km to m

There are 1000 meters (m) in 1 kilometer (km) or kilometers in 1 meter. Both kilometers and meters are metric measurements of length. The meter is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI).

km to m conversion

The following converter can be used to convert kilometers to meters or meters to kilometers. Enter a value in either meters or kilometers to convert between the two.


kilometers
meters
   

How to convert km to m

To convert km to m, multiply a value in kilometers by 1000; to convert from m to km, divide a value in m by 1000. In SI, prefixes that are added to a base unit denote a unit that is a specific power of 10 of the base unit. For example, the prefix "kilo-" denotes a factor of 1000, or 103, so a kilometer is 1000 times larger than 1 meter.

How many kilometers in a meter

There are kilometers in a meter:


1 m = km


How many meters in a kilometer

There are 1000 meters in a kilometer:


1 km = 1000 m


Therefore, to convert between SI units with different prefixes, we need to determine what power of 10 each prefix denotes, then multiply or divide by the appropriate power of 10. To convert from kilometers to meters, multiply by 1000. To convert from meters to kilometers, divide by 1000.


Examples

1. Convert 52 km to m:

52 × 1000 = 52000 m


2. Convert 457832 m to km:

457832 ÷ 1000 = 457.832 km


What is a kilometer

A kilometer is a measurement of length in the International System of Units (SI).

km definition

A kilometer is defined relative to the meter. It is equal to 1,000 meters. The formal meter definition is the length of the path traveled by light in a vacuum in of a second.

Uses of kilometers

Kilometers are typically used to measure large distances. For example, the distance between two cities such as New York City and London is typically measured in kilometers if using SI. The height of a mountain or building, how far a person runs, and the depth of a body of water are a few other examples of lengths measured in kilometers.

What is a meter

A meter is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). As a base unit, it is the reference unit for length in SI, and other measures of length such as the kilometer are related to the meter by some multiple.

Meter definition

A meter is defined as the length of the path traveled by light in a vacuum over the course of of a second, where seconds are defined based on cesium frequency.

History of the meter

The definition of the meter has changed throughout the course of history with the goal of improving the definitions. For example, in the past, the meter was based on a physical prototype that deteriorated slightly over time. Albeit the change was small, this still results in a change in the definition of the meter. Rather than allow the definition of a meter to be subject to change, the definitions were adjusted to be based on physical phenomena that are constant.

Meter usage

Since most countries use SI, as the base unit of length in SI, the meter is widely used around the world. Exceptions include countries such as the United States. A meter is used to measure distance, height, width, and more. It has numerous applications in everyday life as well as science.

Kilometer to meter conversion table

Below is a table that shows a kilometers to meters conversion table.



Kilometer (km) Meter (m)
0.01 10
0.1 100
1 1,000
2 2,000
3 3,000
5 5,000
10 10,000
20 20,000
50 50,000
100 100,000
1,000 1,000,000

km vs m

Kilometers (km) and meters (m) are both measurements of length. They are also both part of the system of measurement: the International System of Units (SI). The difference between the two is simply magnitude. A kilometer is larger than a meter and the meter is the base unit of length in SI.

In SI, prefixes are used to indicate various multiples of the base unit. The "kilo-" is the SI prefix for 1000, so a kilometer is 1000 meters. When measuring length, whether or not to use kilometers or meters is mostly based on convention and the length being measured. Generally, kilometers are used to measure larger lengths while meters are used to measure smaller ones.

One context in which both meters and kilometers are used is running events. Common race distances include the 100m (100 meters), 200m (200 meters), 400m (400 meters), 5k (5 kilometers), 10k (10 kilometers), and more. Typically, race distances below 1000m are expressed in m and distances above 1km are expressed in kilometers.