Convert US cups of water to milliliters with confidence

Ever stared at a recipe that demands milliliters when all you have is a measuring cup? You’re not alone. While American cooks swear by cups and tablespoons, the rest of the world (and most modern kitchens) rely on milliliters for precision. Let’s bridge that gap – no passport required.

Cooking’s supposed to be fun, right? But when your cake collapses because the European recipe used milliliters instead of cups, it feels more like chemistry class. Here’s the thing: water conversions are your best friend. Unlike flour or sugar, water’s volume-to-weight ratio is perfectly predictable. That makes switching between cups and mL as easy as pouring a glass of H₂O.

Unit definitions

What is a US cup (c)?

• Description: The measuring cup used in American recipes
• Symbol: c or sometimes just "cup"
• Common uses: Liquid and dry ingredients in US cooking
• Definition: Officially 8 US fluid ounces, which equals exactly 236.588 milliliters

What is a milliliter (mL)?

• Description: The metric system’s answer to small liquid measurements
• Symbol: mL
• Common uses: Global recipes, medical dosages, scientific measurements
• Definition: 1/1000 of a liter. Equivalent to 1 cubic centimeter (cm³) – imagine a sugar cube!

Conversion formula

For water (or any liquid with similar density):

• Cups to mL: milliliters = cups × 236.588
• mL to cups: cups = milliliters ÷ 236.588

Pro tip: Memorize 1 cup ≈ 240 mL for quick mental math. Your muffin batter won’t know the difference.

Example calculations

1. 2.5 cups to mL:
   2.5 × 236.588 = 591.47 mL
   (That’s 2.5 cups water for perfect rice)
2. 500 mL to cups:
   500 ÷ 236.588 ≈ 2.1134 cups
   (Round to 2⅛ cups for cookie dough)

Conversion tables

US cups to milliliters

Milliliters to US cups

Historical background

The US cup has roots in 19th-century American cookbooks, when standardized measuring tools were rare. Fun fact: The FDA actually rounds 1 cup to 240 mL for nutrition labels – but bakers know that extra 3.412 mL matters when you’re making sourdough. Meanwhile, the milliliter came from 1795 France as part of the metrical system. It took 200 years, but now even US medical charts use mL exclusively. Yet our grandmothers’ cookie recipes? Still all about teh cups.

Interesting facts

1. Only three countries officially use cups: US, Liberia, and Myanmar. Even Canada switched to metric in the 1970s.
2. 1 mL water = 1 gram at 4°C – that’s why European recipes often list water by weight.
3. Australian “cups” are different! Their 250 mL cups make conversions 5.6% larger than US versions.
4. Why 236.588? It’s based on the 1893 international inch definition: 1 gallon = 231 cubic inches → 16 cups/gallon → complex math.
5. Temperature matters – water expands by 4% when heated from 4°C to 100°C. But for cooking, we ignore this.

FAQ