Yards
Abbreviation/Symbol:
yd
Unit of:
Worldwide use:
A yard is 3 feet, which is exactly 0.9144 meters. Outside the United States it survives mainly in the United Kingdom.
Golf is the likeliest place to meet the yard in both countries, with hole lengths quoted in yards, and fabric shops still sell cloth by the yard. Track and field is run in meters.
What are yards?:
A yard is 3 feet, or 36 inches, and is part of both the imperial and American systems. It is slightly shorter than a meter.
An American football field is 100 yards long between the goal lines, plus 10 yards of end zone at each end – 120 yards in all, or about 109.7m.
The yard is not an SI unit. Since 1959 it has been defined as exactly 0.9144m, so a meter is about 1.0936 yards.
Origin:
The yard is 3 feet, or 36 inches. Legend has it that Henry I, who reigned from 1100 to 1135, set it as the distance from his nose to the thumb of his outstretched arm.
Britain's legal standard from 1855 was the Imperial Standard Yard, a bronze bar kept in London.
In 1959 the US, the UK and other Commonwealth countries agreed on an international yard of exactly 0.9144 meters. It is still the unit for American football fields, and UK road signs give short distances in yards.
Usage context:
A yard is 3 feet or 36 inches, exactly 0.9144 meters. The US and UK still use it for golf holes, the US for the football field, and on UK road signs it is the unit for short distances.
In construction, yards are used to measure quantities of materials such as concrete and carpet. For example, a contractor may order 10 cubic yards of concrete for a building foundation or purchase 50 square yards of carpet for a flooring project. Yards are also used to determine the dimensions of a property or the distance between structures.
In landscaping, square yards are used to measure the area of a lawn or garden. Homeowners may need to know the number of square yards of sod or cubic yards of mulch required to cover their outdoor spaces. Yards are also used to measure the length of fencing.
In sports, yards are commonly used in American football to measure the distance between the line of scrimmage and the end zone. The field is 100 yards long between the goal lines, with each team trying to advance the ball towards the opponent's end zone.