Centiliter (cL)

Metric (SI)Current unit

One hundredth of a liter (10 mL). Used on drink labels across Europe.

1 centiliter = 0.01 liters (exactly).

About the centiliter

Centi- means one hundredth, so a centiliter is 0.01 liter, which is 10 milliliters or 10 cubic centimeters. Among the liter's smaller multiples it is the one that suits glassware: it indicates the capacity of drinking glasses and small bottles, and shot-sized servings of alcohol are often 3 cL.

The unit sits between the milliliter, used for medicine and small packaging, and the deciliter, which is ten times larger at 10 cL. The figure used here is exactly 0.01 liter. Because 1 cL is 10 cubic centimeters, a 33 cL container holds 330 mL, and three such measures of 3 cL come to 9 cL. Ten centiliters make one deciliter.

Sources: Wikipedia: Litre; Wikipedia: Metric prefix

Centiliter conversion chart

1 centiliter expressed in every other volume unit:

More Metric (SI) units

• liter (volume)
• milliliter (volume)
• cubic meter (volume)
• cubic centimeter (volume)
• cubic millimeter (volume)
• microliter (volume)
• deciliter (volume)
• hectoliter (volume)
• meter (length)
• kilometer (length)
• centimeter (length)
• millimeter (length)
• micrometer (length)
• nanometer (length)
• picometer (length)
• decimeter (length)

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