Convert pounds to ounces

One pound is 16 ounces. To convert any amount, multiply by 16. Going the other way, one ounce is 0.0625 pounds.

Multiply the pound figure by 16. So oz = lb × 16. For a quick mental estimate, multiplying by about 16 gets you within a percent or so, which is close enough for most everyday purposes.

One pound is a block of butter, roughly. The international pound is exactly 0.45359237 kilograms. It is still the everyday body-weight and grocery unit in the United States.

One ounce is about the mass of a slice of bread. The avoirdupois ounce is one sixteenth of a pound. It is distinct from the fluid ounce, which measures volume, and from the troy ounce used for precious metals.

No, and the difference matters. The avoirdupois ounce here measures mass — one sixteenth of a pound, about 28.35 grams. A fluid ounce measures volume, about 29.6 mL in the US. They only coincide for water by rough accident, so substituting one for the other in a recipe will be wrong for anything denser or lighter. There is also the troy ounce, about 31.1 grams, used for precious metals.

Yes. Since the 1959 international yard and pound agreement, the imperial and metric systems are related by exact definitions rather than measurements — the inch is exactly 25.4 mm and the pound exactly 0.45359237 kg. Everything derived from those, including this conversion, is therefore exact. Round at the end rather than partway through, since rounding lb before converting introduces an error the conversion then multiplies.