m to cm

1 meter (m) is equal to 100 centimeters (cm). To convert 1 meter to cm, multiply by 100; to convert 1 cm to m, divide by 100. Both centimeters and meters are measurements of length in the International System of Units (SI), and the meter is the base unit of length in this system.

m to cm converter

The following meter to centimeter converter converts meters to centimeters or centimeters to meters. Enter a value in either meters or centimeters to convert between the two.


meters
centimeters
   

How many meters in a centimeter

There are 0.1 meters in 1 centimeter:


1 cm = 0.1 m


How many centimeters in a meter

There are 100 centimeters in 1 meter:


1 m = 100 cm


How to convert m to cm

To convert meters to centimeters, multiply the value in meters by 100. To convert a value in centimeters to meters, divide by 100.

Meter to cm formula

The formula to convert meters to centimeters is:



or



Below are two examples: an m to cm example and a cm to m example.

Examples

1. Convert 24.8 m to cm:

24.8 × 100 = 2480 cm


2. 886.7 cm to m:

886.7 ÷ 100 = 8.867 m


What is a meter

A meter is a measurement of length in the International System of Units (SI). It is the base unit of length in SI, which means that other SI measurements of length are related to the meter by a given power of 10 as indicated by the prefix.

Meter definition

The meter (m) is defined as the distance traveled by light in of a second.

History of the meter

The definition of the meter has changed a number of times over the course of history. In 1793, the meter was defined as one ten-millionth of the distance between the equator and the North Pole. In 1889, a prototype meter bar was fabricated from a combination of platinum and iridium, and the meter was defined as the distance between precise marks of this bar at 0°C. Although the alloy the prototype meter was made of does not oxidize, is hard, and does not expand or contract much with changes in temperature, advances in technology and science enabled us to define the meter in even more robust terms.

In 1960 the meter was redefined in terms of the wavelength of a spectral line of Krypton86. Then, in 1989 it was redefined in terms of the speed of light. Although this definition was slightly changed again in 2019 based on a redefinition of the second, the actual measure of the meter remained the same.

Meter usage

As the SI base unit of length, the meter is used widely throughout the world since most countries around the world have adopted SI with the exception of the US, Myanmar, and Liberia. The meter is used for many different measurements of distance, height, length, width, etc. Generally, it is used for measurements that most people can reasonably easily conceive. For larger distances, kilometers are a more commonly used measure.

What is a centimeter

A centimeter is a measurement of length in the International System of Units (SI). It is related to the meter, the base unit of length in SI, by a factor of .

Centimeter definition

A centimeter (cm) is defined as of a meter, the base unit of length in SI.

History of the centimeter

The centimeter was originally used as part of the metric system, which was developed between 1790-1795 based on the decimalized system introduced by Gabriel Mouton in 1670. The metric system was first adopted by France in 1795. The centimeter was then used in a number of other metric systems such as the MKS and MKSA systems, the centimetre-gram-second system, and more until its use in the International System of Units (SI), which was established in 1960. Within SI, the basis of its definition has changed based on the meter, but its actual value has remained as of a meter.

Centimeter usage

As an SI measurement of length, the centimeter is used widely throughout the world. It is typically used for smaller measurements of length, one of the most common of which is the height of a person. Even in countries such as the US, which has not adopted SI officially, both the centimeter, meter, and other SI measurements of length are widely used.

Difference between meters and centimeters

The only difference between meters and centimeters is their magnitude. They are both measurements of length within the same system of measurement that only differ by a power of 10, specifically 102 = 100. The "centi-" prefix in centimeter (as well as other SI units) denotes a factor of relative to the base unit, in this case the meter. This means that a meter is 100 times larger than a centimeter, which is consistent with the fact that there are 100 centimeters in 1 meter, as mentioned above. In other words:


100 cm = 1 m


1 cm = m


To visualize a meter, imagine a tall basketball player; their height is around 2 meters, or 200 centimeters, which is equal to almost 6 feet 7 inches. To visualize a centimeter, imagine the width of a pencil; it is about 1 cm wide.

Meter to centimeter conversion table

The table below shows various meter to centimeter conversions:


Meters Centimeters
0.01 1
0.1 10
1 100
2 200
3 300
5 500
10 1,000
20 2,000
50 5,000
100 10,000
1,000 100,000