Which is bigger cm or dm?

A millimicron is one thousandth of one millionth of one meter.

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Helpful Hints
Mass and Weight
How many centimeters in a decimeter?
How to convert centimeters to decimeters?
Is centimeters bigger than DM?
Which is bigger 1dm or 1 cm?

Most of the world uses the metric system. The only countries not on this system are the U.S., Myanmar, and Liberia.

The metric system is based on 10s. For example, 10 decimeters make a meter (39.37 inches).

Units smaller than a meter have Latin prefixes:

Deci- means 10; 10 decimeters make a meter.
Centi- means 100; 100 centimeters make a meter.
Milli- means 1,000; 1,000 millimeters make a meter.

Units larger than a meter have Greek prefixes:

Deka- means 10; a dekameter is 10 meters.
Hecto- means 100; a hectometer is 100 meters.
Kilo- means 1,000; a kilometer is 1,000 meters.

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Remember: A meter is a little more than a yard. A kilometer is less than a mile. A liter is a little more than a quart.

The Metric System

Length

Unit	Value
Kilometer (km)	1,000 Meters
Hectometer (hm)	100 Meters
Dekameter (dam)	10 Meters
Meter (m)	1 Meter
Decimeter (dm)	0.1 Meter
Centimeter (cm)	0.01 Meters
Millimeter (mm)	0.001 Meters

Capacity

Unit	Value
Kiloliter (kl)	1,000 Liters
Hectoliters (hl)	100 Liters
Dekaliters (dal)	10 Liters
Liter (l)	1 Liter(*)
Deciliter (dl)	0.10 Liters
Centiliter (cl)	0.01 Liters
Milliliter (ml)	0.001 Liters
* 1 liter + U.S. 1.057 quarts

Mass and Weight

Unit	Value
Metric Ton	1,000,000 Grams
Quintal (P)	100,000 Grams
Myriagram	10,000 Grams
Kilogram	1,000 Grams
Hectogram	100 Grams
Dekagram	10 Grams
Gram	1 Gram(*)
Decigram	0.10 Grams
Centigram	0.01 Grams
Milligrams	0.001 Grams
* 1 gram + U.S. 0.035 ounces

J-P Lahall/Photolibrary/Getty Images

A millimeter (mm) is the smallest. In order from smallest to largest they rank millimeter, centimeter (cm), decimeter (dm), and meter (m). These are all common units of length in the metric system.

A millimeter is one-thousandth of a meter. A centimeter is one-hundredth of a meter. A decimeter is one-tenth of a meter. The metric system was created about 200 years ago by French scientists who wanted to simplify measurements. Every measurement unit is a factor of ten smaller or larger than the closest other measurement unit. This makes it easy to convert between different metric units of measurement. The prefix of any measurement describes the relationship between the main measurement. For example a milliliter is also one-thousandth of a liter.

How many centimeters in a decimeter?

1 Decimeter (dm) is equal to 10 centimeters (cm). To convert decimeters to centimeters, multiply the decimeter value by 10.

For example, to find out how many centimeters there are in 2 decimeters, multiply 2 by 10, that makes 20 cm in 2 dm.

dm to cm formula

cm = dm * 10

How to convert centimeters to decimeters?

1 Centimeter (cm) is equal to 0.1 decimeter (dm). To convert centimeters to decimeters, multiply the centimeter value by 0.1 or divide by 10.

For example, to convert 5 cm to dm, multiply 5 by 0.1, that makes 0.5 dm in 5 cm.

cm to dm formula

dm = cm * 0.1

dm = cm / 10

What is a Centimeter?

Centimeter (centimetre) is a metric system length unit. 1 cm = 0.1 dm. The symbol is "cm".

What is a Decimeter?

Decimeter (decimetre) is a metric system length unit. 1 dm = 10 cm. The symbol is "dm".

Please visit all length units conversion to convert all length units.

Create Conversion Table

Click "Create Table". Enter a "Start" value (5, 100 etc). Select an "Increment" value (0.01, 5 etc) and select "Accuracy" to round the result.

Is centimeters bigger than DM?

Relation Between Centimeter and Decimeter If you are wondering how many centimeters are there in a decimeter, then let us tell you 1 Decimeter is equivalent to 10 centimeters. Moreover, a centimeter is ten times smaller than a decimeter, however, a decimeter is ten times smaller than a meter.