The exact equivalent
A yard is exactly 0.9144 metres. That definition, agreed in 1959, is what fixes every other imperial length unit.
1 yd = 0.9144 m
1 m = 1.0936133 yd
How to convert it by hand
Just multiply by the conversion factor. To go from yards to metres, multiply by 0.9144; to come back, divide by that same number or multiply by 1.093613.
For example: 25 yd × 0.9144 = 22.86 m.
A tip that saves mistakes: check the result goes the way you expect. If metres are a smaller unit than yards, the number has to come out bigger. If it comes out smaller, you divided when you should have multiplied.
Conversion table
| yd | m |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.9144 |
| 2 | 1.8288 |
| 5 | 4.572 |
| 10 | 9.144 |
| 20 | 18.288 |
| 50 | 45.72 |
| 100 | 91.44 |
Reference points to picture it
| Reference | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 yard | 0.914 m |
| An American football field | 100 yd = 91.44 m |
| A 300-yard golf drive | 274.3 m |
| A metre | 1.094 yd |
The trick for doing it in your head
Take off about 8.5%. For 100 yards: 100 minus 8.6 gives 91.4 metres, which is exact.
It is fine for getting by without a phone, but not for anything that depends on precision: in a recipe, on a building site or in a dose, use the exact conversion.