Cubic Centimeter (cm³)

Metric (SI)Current unit

Exactly one milliliter. Used for engine displacement (as 'cc') and in medicine.

1 cubic centimeter = 0.001 liters (exactly).

About the cubic centimeter

Cubic centimeter is the volume of a cube one centimeter on each side, and it belonged to the old centimeter-gram-second system of units, in which one cubic centimeter of water was meant to weigh about one gram. Its famous abbreviation, cc, is not an SI symbol at all. The official symbol is cm³, yet cc stuck in medicine, cooking and engineering because it is quick to write and say.

A cubic centimeter equals exactly one milliliter, so the two names are interchangeable and which one you meet depends on the field. Doses are often written in cc. Motorcyclists, scooter makers and engine builders use it for displacement: the swept volume is the bore area times the stroke times the number of cylinders, so a 1,000 cc sport bike can move eight times as much air per cycle as a 125 cc scooter. One cubic inch is 16.38706 cubic centimeters, which lets Americans and Europeans compare engines.

Sources: Wikipedia: Cubic centimetre; Wikipedia: Litre

Cubic Centimeter conversion chart

1 cubic centimeter expressed in every other volume unit:

More Metric (SI) units

• liter (volume)
• milliliter (volume)
• cubic meter (volume)
• cubic millimeter (volume)
• microliter (volume)
• centiliter (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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