How Many Ounces Are In A Pint? (The Easy Guide!) | Live Eat Learn

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Everything you need to know about measuring ounces, from terms and origin to ounces in a pint and helpful measurements.

A pint contains 16 fluid ounces. If that is all you need, we are happy to help! But remember, not all pints are the same, so read on for more helpful conversion and other measurement-related info.

Most people know the answer is 16 (at least in the USA), but we confuse the number of ounces in cups and pints. We know this, as we asked quite a few people this question before we bothered to write the article. Read on for other helpful conversions.

We’ll also give you a few tips on how to remember the conversions! Because if there’s one thing that makes cooking easier, it’s knowing different measurements and how they measure into one another. Knowing the how and the why can actually improve your cooking and help you master your favorite dishes.

What is an ounce?

The term ounce comes from the Roman term “uncia.” An uncia was 1/12 of a Roman copper bar that was used to measure an inch’s length and an ounce’s weight.

Modern ounce weight and volume measurements, however, come from Britain.

Let’s start with fluid ounces. A fluid ounce is 1/16th of an Imperial Pint and weighs 1/16 of a pound, or 28.3 grams. An ounce was 480 grains or 1/12 of a pound in the apothecary system. Is it any wonder Britain standardized on the metric system? 

The United States is one of only three nations that still use Imperial measurements (and thus, the pint!). The other two are Liberia and Myanmar.

What is a pint?

The term pint comes from the French word pinte. This likely comes from the Latin term “pincta” derived from painted marks on the side of a container to show its capacity. Where tens are our normal units of division today, ancient times used eights. In Rome, a pint was 1/8 of a gallon! Why would they choose 1/8th? Why not 1/10th like in metric? The answer is surprisingly simple. If you take a gallon of wine and divide it equally you get ½ a gallon, do it again you get a quart, divide it yet again and you have ⅛ or a pint. Divide something into 1/10ths? Forget about it. Too hard.

The Romans didn’t have standard glass measuring cups. Their version of the metric system involved dividing a pile of grain or jug of wine EQUALLY.

A pint is typically defined as 16 fluid ounces in the United States. This means that there are 16 fl oz in a pint bottle and 16 oz in a standard glass of beer or soda. However, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, a pint is 20 fluid ounces. So, if you’re visiting one of these countries, remember that a pint is not the same as it is in the States! Why? Heck, we don’t know; we think they just like their beers large!

In U.S. measurements, a pint is 473 ml. As for English pints, those are 568 ml or (20 ounces as mentioned above). 

The English and their former colonial states (Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand) all switched to the metric system, but still often use pints for ordering drinks. The rest of the world uses the metric system for this, and a ½ liter of beer (16.9 fl oz) is a very common serving size in most other countries.

Quick Conversions

8 fl oz	1 cup	1/2 pint	1/4 quart	1/16 gallon
16 fl oz	2 cups	1 pint	1/2 quart	1/8 gallon
32 fl oz	4 cups	2 pints	1 quart	1/4 gallon
64 fl oz	8 cups	4 pints	2 quarts	1/2 gallon
128 fl oz	16 cups	8 pints	4 quarts	1 gallon

Measuring an Ounce and Pint Internationally

Now that you know how many ounces are in a pint, let’s take a look at some of the different ways to measure a pint around the world!

As mentioned previously, in U.S. measurements, a pint is 473 ml.

In Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, a pint is defined as 20 imperial ounces. This is equivalent to 18.432 U.S. fluid ounces, so it’s a little bit different than the pint in the United States. In short:

• 1 fluid Pint (U.S.) = 16 fluid Ounces (US)
• 1 fluid Pint (U.K.) = 20 fluid Ounces (UK)

In Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden, a pint is defined as 500 milliliters. This works out to be about 16.91 U.S. fluid ounces, so it’s pretty close to how much one contains there!

Fluid ounces vs Dry Ounces

Things get a bit dicey when we discuss wet vs. dry measurements because they’re not the same! Plus, we introduce a whole different type of measurement into the discussion—volume.

Just keep in mind that you can’t use liquid and dry measuring cups interchangeably. 8 fluid ounces of water weighs 8 ounces. That is how we define fluid ounces. But if you fill that same fluid measuring cup with powdered sugar, it will NOT weigh 8 ounces. So, always use the right cup when measuring.

It may be helpful to remember that whether using wet or dry ingredients, two cups are in a pint, and two pints are in a quart, and since a quart is short for a quarter, 4 quarts are in a gallon. Here are conversions for common ingredients for ounces to cups (which can be doubled to get ounces in a pint)!

Fluid Pints vs Dry Pints

The difference in measuring liquids and solids of course extends to pints as well. Take a pint of blueberries for example. One pint of blueberries weighs about 12 oz, despite the fact that there are 16 dry ounces in a pint! The amount fills the container differently than if it were filled with a liquid taking up 100% of the space.

So, in conclusion, there are 16 fluid ounces in a pint. Well at least in the USA, but don’t confuse fluid ounces for dry ounces. And, as always, Happy Cooking from your friends at Live Eat Learn.