Meters to Centimeters (m to cm)

How to convert meters to centimeters

Multiply the meters by 100:

cm = m × 100

1.75 m × 100 = 175 cm. Multiplying by 100 moves the decimal point two places to the right: 0.8 m is 80 cm, 1.82 m is 182 cm and 2.5 m is 250 cm. The prefix centi- means one hundredth, so the factor is exact. The result also shows inches and feet and inches. To go the other way, use cm to meters.

Meters to centimeters chart

Heights in meters, centimeters and feet

Heights on European ID cards and in medical records are in centimeters or meters with two decimals; they are the same number written two ways: 1.75 m is 175 cm. For feet and inches, use meters to feet and inches or cm to feet and inches.

Reading a metric tape measure

Metric tapes are marked in centimeters with millimeter ticks, and every hundredth centimeter is labeled as a whole meter: after 99 comes 1 m, then 101. A reading of “1 m and 75 small numbers” is 1.75 m, or 175 cm. Builders’ tapes in some countries print the meters in red and the centimeters in black. When writing a length down, keep one unit — 1.75 m or 175 cm, not “1 m 75 cm” — so that it can be typed into a calculator or a spreadsheet without errors.

Clothing and body measurements

Clothing sizes abroad use centimeters: European children’s sizes are the child’s height, so a size 152 fits someone about 1.52 m tall, and a waist of 82 cm is 32.3 inches. Doctors record height in centimeters and weight in kilograms, then compute body mass index from height in meters, so 175 cm becomes 1.75 before squaring. When filling in a form that asks for meters, move the decimal point two places to the left; when it asks for centimeters, two places to the right. To convert a whole set of measurements, paste them into Convert a list of values.

Meters, centimeters and millimeters

Each step on the metric ladder is a power of ten: 1 m = 100 cm = 1,000 mm. Builders and engineers write lengths in millimeters only, while tailors and doctors use centimeters. For millimeters, see cm to mm; for kilometers, meters to km.