Short answer
- One US tablespoon equals 14.78676478125 milliliters exactly. To convert milliliters to US tablespoons, divide by 14.78676478125. To convert US tablespoons to milliliters, multiply by the same number. One milliliter equals 0.067628 US tablespoons, rounded to six decimal places. The other two tablespoon standards are rounder numbers. One metric tablespoon equals 15 milliliters exactly, and one Australian tablespoon equals 20 milliliters exactly. To convert milliliters to metric tablespoons, divide by 15. To convert milliliters to Australian tablespoons, divide by 20. In practice, most United States recipes treat a tablespoon as about 15 milliliters, because the gap between 14.7868 and 15 is only 0.21 milliliters per spoon. The Australian figure is different in kind, not just in rounding: at 20 milliliters, an Australian tablespoon is one third larger than a metric tablespoon and about 35 percent larger than a US tablespoon. Name the system before you convert, and every figure here follows from one of the three numbers above. The wordings how many milliliters in a tablespoon, how many milliliters are in a tablespoon, and 1 tablespoon to milliliters all ask for the same three answers: 14.7868 milliliters in the US system, 15 milliliters in the metric system, and 20 milliliters in Australia.
By Emma Hudson
How many milliliters in a tablespoon sounds like a question with one answer. It has three. A US tablespoon, a metric tablespoon, and an Australian tablespoon are three different volumes, and a recipe rarely tells you which one it means. This guide gives the exact figure for each system, shows how to convert milliliters to tablespoons and tablespoons back to milliliters in all three, and works through the recipe amounts people actually measure, from a 5 milliliter teaspoon dose to a 250 milliliter jug of stock. It also covers the one place where the difference stops being a cooking detail and becomes a safety issue: measuring liquid medicine, where doses are given in milliliters for good reason.
Where the US Figure Comes From
The US tablespoon is not defined on its own. It is half of a US fluid ounce, and the fluid ounce is one 128th of a US gallon. The gallon is exactly 231 cubic inches, and the inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters, so one cubic inch is exactly 16.387064 milliliters. The chain is fully exact: 231 x 16.387064 = 3,785.411784 milliliters in a gallon, divided by 128 gives 29.5735295625 milliliters in a fluid ounce, and half of that gives 14.78676478125 milliliters in a US tablespoon. NIST publishes the same chain in rounded form in Handbook 44, Appendix C: 1 fluid ounce = 29.57353 milliliters, 1 gallon = 3,785.411784 milliliters, and 1 milliliter = 0.03381402 fluid ounces.
A US tablespoon is also exactly 3 US teaspoons, so one US teaspoon is 14.78676478125 / 3 = 4.92892159375 milliliters, usually written as 4.92892 milliliters. Sixteen US tablespoons make 1 US cup: 16 x 14.78676478125 = 236.5882365 milliliters, about 236.59 milliliters. That cup check tests any tablespoon figure: if a value does not multiply by 16 to give about 236.59 milliliters, it belongs to a different system.
Two nearby conventions explain why 15 milliliters appears so often in American material. NIST Handbook 44 lists the measuring tablespoon, the standardized spoon sold in measuring sets, at 15 milliliters, equal to 3 measuring teaspoons of 5 milliliters and to exactly half a fluid ounce, and notes that equivalents for the imprecise units tablespoon and teaspoon are rounded to the nearest milliliter. NIST Metric Kitchen guidance for home cooking likewise gives approximate equivalents of 5 milliliters for a teaspoon and 15 milliliters for a tablespoon. So 15 milliliters is the working kitchen value in the United States, while 14.78676478125 milliliters is the exact customary value underneath it. For cooking the difference is negligible; for exact conversion work, use the exact value and round only at the end.
The Three Tablespoon Standards Compared
Three standards are in everyday use, because each country standardized the household spoon at a different moment and in a different way. The United States kept the spoon that followed from its gallon: 3 teaspoons, half a fluid ounce, 14.78676478125 milliliters. Metric countries rounded the spoon to a clean 15 milliliters, built from 3 metric teaspoons of 5 milliliters each. Australia standardized its tablespoon at 20 milliliters, built from 4 metric teaspoons of 5 milliliters each, keeping a simple relationship to the 250 milliliter metric cup: 12.5 Australian tablespoons fill a metric cup exactly, because 12.5 x 20 = 250.
| Standard | 1 tablespoon in milliliters | Teaspoons per tablespoon | Fluid ounces | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US customary | 14.7868 (exact value 14.78676478125) | 3 US teaspoons | 0.5 US fluid ounces exactly | United States recipes and measuring sets |
| Metric | 15 exactly | 3 metric teaspoons of 5 mL | About 0.507 US fluid ounces | Most metric countries, including modern United Kingdom recipes |
| Australian | 20 exactly | 4 metric teaspoons of 5 mL | About 0.676 US fluid ounces | Australia |
The US and metric spoons are close. The difference is 15 - 14.78676478125 = 0.21323521875 milliliters per tablespoon, about 1.4 percent. Across a recipe calling for 4 tablespoons, the gap is about 0.85 milliliters, less than a fifth of a metric teaspoon. No ordinary cooking result turns on it.
The Australian spoon is a different size, not a rounding variant. Compared with the metric tablespoon, it holds 20 - 15 = 5 milliliters more per spoon, and 5 / 15 = 33.3 percent, so it is one third larger. Compared with the US tablespoon, it holds 20 - 14.78676478125 = 5.21323521875 milliliters more per spoon, and 5.2132 / 14.7868 = about 35.3 percent, so it is about 35 percent larger. Errors with the Australian spoon run in both directions, and both are large enough to matter:
If a recipe was written for Australian tablespoons and you measure with metric spoons, each spoon delivers 15 milliliters where 20 were intended. Four Australian tablespoons are 4 x 20 = 80 milliliters. Four metric tablespoons are 4 x 15 = 60 milliliters. The shortfall is 20 milliliters, which is one quarter of the intended 80 milliliters. To measure 80 milliliters correctly with metric spoons you need 80 / 15 = 5.33 metric tablespoons, which is 5 tablespoons plus 1 metric teaspoon, because 0.3333 x 15 = 5 milliliters.
If a recipe was written for metric or US tablespoons and you measure with an Australian spoon, each spoon delivers 20 milliliters where about 15 were intended. Four metric tablespoons are 60 milliliters. Four Australian tablespoons are 80 milliliters. The excess is 20 milliliters, which is one third more than the intended 60 milliliters. Against a US recipe the overshoot is slightly larger still: 4 US tablespoons are 4 x 14.78676478125 = 59.1471 milliliters, rounded, so 80 milliliters exceeds the intended amount by about 20.85 milliliters, about 35 percent too much.
For a splash of oil in a pan, none of this matters. For baking powder, yeast, gelatin, or any ingredient where a quarter or a third extra changes the result, identify the system first. The most reliable clue is a paired metric figure in the recipe: a tablespoon paired with 20 milliliters is Australian, with 15 milliliters is metric, and with about 14.8 milliliters is US customary.
The Formulas for All Three Systems
Every conversion in this article is a multiplication or a division by one of the three constants. When you start with milliliters and want tablespoons, divide. When you start with tablespoons and want milliliters, multiply.
US tablespoons = milliliters / 14.78676478125
Milliliters = US tablespoons x 14.78676478125
Metric tablespoons = milliliters / 15
Milliliters = metric tablespoons x 15
Australian tablespoons = milliliters / 20
Milliliters = Australian tablespoons x 20
For quick work with the US system, the reciprocal is often easier: 1 milliliter = 0.067628 US tablespoons, so US tablespoons are about milliliters x 0.067628. For 100 milliliters, 100 x 0.067628 = 6.7628 US tablespoons, which matches the division route, 100 / 14.78676478125 = 6.7628, rounded to four decimal places. The metric reciprocals are 0.066667 metric tablespoons per milliliter and exactly 0.05 Australian tablespoons per milliliter.
Keep full precision until the final step. Rounding the US constant to 14.79 before converting 250 milliliters gives 250 / 14.79 = 16.90 tablespoons, against 16.91 from the exact constant. The gap is small but grows with volume, and it is avoidable: carry the full constant through and round the answer, not the constant.
Milliliters to US Tablespoons: Full Table
The table below is recomputed from the exact constant, 1 US tablespoon = 14.78676478125 milliliters. Tablespoon values are rounded to four decimal places, and the working is shown so any row can be checked.
| Milliliters | US tablespoons | Working |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.0676 | 1 / 14.7868 = 0.0676 |
| 2 | 0.1353 | 2 / 14.7868 = 0.1353 |
| 3 | 0.2029 | 3 / 14.7868 = 0.2029 |
| 5 | 0.3381 | 5 / 14.7868 = 0.3381 |
| 7.5 | 0.5072 | 7.5 / 14.7868 = 0.5072 |
| 10 | 0.6763 | 10 / 14.7868 = 0.6763 |
| 15 | 1.0144 | 15 / 14.7868 = 1.0144 |
| 20 | 1.3526 | 20 / 14.7868 = 1.3526 |
| 25 | 1.6907 | 25 / 14.7868 = 1.6907 |
| 30 | 2.0288 | 30 / 14.7868 = 2.0288 |
| 40 | 2.7051 | 40 / 14.7868 = 2.7051 |
| 50 | 3.3814 | 50 / 14.7868 = 3.3814 |
| 60 | 4.0577 | 60 / 14.7868 = 4.0577 |
| 75 | 5.0721 | 75 / 14.7868 = 5.0721 |
| 100 | 6.7628 | 100 / 14.7868 = 6.7628 |
| 120 | 8.1154 | 120 / 14.7868 = 8.1154 |
| 150 | 10.1442 | 150 / 14.7868 = 10.1442 |
| 180 | 12.1730 | 180 / 14.7868 = 12.1730 |
| 200 | 13.5256 | 200 / 14.7868 = 13.5256 |
| 250 | 16.9070 | 250 / 14.7868 = 16.9070 |
| 500 | 33.8140 | 500 / 14.7868 = 33.8140 |
| 1,000 | 67.6280 | 1,000 / 14.7868 = 67.6280 |
Two rows are worth memorizing. Fifteen milliliters is just over 1 US tablespoon, at 1.0144, which is why metric recipes convert so cleanly into American kitchens. And 30 milliliters is 2.0288 US tablespoons, practically 2.
US Tablespoons to Milliliters: Full Table
| US tablespoons | Milliliters | Working |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 3.6967 | 0.25 x 14.7868 = 3.6967 |
| 0.5 | 7.3934 | 0.5 x 14.7868 = 7.3934 |
| 1 | 14.7868 | 1 x 14.7868 = 14.7868 |
| 1.5 | 22.1801 | 1.5 x 14.7868 = 22.1801 |
| 2 | 29.5735 | 2 x 14.7868 = 29.5735 |
| 3 | 44.3603 | 3 x 14.7868 = 44.3603 |
| 4 | 59.1471 | 4 x 14.7868 = 59.1471 |
| 5 | 73.9338 | 5 x 14.7868 = 73.9338 |
| 6 | 88.7206 | 6 x 14.7868 = 88.7206 |
| 8 | 118.2941 | 8 x 14.7868 = 118.2941 |
| 10 | 147.8676 | 10 x 14.7868 = 147.8676 |
| 12 | 177.4412 | 12 x 14.7868 = 177.4412 |
| 16 | 236.5882 | 16 x 14.7868 = 236.5882 |
Milliliter values are rounded to four decimal places from the exact constant. The last row is the cup check again: 16 tablespoons, or 1 US cup, is 236.5882 milliliters here, matching the full figure computed above.
For the other two systems the tables are shorter because the constants are round. Metric tablespoons convert at 15 milliliters each: 0.5 is 7.5, 1 is 15, 2 is 30, 3 is 45, 4 is 60, 6 is 90, 8 is 120, and 16 is 240 milliliters. Australian tablespoons convert at 20 milliliters each: 0.5 is 10, 1 is 20, 2 is 40, 3 is 60, 4 is 80, 6 is 120, 8 is 160, and 12 is 240 milliliters. Note the cross-check: 16 metric tablespoons and 12 Australian tablespoons both make 240 milliliters, because 16 x 15 = 240 and 12 x 20 = 240.
Common Recipe Amounts in All Three Systems
Recipes most often ask for a small set of round milliliter amounts. The table below converts each of them into all three tablespoon systems, so the amount a recipe states can be matched to the spoons in your drawer. Values are rounded to three decimal places.
| Milliliters | US tablespoons | Metric tablespoons | Australian tablespoons | Kitchen note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0.338 | 0.333 | 0.25 | One metric teaspoon is exactly 5 mL |
| 10 | 0.676 | 0.667 | 0.5 | Half an Australian tablespoon |
| 15 | 1.014 | 1 | 0.75 | One metric tablespoon exactly |
| 30 | 2.029 | 2 | 1.5 | About 1 US fluid ounce, 29.5735 mL |
| 60 | 4.058 | 4 | 3 | A quarter of a US cup is 59.1471 mL |
| 100 | 6.763 | 6.667 | 5 | Exactly 5 Australian tablespoons |
| 250 | 16.907 | 16.667 | 12.5 | One metric cup is exactly 250 mL |
Read the 250 milliliter row carefully, because it is where system confusion does the most damage in a single step. A metric cup of 250 milliliters is 12.5 Australian tablespoons, 16.667 metric tablespoons, or 16.907 US tablespoons. A cook who counts out 12.5 US tablespoons for a metric cup has measured 12.5 x 14.7868 = 184.8 milliliters, about 65 milliliters short. Whenever a recipe gives a cup amount in milliliters, convert the milliliters directly and skip the spoon count if you have a measuring jug.
Worked Cooking Examples
Example 1: Forty-five milliliters of oil, three ways
A recipe needs 45 milliliters of oil. In US tablespoons, 45 / 14.78676478125 = 3.0433, or about 3 tablespoons; the 0.0433 remainder is 0.0433 x 14.7868 = about 0.64 milliliters, roughly a tenth of a US teaspoon, and can be ignored. In metric tablespoons, 45 / 15 = 3 exactly, which is why metric recipes so often use multiples of 15 milliliters. In Australian tablespoons, 45 / 20 = 2.25, which is 2 tablespoons plus 1 metric teaspoon, because 0.25 x 20 = 5 milliliters. If you measured 3 Australian tablespoons by mistake, you would add 3 x 20 = 60 milliliters instead of 45, a third too much.
Example 2: Two tablespoons of lemon juice in a US recipe
A US recipe needs 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and your jug is marked in milliliters. Multiply: 2 x 14.78676478125 = 29.5735 milliliters, about 30 milliliters. Measured as metric tablespoons, the same juice is 29.5735 / 15 = 1.97 tablespoons, practically 2. US and metric spoons swap almost freely at recipe scale.
Example 3: An Australian sauce with metric spoons
An Australian recipe needs 4 tablespoons of sauce. In its own system that is 4 x 20 = 80 milliliters. With metric tablespoons you need 80 / 15 = 5.33 tablespoons, which is 5 tablespoons plus 1 metric teaspoon, because the remaining 0.3333 x 15 = 5 milliliters. With US tablespoons you need 80 / 14.78676478125 = 5.4102 tablespoons, about 5 and a half. Following the recipe with 4 metric tablespoons would give 60 milliliters, a quarter short of the intended sauce.
Example 4: One hundred milliliters for baking
A baking recipe lists 100 milliliters of milk. In metric tablespoons that is 100 / 15 = 6.6667, which measures out as 6 tablespoons plus 2 metric teaspoons, because 6 x 15 = 90 and the remaining 10 milliliters is 2 x 5 milliliters. In US tablespoons it is 100 / 14.78676478125 = 6.7628. In Australian tablespoons it is 100 / 20 = 5 exactly. Baking is the setting where the exact route matters most, so for 100 milliliters the jug or a scale beats every spoon count in this example.
Example 5: Scaling a dressing
A dressing uses 30 milliliters of vinegar to 90 milliliters of oil, and you are tripling it. Triple the milliliters first: 90 milliliters of vinegar and 270 milliliters of oil. Converted at the end, the vinegar is 90 / 14.78676478125 = 6.0865 US tablespoons and the oil is 270 / 14.78676478125 = 18.2596 US tablespoons. Scaling in milliliters and converting once keeps the 1 to 3 ratio exact and avoids compounding three rounded spoon counts.
Measuring Medicine: Why Doses Are in Milliliters
Cooking forgives a small conversion error. Medicine does not, and this is where the tablespoon should be retired altogether. Liquid medicine doses are stated in milliliters, and guidance hosted by the US Food and Drug Administration, known as the FDA, on standardizing prescription container labels to metric only explains why: confusion between teaspoons and tablespoons results in 3-fold dosing errors, because a tablespoon holds three times a teaspoon, and confusion between teaspoons and milliliters results in 5-fold errors. The same guidance notes that spoon-based labels encourage non-calibrated household spoons, that kitchen spoons vary considerably in delivered volume, and that oral syringes are more precise alternatives to dosing spoons and cups, generally the preferred device for volumes up to 10 milliliters.
The FDA guidance on dosage delivery devices for over-the-counter liquid medicines adds a concrete case: a recalled product whose directions said to take 2 teaspoonfuls while the packaged device marked 2 tablespoonfuls instead, a misreading that could produce a dangerous three-fold increase in dose. It also warns that caregivers who cannot read device markings may improvise with household utensils, which vary widely in size and can deliver an inaccurate dose.
The practical rules follow directly. Measure liquid medicine in milliliters with the dosing device supplied with the product, ideally an oral syringe marked in milliliters, never with a cutlery spoon. Treat any direction written in teaspoons or tablespoons as a prompt to convert carefully: 1 metric teaspoon is 5 milliliters, so a 5 milliliter dose is 1 metric teaspoon, 10 milliliters is 2, and 15 milliliters is 3 metric teaspoons or about 1 tablespoon. For a 15 milliliter dose, a US tablespoon at 14.7868 milliliters under delivers by about 0.21 milliliters, while an Australian tablespoon at 20 milliliters over delivers by 5 milliliters, a third too much. That overshoot is the clearest illustration in this article of why the three standards must never be treated as interchangeable.
Tablespoons, Teaspoons, Cups, and Fluid Ounces
Tablespoons sit in the middle of the kitchen hierarchy, and the neighboring units provide quick checks. One US tablespoon is 3 US teaspoons, 0.5 US fluid ounces, and 14.7868 milliliters. One US fluid ounce is 2 US tablespoons and 29.5735 milliliters. One US cup is 16 US tablespoons, 8 fluid ounces, and 236.5882 milliliters. One metric tablespoon is 3 metric teaspoons and 15 milliliters, and one metric teaspoon is 5 milliliters. One Australian tablespoon is 4 metric teaspoons and 20 milliliters, and one metric cup is 250 milliliters, or 12.5 Australian tablespoons.
The most common neighbor error is treating a tablespoon as a fluid ounce. A tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, so a recipe calling for 1 fluid ounce needs 2 tablespoons. Measuring 1 tablespoon instead delivers 14.7868 milliliters where 29.5735 were intended, exactly half. The reverse error doubles a quantity just as cleanly.
Which Tablespoon Does Your Recipe Mean?
A recipe from the United States means a US tablespoon of 14.7868 milliliters, treated as 15 milliliters in everyday practice. A recipe from most metric countries, including modern United Kingdom recipes, means a metric tablespoon of 15 milliliters. A recipe from Australia means an Australian tablespoon of 20 milliliters unless it states a milliliter figure that shows otherwise. The Women’s Weekly Food measurement conversions, published by the Australian Women’s Weekly test kitchen, state the position directly: Australia is the only country with a 20 milliliter tablespoon measure, the rest are 15 milliliters, with 1 American tablespoon at 15 milliliters, 1 Australian tablespoon at 20 milliliters, and the teaspoon at 5 milliliters in both countries.
If the recipe gives milliliters alongside tablespoons, the pairing identifies the system: 15 milliliters per tablespoon is metric, 20 milliliters per tablespoon is Australian, and about 14.8 milliliters per tablespoon is US customary. If the recipe gives no clue, the safest default is the metric 15 milliliters, the most common modern standard, within 1.4 percent of the US spoon. The exception is any recipe with an Australian source, which should be read as 20 milliliters from the start. When the ingredient is forgiving, such as oil for a soup, small errors wash out. When it controls the chemistry, such as baking powder, yeast, or gelatin, resolve the system before measuring.
How to Measure a Tablespoon Accurately
Use a measuring spoon set, not a spoon from the cutlery drawer. Eating spoons are tableware, not instruments, and their bowls vary widely in volume, the same objection the FDA guidance raises against household spoons for medicine. Fill dry ingredients to level, scraping a straight edge across the top, and fill liquids to the brim without a dome.
Check an unfamiliar spoon set once against milliliters. Fill the tablespoon with water and pour it into a jug marked in milliliters, or weigh the water: 15 grams of water is 15 milliliters at kitchen accuracy. If the spoon delivers about 15 milliliters, it is a metric or US style spoon. If it delivers about 20 milliliters, it is Australian. If it delivers something far from both, its counts should not be used with any table in this article. Mark the set once you know its standard, because two sets in one drawer are a common home source of the Australian error in both directions.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Using metric spoons for an Australian recipe is the largest routine error. Each spoon delivers 15 milliliters where 20 were intended, so the recipe receives three quarters of every tablespoon ingredient.
Using an Australian spoon for a US or metric recipe is the mirror error: 20 milliliters where about 15 were intended, a third too much against metric and about 35 percent too much against US.
Treating a tablespoon as a fluid ounce halves or doubles a quantity, because 1 fluid ounce is exactly 2 US tablespoons.
Using a cutlery spoon as a measuring tablespoon replaces a defined volume with an unknown one: a nuisance in cooking and a genuine risk in medicine dosing.
Rounding the wrong figure is the quietest error. Rounding 14.7868 to 15 at the end of a conversion is harmless. Rounding an Australian tablespoon down to 15 is not rounding; it is switching systems, and it removes a quarter of the intended volume.
Converting spoon counts instead of volumes compounds errors when scaling. Convert the milliliter total once, as in the dressing example, rather than spoonful by spoonful.
Quick Reference
1 US tablespoon = 14.78676478125 milliliters exactly = 3 US teaspoons = 0.5 US fluid ounces. 1 US teaspoon = 4.92892 milliliters. 1 milliliter = 0.067628 US tablespoons. 1 metric tablespoon = 15 milliliters exactly = 3 metric teaspoons. 1 Australian tablespoon = 20 milliliters exactly = 4 metric teaspoons. 1 US fluid ounce = 29.5735 milliliters = 2 US tablespoons. 1 US cup = 236.5882 milliliters = 16 US tablespoons. 1 metric cup = 250 milliliters = 12.5 Australian tablespoons.
Keep the three constants separate: divide milliliters by 14.78676478125 for US tablespoons, by 15 for metric, and by 20 for Australian.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many milliliters are in a tablespoon?
It depends on the system. A US tablespoon holds 14.78676478125 milliliters, usually written as 14.7868. A metric tablespoon holds 15 milliliters exactly. An Australian tablespoon holds 20 milliliters exactly. Always name the system before giving a single figure.
How many tablespoons are in 100 milliliters?
In US tablespoons, 100 / 14.78676478125 = 6.7628. In metric tablespoons, 100 / 15 = 6.6667, which measures as 6 tablespoons plus 2 metric teaspoons. In Australian tablespoons, 100 / 20 = 5 exactly.
How many tablespoons are in 250 milliliters?
In US tablespoons, 250 / 14.78676478125 = 16.9070. In metric tablespoons, 250 / 15 = 16.6667. In Australian tablespoons, 250 / 20 = 12.5 exactly, one metric cup.
How many tablespoons are in 30 milliliters?
In US tablespoons, 30 / 14.78676478125 = 2.0288, practically 2. In metric tablespoons, exactly 2. In Australian tablespoons, exactly 1.5.
Is a tablespoon 15 milliliters everywhere?
No. Fifteen milliliters is the metric tablespoon and the rounded working value for a US tablespoon, whose exact value is 14.78676478125 milliliters. In Australia a tablespoon is 20 milliliters. The 15 milliliter figure is the most common standard, not a universal one.
Why is the Australian tablespoon bigger?
Australia standardized the tablespoon as 4 metric teaspoons of 5 milliliters each, which gives 20 milliliters, while metric countries standardized 3 metric teaspoons, which gives 15 milliliters. The Australian spoon is one third larger than the metric spoon and about 35 percent larger than the US spoon.
How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
Three US teaspoons make 1 US tablespoon, and 3 metric teaspoons make 1 metric tablespoon. An Australian tablespoon holds 4 metric teaspoons, because 4 x 5 = 20 milliliters.
How many milliliters are in a tablespoon of water?
The same as for any other liquid, because a tablespoon is a volume and does not change with its contents. One US tablespoon of water is 14.7868 milliliters, one metric tablespoon is 15 milliliters, and one Australian tablespoon is 20 milliliters. The weight in grams does depend on the ingredient, a different conversion.
Should I use a tablespoon to measure medicine?
No. Measure liquid medicine in milliliters with the dosing device supplied with the product, preferably an oral syringe marked in milliliters. Guidance hosted by the FDA records that confusing teaspoons with tablespoons causes 3-fold dosing errors, and household spoons vary too widely in volume to dose accurately.
Keep reading: How Many Teaspoons in a Tablespoon? The US Answer, Plus the Australian Difference
Keep reading: How Many Tablespoons in a Cup
Keep reading: Tablespoons in an Ounce
Keep reading: Milliliters to Ounces: Exact Conversion Table & Examples
Keep reading: Grams to Tablespoons: Why There Is No Single Answer, and How to Convert Properly
Sources & references
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Handbook 44, 2024, Appendix C, General Tables of Units of Measurement. Used for the liquid volume factors 1 fluid ounce = 29.57353 milliliters, 1 gallon = 3,785.411784 milliliters, and 1 milliliter = 0.03381402 fluid ounces, from which the exact US tablespoon value of half a fluid ounce is derived; for the equivalents entries 1 cup, measuring = 8 fluid ounces and 237 milliliters, 1 tablespoon, measuring = 3 teaspoons, 15 milliliters, 4 fluid drams, and exactly half a fluid ounce, and 1 teaspoon, measuring = 5 milliliters; and for the note that equivalents for the imprecise units tablespoon and teaspoon are rounded to the nearest milliliter. https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2024/01/14/NIST%20HB%2044%202024%20Appendix%20C%20General%20Tables%20of%20Units%20of%20Measurement.pdf
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Metric Kitchen: Cooking Measurement Equivalencies. Used for the approximate home cooking equivalents 5 milliliters = 1 teaspoon, 15 milliliters = 1 tablespoon (half a fluid ounce), 30 milliliters = 1 fluid ounce, and 240 milliliters = 1 cup. https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/metric-si/metric-kitchen/metric-kitchen-cooking-measurement-equivalencies
- US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Questions and Answers on Guidance for Industry: Dosage Delivery Devices for Orally Ingested OTC Liquid Drug Products. Used for the dosage device concerns: markings inconsistent with directions, the recalled product example in which a 2 teaspoonful direction met a 2 tablespoonful device marking and risked a three-fold dose increase, and the warning that household utensils vary widely in size and can deliver an inaccurate dose. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/medication-errors-related-cder-regulated-drug-products/questions-and-answers-guidance-industry-dosage-delivery-devices-orally-ingested-otc-liquid-drug
- National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP), Standardize the Dosing Designations on Prescription Container Labels for Oral Liquid Medications to Metric (mL) Only, hosted by the FDA. Used for the metric-only dosing position: teaspoon and tablespoon confusion resulting in 3-fold dosing errors, teaspoon and milliliter confusion resulting in 5-fold errors, kitchen spoons varying considerably in delivered volume, and oral syringes as more precise alternatives, generally preferred for volumes up to 10 milliliters. https://www.fda.gov/media/88498/download
- Women's Weekly Food, How to: Measurement conversions (Australian Women's Weekly). Used only for the Australian standard as applied in Australian recipe publishing: Australia is the only country with a 20 milliliter tablespoon measure, the rest are 15 milliliters; 1 American tablespoon = 15 milliliters and 1 Australian tablespoon = 20 milliliters; 1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters in both. https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/how-to/measurement-conversions-1313/
