Centimetre

centimetre
centimetre
	A carpenter's ruler with centimetre divisions
General information
Unit system	SI
Unit of	length
Symbol	cm
Conversions
1 cm in ...	... is equal to ...
millimetres	10 mm
imperial & US system	~0.3937 in

A centimetre (international spelling) or centimeter (American spelling) (SI symbol cm) is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one hundredth of a metre, centi being the SI prefix for a factor of 1/100.^[1] Equivalently, there are 100 centimetres in 1 metre. The centimetre was the base unit of length in the now deprecated centimetre–gram–second (CGS) system of units.

Though for many physical quantities, SI prefixes for factors of 10³—like milli- and kilo-—are often preferred by technicians, the centimetre remains a practical unit of length for many everyday measurements; for instance, human height is commonly measured in centimetres.^[2]^[3] A centimetre is approximately the width of the fingernail of an average adult person.

^ "Decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units". Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
^ "Using the BMI-for-Age Growth Charts". cdc.gov. Centers for Disease Control. Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
^ Price, Beth; et al. (2009). MathsWorld Year 8 VELS Edition. Australia: MacMillan. p. 626. ISBN 978-0-7329-9251-4.

[1] "Decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units". Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2015.

[2] "Using the BMI-for-Age Growth Charts". cdc.gov. Centers for Disease Control. Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.

[3] Price, Beth; et al. (2009). MathsWorld Year 8 VELS Edition. Australia: MacMillan. p. 626. ISBN 978-0-7329-9251-4.

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