centimeter
Americannoun
-
centimeters
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of centimeter
From the French word centimètre, dating back to 1795–1805. See centi-, meter 1
Explanation
In the metric system, a centimeter is a unit of measurement that's about one-third the size of an inch. There are approximately 30 centimeters in a foot. The word centimeter comes from the French centimètre, a combination of the Latin word for "hundred," centum, and the French mètre. A centimeter is one hundredth of a meter—in other words, there are one hundred centimeters in one meter. In just about every part of the world besides the U.S., this word is spelled centimetre.
Vocabulary lists containing centimeter
Measurement and Data
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: cent
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: meter, metr
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They grow about a centimeter or two a year and by sampling cores at the millimeter scale, the team was able to develop windows of monthly temperature records scattered across the past millennium.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
These fibrils were then combined with potassium hydroxide and formed into porous beads measuring about half a centimeter to one centimeter in diameter.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
According to Wu, the catalyst also operated for more than 1,000 hours at industry-level current densities of 1 and 2 amperes per square centimeter.
From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026
Veradermics also assessed hair count per square centimeter, finding that both dosing regimens increased hair count by at least 30 hairs per square centimeter, compared with 7.3 hairs per square centimeter for the placebo group.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026
I hesitated, torn, but then the first bell sent me hurrying out the door — with a last glance confirming that he hadn’t moved a centimeter.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
It also completed 10 somersaults in only 11 seconds while remaining within about 4 or 5 centimeters of its planned flight path.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
The fossil, cataloged as MGB-512, is about 50 centimeters long and is housed at the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
Since the Moon is receding from Earth at roughly 3.8 centimeters a year, millions of years from now it will appear too small to produce the phenomenon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The city once experienced subsidence exceeding 10 centimeters per year, with the worst affected locations sinking by around 24 centimeters annually.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
But his smooth, graceful parries were met with fierce tenacity from his partner—the other man, at least six centimeters taller, put all his strength behind his blows, as though this weren’t a performance at all.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
