centimeter

especially British, cen·ti·me·tre

[sen-tuh-mee-ter]

noun

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

centimeter

1. A unit of length in the metric system equal to 0.01 meter.

2. See Table at measurement

centimeter

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of centimeter¹

From the French word centimètre, dating back to 1795–1805. See centi-, meter ¹

Example Sentences

In a slow slip event, stresses that build for months to years are relieved in movements of only a few centimeters that occur gradually over days, weeks or months.

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"I would say yesterday was just missing by centimeters," Korda said of her putting performance on Thursday.

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The result is a system that produces pulses shorter than 50 femtoseconds, takes up only a few square centimeters, and uses just five components.

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While humans typically measure at 10-foot intervals, the robots take measurements every few centimeters.

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Which is to say, Porsche invented an entirely new flat-six—different bore diameters and everything—just to clear 11 centimeters under the engine cover.

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