Inch to Centimeter

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Result

2.54

cm

Conversion rate: 1 in = 2.54 cm

Showing up to 4 decimal

How it works

The converter uses exact SI-based factors (e.g., 1 foot = 0.3048 meters, 1 inch = 0.0254 meters).

Formula: centimeters = inch × 2.54

Results show between 0 and 8 decimal places and hide trailing zeros for readability.

Conversion Table

Inch Centimeter
0.001 in 0.0025 cm
0.01 in 0.0254 cm
0.1 in 0.254 cm
1 in 2.54 cm
10 in 25.4 cm
100 in 254 cm
1000 in 2540 cm

History

Inch (in)

The inch, abbreviated as in, is a length unit in the imperial and US customary systems. Its history reaches back to ancient civilizations, including the Romans, Egyptians, and Anglo-Saxons. Originally, the inch was determined by the width of a human thumb, but it was eventually set as 1/12 of a foot. Since 1959, the inch has been officially defined as exactly 2.54 centimeters due to an international agreement. Inches are still widely used in the United States, Canada, and the UK, especially for construction, manufacturing, and personal measurements. Even with the global shift to metric units, the inch remains important in certain fields such as technical drawings, screen dimensions, and household tools.

Centimeter (cm)

The centimeter, abbreviated as cm, represents one hundredth of a meter and is a key metric unit. It originated in France during the 1790s as part of the effort to create a unified and logical measurement system. Because of its practicality for measuring smaller items, body dimensions, and crafts, the centimeter quickly found widespread use. Although centimeters are used in daily life around the world, meters are more common in scientific settings for the sake of clarity and accuracy. Centimeters are especially important in engineering, architecture, and healthcare, where detailed measurements matter. Its straightforward nature and role in the metric system have made it a standard measurement unit worldwide.

Other Relevant Conversions

m → cm m → mm m → km m → in m → ft m → yd m → mi m → µm m → nm cm → m cm → mm cm → km cm → in cm → ft cm → yd cm → mi cm → µm cm → nm mm → m mm → cm mm → km mm → in mm → ft mm → yd mm → mi mm → µm mm → nm km → m km → cm km → mm km → in km → ft km → yd km → mi km → µm km → nm in → m in → cm in → mm in → km in → ft in → yd in → mi in → µm in → nm ft → m ft → cm ft → mm ft → km ft → in ft → yd ft → mi ft → µm ft → nm yd → m yd → cm yd → mm yd → km yd → in yd → ft yd → mi yd → µm yd → nm mi → m mi → cm mi → mm mi → km mi → in mi → ft mi → yd mi → µm mi → nm µm → m µm → cm µm → mm µm → km µm → in µm → ft µm → yd µm → mi µm → nm nm → m nm → cm nm → mm nm → km nm → in nm → ft nm → yd nm → mi nm → µm