US Teaspoon (tsp)

US customaryCurrent unit

One sixth of a US fluid ounce, exactly 4.92892159375 mL. Commonly rounded to 5 mL in recipes.

1 US teaspoon = 0.004928921594 liters (approximately).

1 US teaspoon = 0.004928921594 liters

About the US teaspoon

Teaspoons arrived with tea. Small spoons were common in Europe from at least the 13th century, and the earliest cited mention of a teaspoon is a London Gazette advertisement from 27 December 1686. Britain's Commutation Act of 1784 cut the tea tax from 119 percent to 12.5 percent, tea became cheap, and cups and spoons grew with it. By the 1850s the culinary teaspoon had settled as one third of a tablespoon.

The US teaspoon is one sixth of a US fluid ounce, exactly 4.92892159375 milliliters, though for nutrition labels and medicine it is rounded to 5 mL. Apothecaries once called the small spoon cochleare minus, to distinguish it from the larger cochleare majus. Household spoons are poor measuring tools: one study of 71 kitchen teaspoons found volumes from 2.5 to 7.3 milliliters, which is why dosing instructions point to standard measuring spoons or syringes.

Sources: Wikipedia: Teaspoon; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8: conversion factors for volume; 21 CFR 101.9: nutrition labeling household measures

US Teaspoon conversion chart

1 US teaspoon expressed in every other volume unit:

Unit1 US teaspoon
Liters0.004928921594
Milliliters4.928921594
US Gallons0.001302083333
US Cups0.02083333333
US Fluid Ounces0.1666666667
Cubic Meters0.000004928921594
Cubic Centimeters4.928921594
US Quarts0.005208333333
US Pints0.01041666667
US Tablespoons0.3333333333
Metric Cups0.01971568638
Metric Tablespoons0.3285947729
Metric Teaspoons0.9857843188
Imperial Gallons0.001084211178
Imperial Pints0.008673689423
Imperial Fluid Ounces0.1734737885
Cubic Inches0.30078125
Cubic Feet0.0001740632234
Cubic Yards0.000006446786051
Oil Barrels0.00003100198413
Cubic Millimeters4,928.921594
Microliters4,928.921594
Centiliters0.4928921594
Deciliters0.04928921594
Hectoliters0.00004928921594
Cubic Kilometers4.928921594×10⁻¹⁵
Australian Tablespoons0.2464460797
US Legal Cups0.02053717331
Imperial Quarts0.004336844712
Cubic Miles1.182511176×10⁻¹⁵
Wine Bottles0.006571895458
Magnums0.003285947729
Jeroboams0.001642973865
Methuselahs0.0008214869323
Nebuchadnezzars0.0003285947729
US Gills0.04166666667
US Fluid Drams1.333333333
US Minims80
Jiggers0.1111111111
Pinches16
Dashes8
Imperial Gills0.03469475769
US Bushels0.0001398709322
US Pecks0.0005594837288
US Dry Quarts0.00447586983
US Dry Pints0.00895173966
US Dry Barrels0.00004262772817
US Liquid Barrels0.00004133597884
UK Beer Barrels0.00003011697716
Firkins0.0001204679087
Kilderkins0.00006023395433
Hogsheads (ale)0.00002007798478
Tierces0.00003100198413
Hogsheads (wine)0.00002066798942
Puncheons0.00001550099206
Butts (pipe)0.00001033399471
Tuns0.000005166997354
Acre-feet3.995941767×10⁻⁹
Cords0.000001359868933
Board Feet0.002088758681
Cyathi0.1083610244
Sextarii0.009030085363
Congii0.001505014227
Modii0.0005643803352
Amphorae0.0001881267784
Omers0.002240418906
Hin0.001344251344
Baths (biblical)0.0002240418906
Homers0.00002240418906
Gō0.02732359284
Shō0.002732359284
Tō0.0002732359284
Koku0.00002732359284
Charkas0.04007445555
Shtofs0.004007445555
Vedros0.0004007445555

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