Feet to Meters — Ft to M Conversion

To convert feet to meters, multiply the number of feet by $0.3048$. That gives the answer in meters.

$$m = \text{ft} \times 0.3048$$

In the standard international definition used in everyday measurement, $1$ foot is exactly $0.3048$ meter. The factor is exact, so any rounding should happen only after the multiplication.

Why The Factor Is $0.3048$

A foot and a meter both measure length, but they come from different unit systems. The conversion factor tells you how much one foot is worth when you rewrite the same length in meters.

Because one foot is shorter than one meter, the number gets smaller when you convert feet to meters. That is a useful quick check: if your answer got larger, the conversion probably went the wrong way.

Worked Example: Convert $6$ Feet To Meters

Start with the rule $m = \text{ft} \times 0.3048$ and substitute $6$ for the feet value:

$$6 \times 0.3048 = 1.8288$$

So $6$ feet is

$$6 \text{ ft} = 1.8288 \text{ m}$$

If you want a shorter decimal, round at the end: $1.8288$ m becomes about $1.83$ m.

Estimate First, Then Compute

For a fast estimate, treat $1$ foot as a little more than $0.3$ meter. That helps you check whether the final answer is reasonable before doing the exact arithmetic.

For example, $10$ feet should be a little more than $3$ meters. The exact conversion is

$$10 \times 0.3048 = 3.048 \text{ m}$$

The estimate and the exact result are close, which is what you want.

Common Mistakes

Reversing The Conversion

To go from feet to meters, multiply by $0.3048$. If you divide by $0.3048$, you are converting in the wrong direction.

Rounding Too Early

If you replace $0.3048$ with $0.3$ too soon, the answer becomes less accurate. That may be fine for an estimate, but not for a final measurement.

Treating Feet-And-Inches Like A Decimal

A height like $5$ ft $8$ in is not the same as $5.8$ ft. Since $8$ inches is $8/12 = 2/3$ of a foot, the correct starting value is

$$5 + \frac{8}{12} = 5.666\ldots \text{ ft}$$

Then multiply by $0.3048$.

When Feet To Meters Conversion Is Used

Feet-to-meters conversion shows up in height measurements, room dimensions, construction plans, sports data, and travel or international product specs. It is especially useful when one source uses U.S. customary units and another uses metric units.

Try A Similar Conversion

Try converting $12$ ft to meters. Before multiplying, check that the answer should be a little more than $3.6$ m, then do the exact calculation with $12 \times 0.3048$.