914.40 meters, just short of a kilometer.
A yard falls 8.56 centimeters short of a full meter. That is roughly the width of an adult hand, which is why the two are often treated as the same in conversation, while over a longer stretch the gap becomes plain.
How to convert yards to meters: formula and example
The formula has a single step: multiply the number of yards by 0.9144.
Take one number as an example. A cricket pitch is 22 yards long. Multiply 22 by 0.9144 and the answer is 20.1168, so the pitch measures 20.12 meters once rounded.
In a spreadsheet the same sum is written =A1*0.9144, or with the function =CONVERT(A1,"yd","m").
The reverse direction is handled by the meters to yards converter. Since a yard is three feet, the feet to meters converter is useful too, and for shorter pieces there is the inches to centimeters converter.
How many meters is a given number of yards?
| Yards | Meters | Feet |
|---|---|---|
| 1 yd | 0.91 m | 3 ft |
| 2 yd | 1.83 m | 6 ft |
| 3 yd | 2.74 m | 9 ft |
| 4 yd | 3.66 m | 12 ft |
| 5 yd | 4.57 m | 15 ft |
| 6 yd | 5.49 m | 18 ft |
| 7 yd | 6.40 m | 21 ft |
| 8 yd | 7.32 m | 24 ft |
| 9 yd | 8.23 m | 27 ft |
| 10 yd | 9.14 m | 30 ft |
| 12 yd | 10.97 m | 36 ft |
| 15 yd | 13.72 m | 45 ft |
| 18 yd | 16.46 m | 54 ft |
| 20 yd | 18.29 m | 60 ft |
| 22 yd | 20.12 m | 66 ft |
| 25 yd | 22.86 m | 75 ft |
| 30 yd | 27.43 m | 90 ft |
| 36 yd | 32.92 m | 108 ft |
| 40 yd | 36.58 m | 120 ft |
| 45 yd | 41.15 m | 135 ft |
| 50 yd | 45.72 m | 150 ft |
| 55 yd | 50.29 m | 165 ft |
| 60 yd | 54.86 m | 180 ft |
| 70 yd | 64.01 m | 210 ft |
| 75 yd | 68.58 m | 225 ft |
| 80 yd | 73.15 m | 240 ft |
| 90 yd | 82.30 m | 270 ft |
| 100 yd | 91.44 m | 300 ft |
| 110 yd | 100.58 m | 330 ft |
| 120 yd | 109.73 m | 360 ft |
| 125 yd | 114.30 m | 375 ft |
| 140 yd | 128.02 m | 420 ft |
| 150 yd | 137.16 m | 450 ft |
| 160 yd | 146.30 m | 480 ft |
| 175 yd | 160.02 m | 525 ft |
| 180 yd | 164.59 m | 540 ft |
| 200 yd | 182.88 m | 600 ft |
| 220 yd | 201.17 m | 660 ft |
| 250 yd | 228.60 m | 750 ft |
| 300 yd | 274.32 m | 900 ft |
| 350 yd | 320.04 m | 1,050 ft |
| 400 yd | 365.76 m | 1,200 ft |
| 440 yd | 402.34 m | 1,320 ft |
| 500 yd | 457.20 m | 1,500 ft |
| 600 yd | 548.64 m | 1,800 ft |
| 660 yd | 603.50 m | 1,980 ft |
| 700 yd | 640.08 m | 2,100 ft |
| 800 yd | 731.52 m | 2,400 ft |
| 880 yd | 804.67 m | 2,640 ft |
| 900 yd | 822.96 m | 2,700 ft |
| 1,000 yd | 914.40 m | 3,000 ft |
| 1,100 yd | 1,005.84 m | 3,300 ft |
| 1,200 yd | 1,097.28 m | 3,600 ft |
| 1,500 yd | 1,371.60 m | 4,500 ft |
| 1,650 yd | 1,508.76 m | 4,950 ft |
| 1,760 yd | 1,609.34 m | 5,280 ft |
| 2,000 yd | 1,828.80 m | 6,000 ft |
How many meters are the sporting distances quoted in yards?
| Distance | In meters | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| 10 yards | 9.14 m | the gain needed for a new set of downs in American football |
| 22 yards | 20.12 m | a cricket pitch between the wickets, which is one chain |
| 40 yards | 36.58 m | the sprint run at the NFL scouting combine |
| 53 yards 1 foot | 48.77 m | the width of an American football field, that is 160 feet |
| 100 yards | 91.44 m | an American football field between the goal lines |
| 120 yards | 109.73 m | the full field including both end zones |
| 220 yards | 201.17 m | the old furlong sprint, an eighth of a mile |
| 440 yards | 402.34 m | the old quarter-mile, now replaced by the 400 meters |
| 500 yards | 457.20 m | the freestyle distance at American college championships |
| 880 yards | 804.67 m | the old half-mile |
| 1,650 yards | 1,508.76 m | the longest individual event on a yard programme |
Is a yard exactly three feet?
| Unit | In yards | Meters | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inch (in) | 1/36 | 0.0254 m | Screen diagonals, pipe diameters and wheel sizes. |
| Foot (ft) | 1/3 | 0.3048 m | Flight levels in aviation and a person’s height. |
| Yard (yd) | 1 | 0.9144 m | Playing fields, golf courses and British road signs. |
| Chain | 22 | 20.1168 m | A cricket pitch measures exactly one chain. |
| Furlong | 220 | 201.168 m | Horse racing distances in Britain, Ireland and the United States. |
| Mile (mi) | 1760 | 1,609.344 m | Road distances and running in the United States and Britain. |
How to convert yards to meters in a spreadsheet
For a single value the field above is quicker, but for a whole column of distances a spreadsheet does the work with one formula dragged downwards.
Excel: the CONVERT function
The syntax is CONVERT(number, from_unit, to_unit). The yard carries the code "yd" and the meter the code "m", so for a value in cell A1 the formula reads =CONVERT(A1,"yd","m")[9].Plain multiplication, without a function
The formula =A1*0.9144 returns the same answer and works in every spreadsheet, including Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc. The value 0.9144 is exact, so this route loses nothing.Checking the result on one cell
Before dragging the formula down the column, put 100 into cell A1 and confirm the answer reads 91.44. A #VALUE! message in place of the result means cell A1 is formatted as text; the format is on the Home tab, in the Number group.
Convert other units to Meters
Convert Yards to other units
Sources
- International yard and pound — Wikipedia
- SI Units – Length — National Institute of Standards and Technology
- The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016, Schedule 18 — legislation.gov.uk
- SI base unit: metre (m) — Bureau International des Poids et Mesures
- American football field — Wikipedia
- Cricket pitch — Wikipedia
- Short course (swimming) — Wikipedia
- U.S. Survey Foot: Frequently Asked Questions — National Institute of Standards and Technology
- CONVERT function — Microsoft
Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.
Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team
Common questions about converting yards to meters
How many meters are in 100 yards?
One hundred yards is 91.44 meters. Fifty yards gives 45.72 meters, and a thousand yards works out at 914.40 meters.
Is 50 yards half of 100 meters?
Fifty yards is 45.72 meters, so it falls 4.28 meters short of half a hundred meters. Reaching an even 50 meters takes 54.68 yards.
How many centimeters are in a yard, a foot and an inch?
A yard is 91.44 centimeters. A foot, being a third of a yard, is 30.48 centimeters. An inch, a thirty-sixth of a yard, is 2.54 centimeters. All three values are exact, because the whole imperial system is now defined against the meter.
Is the yard a legal unit in the United Kingdom?
Yes. Short distances on British road signs are given in yards and the law requires it. The regulations split this into three bands: three miles and above is rounded to the whole mile, between half a mile and three miles to the quarter mile, and under half a mile either to the quarter mile or to yards rounded to the nearest ten. That is why a slip road is announced with a 300 yds sign.
Where do the 440 and 880 yard distances in old results come from?
From dividing the mile, which holds 1,760 yards. Four hundred and forty yards is a quarter of it, and eight hundred and eighty yards a half. Converted, those give 402.34 and 804.67 meters, so today’s 400 and 800 meter races are slightly shorter.
How do I estimate meters from yards in my head?
Take a tenth off the number of yards. For a hundred yards that gives 90 meters against an exact 91.44, an estimate 1.6 per cent low. That is close enough for talking about a distance; for a measurement use the field above.
How much fabric is a yard?
A yard of fabric is 91.44 centimeters, which is 8.56 centimeters less than a running meter. Over three yards the difference grows to 25.68 centimeters, so add it to the length you need when ordering from abroad.
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