Convert Decimetres to Centimeters
1 decimetre is 10 cm. One decimetre is exactly 10 centimeters.
One decimetre is 10 centimeters. To convert decimetres to centimeters, multiply by 10; to go the other way, divide by 10 or multiply by 0.1. The factor is exact rather than rounded: it follows from NIST. A tenth of a metre.
Factor checked against the defining standard · How we check
- Decimetres × 10
1 * 1010 cm
1 decimetre in every length unit
| Unit | Value | Exact factor |
|---|---|---|
| inches | 3.937007874 in | × 3.93700787402 |
| feet | 0.3280839895 ft | × 0.328083989501 |
| yards | 0.1093613298 yd | × 0.109361329834 |
| miles | 0.00006213711922 mi | × 0.0000621371192237 |
| millimeters | 100 mm | × 100 |
| decimetres (as entered) | 1 dm | — |
| centimeters | 10 cm | × 10 |
| meters | 0.1 m | × 0.1 |
| kilometers | 0.0001 km | × 0.0001 |
| nautical miles | 0.00005399568035 nmi | × 0.0000539956803456 |
| micrometers | 100,000 µm | × 100,000 |
| nanometers | 100,000,000 nm | × 100,000,000 |
| thou | 3,937.007874 thou | × 3,937.00787402 |
Factors are entered by hand from NIST rather than derived from a units library, so the ones that terminate are exact rather than rounded.
The same converter answers this pair however it is written: decimetres to centimetres is the British spelling of the same units — the metre and the litre are spelled that way outside the United States and the quantity does not change.
How do you convert decimetres to centimeters? The converter and the working
- 1.Take the measurement in decimetres.
- 2.Multiply by 10 — that is how many centimeters fit in one decimetre.
- 3.To go back the other way, divide by 10, or multiply by 0.1.
Worked example: 25 decimetres to centimeters
- Formula
- dm × 10 = cm
- Arithmetic
- 25 × 10 = 250 cm
- Answer
- 25 dm = 250 cm
The factor is exact, so this figure is exact too — only the display is rounded.
Decimetres to centimeters conversion table
| Decimetres | Centimeters |
|---|---|
| 1 dm | 10 cm |
| 2 dm | 20 cm |
| 3 dm | 30 cm |
| 4 dm | 40 cm |
| 5 dm | 50 cm |
| 6 dm | 60 cm |
| 7 dm | 70 cm |
| 8 dm | 80 cm |
| 9 dm | 90 cm |
| 10 dm | 100 cm |
| 12 dm | 120 cm |
| 15 dm | 150 cm |
| 20 dm | 200 cm |
| 25 dm | 250 cm |
| 50 dm | 500 cm |
| 100 dm | 1,000 cm |
| 200 dm | 2,000 cm |
| 300 dm | 3,000 cm |
| 500 dm | 5,000 cm |
| 1000 dm | 10,000 cm |
| 2000 dm | 20,000 cm |
| 5000 dm | 50,000 cm |
| 10000 dm | 100,000 cm |
What is a decimetre?
A tenth of a metre. Rare in speech and unavoidable in definitions: the litre is a cubic decimetre, which is where the millilitre and the cubic centimetre meet.
What is a centimeter?
One hundredth of a meter, and the unit most of the world states height in.
How many centimeters are in a decimetre?
One decimetre is 10 centimeters, exactly. Going the other way, one centimeter is 0.1 decimetres. Both figures come from the same defined relation rather than from a measurement, which is why they are the same today as they were in 1959.
Every length unit here
The whole group — 13 units with their symbols and the size of each one in meters — is on the conversion index, along with every pair it makes. The table above already gives each of them relative to a decimetre.
Source: NIST — international yard and pound agreement (inch = 25.4 mm exactly)
Cite this page
- APA
- Rule Calculator. (2026). Convert Decimetres to centimeters. Rule Calculator. https://rulecalculators.com/convert/decimeter-to-centimeter
- MLA
- "Convert Decimetres to centimeters." Rule Calculator, August 16, 2026, https://rulecalculators.com/convert/decimeter-to-centimeter.
- Chicago
- Rule Calculator. "Convert Decimetres to centimeters." Rule Calculator. Last reviewed August 16, 2026. https://rulecalculators.com/convert/decimeter-to-centimeter.
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Questions people actually ask
- How many centimeters are in a decimetre?
- 10. One hundredth of a meter, and the unit most of the world states height in.
- How do I convert centimeters back to decimetres?
- Divide by 10, or multiply by 0.1 — they are the same operation.
Other length conversions
Centimeters to decimetres — the same conversion the other way.