decimeter
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of decimeter
From the French word décimètre, dating back to 1800–10. See deci-, meter 1
Explanation
In the metric system, a decimeter is a unit of measurement that's about the same as four inches. You can estimate the width of a decimeter by aligning four U.S. quarters horizontally. There are ten decimeters in a meter, and the word itself comes from the French deci- and the Latin decimus, "tenth." Each decimeter is one-tenth of a meter, a measurement that's common in many parts of the world although relatively unusual in the U.S. Americans also spell it differently than most metric system-users, who write decimetre.
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.
As the litre is a cubic decimeter, the key to the measure of length is also the key to measures of capacity.
From Harper's Young People, April 13, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various
Before they started, Professor Rosette requested that one of the men might be ordered to cut him a cubic decimeter out of the solid substance of Gallia.
From Off on a Comet! a Journey through Planetary Space by Verne, Jules
But the distance corresponding to 400,000 wave lengths is roughly a decimeter, and this cannot be determined or reproduced more accurately than say to one part in 500,000.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 633, February 18, 1888 by Various
It has been calculated that between Tabatinga on the Brazilian frontier, and the source of this huge body of water, the difference of level does not exceed a decimeter in each league.
From Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon by Verne, Jules
A lath was then cut of this exact length and given to the engineer of the Dobryna, who was directed to cut out of the solid rock the cubic decimeter required by the professor.
From Off on a Comet! a Journey through Planetary Space by Verne, Jules
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.
