Full name: centimetre
Plural form: centimetres
Symbol: cm
Alternate spelling: centimeters
Category type: length
Scale factor: 0.01
The SI base unit for length is the metre.
1 metre is equal to 100 cm.
Valid units must be of the length type.
You can use this form to select from known units:
A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundreth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. A centimetre is part of a metric system. It is the base unit in the centimetre-gram-second system of units. A corresponding unit of area is the square centimetre. A corresponding unit of volume is the cubic centimetre.
The centimetre is a now a non-standard factor, in that factors of 103 are often preferred. However, it is practical unit of length for many everyday measurements. A centimetre is approximately the width of the fingernail of an adult person.