Convert yards to centimeters

A yard splits into three feet, and every foot into twelve inches, which puts 36 inches in a full yard. The yards to feet converter handles that first split. The name itself goes back to an Old English word for a straight stick or a measuring rod[1].

Its present length comes from the meter. The international yard and pound agreement fixed the yard at exactly 0.9144 meter, and the value has applied since 1 July 1959[2]. In centimeters the yard measures exactly 91.44, and that is the single number worth remembering.

The centimeter sits on the other side of this calculation and is one hundredth of a meter. The meter is the SI base unit of length, and its value follows from the speed of light in a vacuum[3]. Because the yard was tied to the meter, both multipliers on this page are exact values.

One yard is exactly 91.44 centimeters. To turn yards into centimeters, multiply the value by 91.44. The result is exact, because that multiplier comes straight from the definition of the yard.

Three specific values come out of that multiplier. Half a yard is 45.72 centimeters. Two yards give 182.88 centimeters, which is also the length of a fathom[1]. Ten yards come to 914.4 centimeters, which is 85.6 centimeters short of ten meters.

The remainder of a yard can be written in inches, since a yard holds 36 of them. The input field takes that notation directly: type 2 yd 18 in and you get 228.6 centimeters. Typing 2.5 yd gives the same answer.

Fractions of a yard use the same multiplier. A quarter yard is 22.86 centimeters, and an eighth of a yard is 11.43 centimeters; eighths are the parts a yard of fabric is divided into in the US and the UK[1]. Both figures come from dividing 91.44 by four and by eight.

The calculation takes one step: multiply the number of yards by 91.44. Since a yard measures exactly that many centimeters, the multiplier keeps the full accuracy of the result.

Take five yards of fabric. Five times 91.44 gives 457.2 centimeters, that is 4.572 meters. Measured out in running meters instead, five meters would give 500 centimeters, which is 42.8 centimeters more.

You can also work through inches. Multiply the yards by 36, then the resulting inches by 2.54. The answer comes out the same, and the centimeters to inches converter takes the second step once you swap the direction. The same yard measures 914.4 in millimeters, and the yards to millimeters converter handles it.

Going the other way means dividing by 91.44, and the centimeters to yards converter does it, showing the result in yards and inches as well. For longer distances the yards to meters converter is the more comfortable choice.

For a single value the field above is quicker. For a whole column of lengths it is easier to write the formula once and drag it down.

The syntax is CONVERT(number, from_unit, to_unit). The yard carries the code "yd" and the centimeter the code "cm", so for a value in cell A1 the formula reads =CONVERT(A1,"yd","cm")[7].

Without the function, plain multiplication is enough: the formula =A1*91.44 gives the same result and works in Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc as well. Before you drag the formula down the whole column, type 1 into cell A1 and check that the result reads 91.44.