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
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
NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory carries a relatively small 30 centimeter telescope, yet from its position in orbit it can observe ultraviolet wavelengths that are mostly absorbed by Earth's atmosphere.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 2026
It was hopeless; he could not raise himself a centimeter.
From "1984" by George Orwell
The animal, Praearcturus gigas, reached roughly one meter in length and carried pincers more than 16 centimeters long.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
In 2009, an Iridium Communications satellite hit a nonfunctional Russian communications satellite, generating around 1,800 pieces of debris at least 10 centimeters in size.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 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
It measures approximately 11 centimeters long, six centimeters in width, and about three centimeters thick.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
He cannot make it without such a wrench that he is flung one or two centimeters into the air by the recoil.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
