noun
centimeter
SEN-tuh-mee-ter/ˈsɛntəˌmit̮ər/
A unit of length equal to one hundredth of a meter.
The red thread spans exactly one centimeter along the ruler.
Etymology
The “hundred” element marks division into a hundred parts here, not a hundred meters. Combined with the “measure” root behind meter, it names one hundredth of that unit.
In context
here a line segment of length 10.5 centimeter so this is starting 0 and this is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and this is 10.5 centimeter line segment
More examples
- The strip is ten centimeters wide.
- She marks each centimeter along the edge.
- A centimeter equals ten millimeters.
Forms
centimeter · centimeters
Similar words
- millimeter
- One tenth of a centimeter.
- meter
- One hundred times the length of a centimeter.