Convert feet to inches
Please provide values below to convert foot [ft] to inch [in], or vice versa.
Foot
Definition: A foot (symbol: ft) is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems of measurement. One foot is defined as exactly 0.3048 meters. There are 12 inches in one foot and 3 feet in one yard.
History/origin: The foot as a unit of measurement has a long history that dates back to ancient civilizations. As its name suggests, it was originally based on the length of a human foot. The standard varied across different regions and time periods, with the ancient Roman foot (pes) being around 11.6 modern inches.
The foot unit was standardized over time, with various kings and rulers setting their own standards. The current international definition of the foot was established in 1959 when it was precisely defined in terms of the meter as exactly 0.3048 meters, a standard now used worldwide for the international foot.
Current use: The foot is primarily used in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and partially in other Commonwealth nations for many everyday measurements. It is commonly used in architecture, construction, and real estate to measure building heights, room dimensions, and human height. Despite the worldwide adoption of the metric system, the foot remains prevalent in aviation, where altitude is often expressed in feet.
Inch
Definition: An inch (symbol: in) is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems of measurement. One inch is defined as exactly 25.4 millimeters. There are 12 inches in a foot and 36 inches in a yard.
History/origin: The word "inch" comes from the Latin word "uncia" meaning one-twelfth, reflecting its traditional relationship to the foot. Throughout history, the inch has been defined in various ways. One ancient definition equated an inch to the width of a man's thumb. Another common standard defined an inch as the length of three barleycorns placed end to end.
In the United Kingdom, various standards for the inch were used until the adoption of the imperial standard yard in 1824. In 1959, the international yard and pound agreement defined the inch precisely as 25.4 millimeters, standardizing it across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Current use: The inch remains widely used in the United States for many everyday applications, including the dimensions of construction materials, electronic components, and consumer products. It's frequently used for measuring display screens (televisions, monitors, smartphones), where the diagonal measurement is typically given in inches. In technical and engineering contexts, decimal inches (rather than fractional) are often used for precision measurements. The inch is also still commonly used in the United Kingdom for certain applications despite the official adoption of the metric system.