Definition of "decimeter" [dec•i•me•ter]

• A metric unit of length equal to one-tenth (10-1) of a meter. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The unit of capacity, the liter, is a cubic decimeter, which is a little larger than the American liquid quart."
• "It was a simple matter to have the soil of the road sink a decimeter directly under his foot, and to have a puddle of water form there, extending a full two meters on in front of him."
• "These diversities are highest in continental parts of the Arctic such as the Taymir Peninsula of Russia, where there are about 150 species of plants (vascular plants, lichens, and mosses) per 100 m2 plot, 40 to 50 species per square meter, and up to 25 species per square decimeter [10]."