1 centimeter = 10 millimeters. A fingernail is about one centimeter wide. Two tape measures, one in mm, the other in cm. We can use millimeters or centimeters to measure how tall we are, or how wide a table is, but to measure the length of football field it is better to use meters. A meter is equal to 100 centimeters. 1 meter = 100 centimeters. The length of this guitar is about 1 meter. Meters can be used to measure the length of a house, or the size of a playground. And because a centimeter is 10 millimeters: 1 meter = 1000 millimeters. The back of this kitchen chair is 1 meter. A kilometer is equal to 1000 meters.