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.
From its mass of greenery, huge globular fruit stood out, a decimeter wide and furnished on the outside with creases that assumed a hexangular pattern.
From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by F. P. Walter
Why, that the density of Gallia is just about double the density of the earth, which we know is only five kilogrammes to a cubic decimeter.
From Off on a Comet! a Journey through Planetary Space by Jules Verne
A sheet of paper, size 1 decimeter, seen at 5.70 meters, represents the same magnitude.
From Astronomy for Amateurs by Frances A. (Frances Alice) Welby
The unit adopted for square measure was the are, equal to 100 square meters; for solid measure, the stère, equal to one cubic meter; and for measure of capacity, the litre, a cubic decimeter.
From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 437 Volume 17, New Series, May 15, 1852 by William Chambers
The number is written on the upper left corner and the pamphlets are arranged either in pamphlet cases with the books on the same subject or on special shelves divided every decimeter by perpendicular sections.
From A Classification and Subject Index for Cataloguing and Arranging the Books and Pamphlets of a Library by Melvil Dewey
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.
