Yard (yd)
The yard is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems, equal to exactly 0.9144 meters or 3 feet. It is widely used in the United States for measuring fabric, field dimensions in American football, and intermediate distances. In the United Kingdom, yards still appear on road signs for short distances, and the phrase "yards away" remains common in everyday speech.
Definition
One international yard equals exactly 0.9144 meters, 91.44 centimeters, 914.4 millimeters, or 36 inches. Three feet make one yard, and 1,760 yards make one mile. The yard is the base unit from which the foot (1/3 yard) and mile (1,760 yards) derive their modern definitions. In surveying, the US survey yard was slightly longer (3600/3937 meters) but was retired in 2023 along with the US survey foot.
History
The yard has murky origins. One popular legend says King Henry I of England defined it as the distance from the tip of his nose to the end of his outstretched thumb, though this is likely apocryphal. What is certain is that by the 12th century the yard was an established English unit. In 1855, the British Imperial Standard Yard was cast as a bronze bar kept at the Houses of Parliament. When that bar was damaged in a fire, a replacement was created using copies stored elsewhere. In 1959, the International Yard and Pound Agreement defined the yard as exactly 0.9144 meters, finally unifying the slightly different American and British yard definitions.
Common Uses
American football fields are measured in yards, with the playing field being 100 yards long. Golf courses measure distances in yards, and fabric in the US is sold by the yard. In the UK, road signs show short distances in yards (e.g., "Junction 200 yards"). Swimming pools are sometimes 25 yards long (a "short course yard" pool). The construction and landscaping industries in the US use cubic yards to measure soil, gravel, mulch, and concrete. Yards also appear in casual speech as a rough distance estimate.
Did You Know? Facts About Yard
- An American football field is 100 yards (91.44 meters) long, not counting the two 10-yard end zones.
- The bronze Imperial Standard Yard bar, cast in 1855, survived a fire at the Houses of Parliament but was slightly damaged, prompting the creation of new copies.
- Fabric stores in the US sell material by the yard, while fabric stores in Europe sell by the meter - one yard of fabric is about 8.6% shorter than one meter.
- In cricket, the popping crease is exactly 4 feet (1.33 yards) in front of the stumps.
- The word "yard" likely comes from the Old English "gyrd" meaning a straight branch or measuring rod.