[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cm.html) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / cm [← C](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/C/) # cm «cm» in Mova's school dictionary: **short for centimeter, a small unit of length** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it. ### part of speech abbreviation (cm — centimeter or centimetre); noun when read out (centimetre, centimetres; casual: cents, cm's) ### meaning for a pupil 1) Cm is short for centimeter, a small unit of length. A meter has 100 centimeters. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#m1) 2) A centimeter is about the width of your little fingernail. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#m2) 3) (casual) People say «c-m» or «centimetres» out loud, or «a few cm»; in a hurry «cm» may be written «cms» (wrong). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#m3) 4) (casual) In texts «cm» can also mean «call me», so look at the context. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#m4) 5) (formal) Exams and science write «cm», «cm²» (square centimetres), «cm³» (cubic centimetres) and «to the nearest centimetre». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#m5) ### sense in the lessons maths: a unit of length; cm² for area, cm³ for volume; rulers marked in cm and mm; science: measuring plants, heights of pupils; everyday life: the size of a book or a phone, how tall you are; in casual talk «grew like 3 cm», «it's a few cm too short»; in rough talk «a bloody centimetre too short, typical»; in the exam voice «a segment of length 12 cm», «correct to the nearest centimetre», «the area in cm²» ### examples - The line is 12 cm long. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x1) - The square has sides of 5 cm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x2) - 1 m = 100 cm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x3) - The area is 24 square cm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x4) - My pencil is 15 cm long. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x5) - The plant grew 3 cm in a week. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x6) - A centimeter has 10 millimeters. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x7) - She is 140 cm tall. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x8) - I grew like 3 cm since summer! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x9) - The shelf is a bloody centimetre too short for the book. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x10) - A rectangle of length 8 cm and breadth 3 cm is given. Compute its area in cm². [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x11) - cm when u get home (in a text: call me). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/#x12) ### note A unit, not a thing counted. Trap: cm and m differ by 100; cm² is area; cm³ is volume. Write «cm» with no full stop and no s: 5 cm, not 5 cms. 1 cm = 10 mm. «breadth» in an exam means width. In a text, «cm» may mean «call me», with no number in it. ### In the corpora - [Just 15 cm of moving water can knock a person off their feet, and 30 cm can float a car.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/235-rain-floods-and-storms/3/) - [You skate only on ice checked by adults or on a marked rink; the ice must be at least 10 cm thick.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/250-gymnastics-winter-sports-and-fishing/11/) - [A child uses a booster seat until the adult belt fits, usually around 145 to 150 cm or 4 feet 9 inches tall.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/268-in-the-car-and-seat-belts/14/) - [Plates move about 2-10 cm a year, roughly as fast as your fingernails grow.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/42-plate-tectonics/6/) - [Today satellites measure plate movement directly: GPS stations show Europe and North America moving apart about 2.5 cm a year.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/42-plate-tectonics/15/) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every meaning and example of «cm» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cm/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.