Centimetre


A centimetre or centimeter is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one hundredth of a metre, centi being the SI prefix for a factor of. The centimetre was the base unit of length in the now deprecated centimetre–gram–second 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. A centimetre is approximately the width of the fingernail of an average adult person.

Equivalence to other units of length

One millilitre is defined as one cubic centimetre, under the SI system of units.

Other uses

In addition to its use in the measurement of length, the centimetre is used:
For the purposes of compatibility with Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters, Unicode has symbols for:
They are mostly used only with East Asian fixed-width CJK fonts, because they are equal in size to one Chinese character.