Decimeter to Meter Converter

Ten decimetres make a metre, so divide by 10. Decimetres show up in school maths, in some European technical drawings and in volume work, where 1 dm³ equals 1 litre.

How to use the Decimeter to Meter Converter

1. Type the number of decimetres into the Decimetres field. Decimals such as 5 are fine.
2. Read the answer in Metres. It updates as you type, with no button to press. The same amount is also shown in cm, mm, in.
3. To go from metres back to decimetres, type into the Metres field instead. Every field also has a unit menu with all 27 length units, for example km, cm, mm, µm, nm, Å, in, ft, yd, mi, nmi, mil, furlong.

Results update as you type, and everything is calculated in your browser.

How it works

Both units measure length, so they are always in the same ratio: one decimetre equals 0.1 metres. The calculator multiplies the number of decimetres you type by 0.1 to give metres, and when you type into the metres field it divides by the same factor to give decimetres. Because the ratio never changes, doubling the decimetres always doubles the metres, for example 20 dm is 2 m.

How to convert decimetres to metres

1. Write down the value in decimetres, for example 10 dm.
2. Multiply by the conversion factor 0.1 (because 1 decimetre = 0.1 m).
3. 10 × 0.1 = 1 m.
4. To go back from metres to decimetres, divide by 0.1, or multiply by 10.

dm to m conversion table

Length units explained

Decimetre (dm)

A decimetre is one tenth of a metre (10 cm). It is rarely used for length on its own, but one cubic decimetre is exactly one litre.

Metre (m)

The metre is the SI base unit of length. Since 1983 it has been defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second, which ties it to a fundamental constant rather than a physical bar of metal.