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centimeter

[sen-tuh-mee-ter]

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noun

one 100th of a meter, equivalent to 0.3937 inch. Abbreviation: cm, cm.

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Nearby words

Also especially British, cen·ti·me·tre.

Origin of centimeter

From the French word centimètre, dating back to 1795–1805. See centi-, meter¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for centimeter

The daughter had also been exposed and was comatose before she and her mother each received A 250 cubic centimeter transfusion.
Infected Ebola Doctor Kent Brantly Is an Endangered Hero|Michael Daly|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
True, this wasn't an outpost set up by Israeli settlers to prevent a centimeter of retreat from the Whole Land.
Bibi Grows a Backbone|Gershom Gorenberg|January 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The knife missed the lung by half a centimeter,—cursed be the devil!
The Mystery of the Lost Dauphin|Emilia Pardo Bazn
Growing on old wood and bark in small patches of a few millimeters to a centimeter or more in extent.
The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio|A. P. Morgan

This lens has a short focal length usually less than a centimeter.
Physics|Willis Eugene Tower
A good, thick cork, quite a centimeter deep, is the obstacle to be pierced for an outlet.
The Life of the Fly|J. Henri Fabre
It was no more possible to buy a piece of dynamite for any purpose than to buy a forty-two centimeter siege gun.
The Fall of a Nation|Thomas Dixon

Word Origin and History for centimeter

centimeter

n.

also centimetre, 1801, from French centimètre (18c.), coined from Latin centum "hundred" (see hundred) + French mètre (see meter (n.2)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for centimeter

centimeter

[sĕn′tə-mē′tər]

n.

A unit of length equal to one hundredth (10-2) of a meter.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Science definitions for centimeter

centimeter

[sĕn′tə-mē′tər]

A unit of length in the metric system equal to 0.01 meter. See Table at measurement.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Culture definitions for centimeter

centimeter

[(sen-tuh-mee-tuhr)]

A unit of length in the metric system; one-hundredth of a meter, or about two-fifths of an inch.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.