Length Converter
Convert units of length like meters, feet, miles, kilometers, yards, inches, and more.
Result
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Base Unit
Relative Value
*Diagram shows values relative to the selected base unit (Meter).
Unit Information
What are Meters (m)?
The meter (symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). It was originally defined in 1793 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole. Today, it's defined more precisely by the speed of light: the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second. Meters are used globally for most length measurements in science, engineering, and everyday life, especially in countries that have adopted the metric system.
What are Feet (ft)?
The foot (symbol: ft) is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems of measurement. Historically, the length of a 'foot' varied based on local customs and even the size of a ruler's foot. The international foot, as defined in 1959, is exactly 0.3048 meters. One foot contains 12 inches, and three feet make up a yard. Feet are commonly used for measuring height, altitude, shorter distances, and dimensions in construction and real estate, particularly in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
What are Kilometers (km)?
The kilometer (symbol: km) is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand meters. It is the most commonly used unit for measuring the distance between geographical places on land in most of the world.
What are Miles (mi)?
The mile (symbol: mi) is an imperial unit of length. The statute mile is commonly used in the United States and the United Kingdom and is equivalent to 5,280 feet or exactly 1,609.344 meters. It is used for measuring longer distances, particularly on road networks.
Formulas
1 meter ≈ 3.28084 feet
To convert meters to feet, multiply by approximately 3.28084.
1 foot = 0.3048 meters
To convert feet to meters, multiply the number of feet by 0.3048.
1 mile = 1.60934 kilometers
To convert miles to kilometers, multiply by 1.609344.
1 kilometer ≈ 0.621371 miles
To convert kilometers to miles, multiply by approximately 0.621371.
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
To convert inches to centimeters, multiply by exactly 2.54.
1 yard = 0.9144 meters
To convert yards to meters, multiply by 0.9144.
Key Reference Points
- A standard doorway is typically about 2 meters high (approx. 6 feet 8 inches).
- A credit card is about 8.5 cm long (approx. 3.37 inches).
- A marathon race covers 42.195 kilometers (26.219 miles).
- An American football field is 100 yards long (about 91.44 meters) from goal line to goal line.
- The wingspan of a Boeing 747 is about 68.5 meters (224 feet).
- The height of Mount Everest is 8,849 meters (29,032 feet).
- The diameter of the Earth is about 12,742 kilometers (7,918 miles).
- The distance from the Earth to the Moon is approximately 384,400 kilometers (238,900 miles).
- The distance from the Earth to the Sun is about 149.6 million kilometers (93 million miles), also known as one Astronomical Unit (AU).
- The length of the Great Barrier Reef is over 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles).
Did You Know?
The term 'mile' originates from the Roman 'mille passus,' meaning 'a thousand paces.' For a Roman soldier, a pace was two steps.
The Harvard Bridge is famously measured in 'smoots,' a non-standard unit named after a 5'7" MIT student, Oliver Smoot, who was used as a ruler in a 1958 prank. The bridge is 364.4 smoots long.
A nautical mile is based on the Earth's circumference (one minute of latitude) and is about 15% longer than a statute (land) mile. It's the standard for sea and air travel.
In 1999, NASA's $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter was lost because one engineering team used metric units while another used imperial units, causing a critical navigational error.
A light-year is a unit of distance, not time. It's the vast distance light travels in one year (about 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion miles), used for measuring interstellar space.
The Planck length (~1.6 x 10⁻³⁵ m) is the smallest possible meaningful length in theoretical physics, where classical ideas of space and time break down.
The angstrom (Å), one ten-billionth of a meter, is a non-SI unit widely used by chemists and physicists to measure the size of atoms and chemical bonds.
An early definition of an inch was the length of three grains of barley placed end-to-end. It has since been standardized to exactly 2.54 centimeters.