How to Convert Centimeters to Meters

100 cm = 1 m.

Three easy ways to convert a length value from centimeters to meters are:

• Divide by 100.
• Multiply by 0.01.
• Move the decimal to the left two places.

We can also read a length that is in centimeters as how many meters it is without even converting. For example, 534cm can be read as five point thirty four meters (5.34m). Once the 100cm = 1m relation is memorized, this is becomes very easy.

What is a cm and what is a m? Standard Length Units in Depth

A centimeter (cm) is one hundredth of a meter (m). The meter is the SI (International System of Units) unit for length. Prefixes are added to SI units to make them represent smaller or bigger measurements.

The prefix in centimeter is centi, which means one hundredth. When we place the prefix “centi” in front of the unit "meter", we get centimeter which is one hundredth of a meter. Other common prefixes for the meter are milli (one thousandth), deca (ten) and kilo (one thousand).

Why Converting Centimeters to Meters is a Necessary Skill

In engineering, math, and science we sometimes choose the centimeter to measure the lengths of things because it is more convenient to write or easier to keep track of. However, most equations and formulas are written in terms of meters since meters are the standard unit.

After taking measurements, we must convert centimeters to meters for use in the equation or formula. If the equation or formula spits out a length measurement, we can always convert back to centimeters. Just multiply meters by 100 to get centimeters.