Convert Drop (drop) to Centiliter (cL) instantly.
About these units
Drop (drop)
The drop is one of the oldest fluid measures and originally referred simply to the amount of liquid that naturally forms at the end of a dripping vessel. Because drop size depends on viscosity, surface tension, temperature, and orifice size, early medicine found drops inconsistent and unreliable. Modern medicine and chemistry sometimes define a drop as 0.05 mL, but this is only a convention used for standardized droppers—real drops can vary significantly. Despite its imprecision, the drop survives in everyday language, aromatherapy, essential oils, and household instructions ("add a few drops"). It exemplifies humanity's earliest attempts to quantify small volumes before scientific instrumentation enabled precise micro-measurement.
Centiliter (cL)
A centiliter equals 1/100 of a liter and is commonly used in beverage labeling, especially in Europe. Alcohol content, soft drink servings, and cooking measurements often appear in centiliters due to its convenient scale for small but not tiny volumes. Many European recipes also use cL because the metric system simplifies culinary measurement. Bartenders frequently use 2 cL or 4 cL pours for spirits, making the centiliter central to mixology and hospitality industries. The unit's casual everyday adoption shows how cultural preferences influence the popularity of particular metric subdivisions.