Convert decimeter to cm

One decimeter equals 10 centimeters. To convert any number of decimeters to centimeters, multiply by 10.

The converter above works in both directions and updates as you type. Below you will find the formula, a worked example and a reference table of common values.

Length conversions come up wherever a measurement crosses a border: a height given in feet and inches on a form that wants centimetres, a running distance recorded in kilometres and compared against miles, a component specified in millimetres and ordered from a supplier working in inches. The conversions themselves are exact — the inch, foot, yard and mile have all been defined in metric terms since 1959 — so any discrepancy comes from rounding, not from the units disagreeing.

decimeter to cm formula

To go the other way, use decimeter = centimeter ÷ 10.

About these units

The decimetre — a tenth of a metre — is rarely used on its own, but it defines the litre: one litre is exactly one cubic decimetre.

The centimetre is a hundredth of a metre. It is the everyday unit for body height and clothing sizes almost everywhere outside the United States, where feet and inches persist.

Decimeter is also written decimetre, decimetres and decimeters. Centimeter is also written centimetre, centimetres and centimeters.

Sources

1. Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, The International System of Units (SI), 9th edition, 2019.