Cc to mL (Cubic Centimeters to Milliliters)

How to convert cc to mL

There is nothing to multiply: one cubic centimeter is one milliliter.

mL = cc × 1

The liter is defined as one cubic decimeter, a cube 10 cm on each side, which holds 10 × 10 × 10 = 1,000 cubic centimeters. A milliliter is a thousandth of a liter, so it is exactly one cubic centimeter. “cc” is simply the older, geometric name for the same volume, still common in medicine, engines and chemistry. To go further, see mL to liters or mL to fluid ounces.

Cc to mL chart

Engine sizes: cc, liters and cubic inches

Engine displacement is the total volume swept by the pistons, and it is quoted in three ways. Motorcycles and small engines use cc — a 125cc scooter, a 650cc motorcycle. Car engines are usually given in liters, rounded to one decimal: a 1,998 cc engine is sold as a 2.0-liter. Older American engines are often named in cubic inches, and one cubic inch is 16.387 cc:

For other cubic-inch sizes, divide by 61.024 to get liters.

Syringes and medicine

Medical syringes are marked in mL, cc or both, and the two scales are identical: a 3 cc syringe holds 3 mL, and 0.5 cc is 0.5 mL. Safety guidance in U.S. hospitals favors writing mL, because a handwritten “cc” can be misread as “u” for units or as zeros. Always follow the dose on the prescription or the label, and ask a pharmacist if a dose is written in a unit your syringe does not show; this page only converts the units.

Fluid ounces, teaspoons and kitchen use

In the kitchen, cc rarely appears, but older European recipes and some measuring cups use it. Because cc equals mL, every milliliter conversion applies directly: 5 cc is one metric teaspoon, 15 cc one metric tablespoon, and 29.57 cc one U.S. fluid ounce. A 250 cc measuring cup holds a metric cup, a little more than the U.S. cup of 236.6 mL. For spoons, see mL to teaspoons.