millimeter

especially British, mil·li·me·tre

[mil-uh-mee-ter]

noun

1. a unit of length equal to one thousandth of a meter and equivalent to 0.03937 inch. mm

millimeter

1. A unit of length in the metric system equal to 0.001 meter.

2. See Table at measurement

Other Word Forms

• millimetric adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of millimeter¹

First recorded in 1800–10; from French millimètre; milli-, meter ¹

Example Sentences

Machines strip the insulation material off the copper, then use blades to chop and shred it into granules a few millimeters long, sometimes known as ‘copper chops.’

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In the first five days, forensic experts gingerly removed earth, millimeter by millimeter, recovering 3,463 bone fragments.

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It’s 4 millimeters in tablet mode and just shy of 9 millimeters when doubled over in phone mode—that’s on par with most premium nonfolding smartphones.

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It is also larger than previous models, measuring eight millimeters in diameter and four millimeters in thickness.

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His record-breaking set up was quite typical: a Rose commuter bike with a flat bar and slick, 50 millimeter width tires, standard pressure.

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