centiliter

American  

[sen-tl-ee-ter] / ˈsɛn tlˌi tər /

especially British, centilitre

noun

1. one 100th of a liter, equivalent to 0.6102 cubic inch, or 0.338 U.S. fluid ounce. cl

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centiliter Scientific  

/ sĕn′tə-lē′tər /

1. A unit of volume in the metric system equal to 0.01 liter.

2. See Table at measurement

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Etymology

Origin of centiliter

From the French word centilitre, dating back to 1795–1805. See centi-, liter

Explanation

A centiliter is one-hundredth of a liter, a metric measure of liquid volume. Large soda bottles sold in grocery stores are usually two-liter bottles: if someone offers you a centiliter, don't expect your thirst to be quenched. A centiliter, often abbreviated cL, is about one-third of a U.S. fluid ounce. It's used in the metric system, in which the base unit of volume is a liter. One liter is 100 centiliters. The milliliter, which is one-thousandth of a liter, is used more often, showing up frequently in the United States in medicine and science. Thanks to the simplicity of the metric system, which is a base 10 system, conversion between units is easy: 1 centiliter = 10 milliliters.