centimeter

noun

cen·​ti·​me·​ter ˈsen-tə-ˌmē-tər  ˈsän- 

: a unit of length equal to ¹/₁₀₀ meter see Metric System Table

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In the metric system, which is used in most countries of the world, each basic unit of measure of length, area, or volume can be divided into centimeters. A meter consists of 100 centimeters, a square meter consists of 10,000 square centimeters, and a cubic meter consists of 1,000,000 cubic centimeters.

Examples of centimeter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The bullet entered the right side of the infant’s face and exited the back of her head, missing her brain stem by a few centimeters. —John Johnston, The Enquirer, 28 Nov. 2024

When ripe, the hairy green fruit measures about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) long. —Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024

By Wednesday evening, some areas in Northern California had experienced heavy rain, including Santa Rosa, which had seen about 5 inches (about 13 centimeters) within 24 hours, according to Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. —Greg McKenna, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2024

The winning bid belonged to Justin Sun—an entrepreneur and founder of cryptocurrency platform Tron—who now owns the certificate of authenticity that permits him to tape any banana to the wall 63 inches (160 centimeters) from the ground and call it Comedian. —Martin Lerma, Robb Report, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing centimeter

• centimeter-gram-second

Kids Definition

centimeter

noun

cen·​ti·​me·​ter ˈsent-ə-ˌmēt-ər  ˈsänt- 

: a unit of length equal to ¹⁄₁₀₀ meter see metric system

Medical Definition

centimeter

noun

cen·​ti·​me·​ter

variants or chiefly British centimetre

ˈsent-ə-ˌmēt-ər  ˈsänt- 

: a unit of length equal to ¹/₁₀₀ meter