decimeter

American  

[des-uh-mee-ter] / ˈdɛs əˌmi tər /

especially British, decimetre

noun

1. a unit of length equal to 1/10 (0.1) meter. dm

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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

See Examples For:

decimeter

A decimeter is one-tenth of that, namely, 3.937 inches; and a decameter 39.37, or ten times the meter, and so on.

From Practical Mechanics for Boys by Zerbe, James Slough

Five nickels in a row will give the length of the decimeter, and two of them will weigh a decagram.

From Reading Made Easy for Foreigners - Third Reader by Hülshof, John L.

A sheet of paper, size 1 decimeter, seen at 5.70 meters, represents the same magnitude.

From Astronomy for Amateurs by Welby, Frances A. (Frances Alice)

Of this rock here is a solid decimeter; let us get at its weight, and we shall have the key which will unlock the problem of the whole weight 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