Meters to Inches Calculator

Both the meter and inch are units of length but they belong to different systems of measurement. The meter is the base unit for length in the metric system which is used almost universally around the world. The inch, on the other hand, belongs to the yard-pound system and US customary system and is still commonly used in the United States, Britain, and Canada. Both units are related by an exact definition: one inch is equal to 2.54 centimeters and one meter is equal to 39.370079 inches.

This calculator allows you to convert meters into inches and vice versa. It also shows the corresponding values in centimeters, feet, feet and inches, yards and millimeters.

How do you convert meters to inches?

Since one meter is equal to 39.370079 inches, the conversion from meters to inches involves multiplication. For everyday purposes most people round the conversion factor to 39.3701. With this accuracy the error will be within a very small fraction of an inch.

Let's say you have a piece of fabric that is 5 meters long. If you multiply 5 by 39.370079, the result will be 196.85 inches. A door with a height of 2 meters would be 78.74 inches tall, and a shelf depth of 0.7 meters is equivalent to a width of 27.56 inches.

How many inches are in a meter?

One meter is equal to 39.370079 inches, and is usually stated as being about 39.37 inches. Converted into feet and inches this would be a length of approximately 3 feet plus 3.37 inches. This value comes directly from the definition of an inch.

So you convert inches to meters by doing this:

Conversely, to convert from inches to meters, multiply the number of inches by 0.0254. One inch is exactly 0.0254 meters, or 2.54 centimeters. You get the same result if you divide by 39.3701.

For example, 39.37 inches is approximately equal to one meter and 100 inches is approximately equal to 2.54 meters. To make the conversion using a calculator, select "inches" as your input unit and read the result in meters. The result will also be shown in feet and inches next to it.

To convert meters to feet and inches, do the following:

Lengths or dimensions are usually given as whole numbers of feet and inches, such as 5 ft 9 in. Since there are 12 inches in a foot, you first need to convert the number of feet into decimal form. You leave the whole number part alone, then multiply the remaining fraction by 12 to get the number of inches.

One meter is equal to 3.28084 feet. The whole number portion is 3 feet and multiplying the remaining 0.28084 by 12 gives approximately 3.37 inches. So one meter is a length that consists of 3 feet plus 3.37 inches. A calculation tool displays this breakdown next to the decimal value, which is very useful when converting body measurements.

Examples of step-by-step conversions:

Here are some examples of conversions that have been calculated from start to finish:

• To convert 1 meter to inches: multiply by 39.370079, that makes it 39.37 inches which is equivalent to 3 feet and 3.4 inches.

• A height of 1.75 meters is a normal height and corresponds to 68.9 inches, which is 5 feet and 8.9 inches.

• 2 meters is the length obtained by multiplying 2 by 39.370079 which equals to 78.74 inches or 6 feet and 6.7 inches.

• 0.7 meters is equal to 27.56 inches.

• To convert in the opposite direction, from inches to meters, just multiply by 0.0254. So for example a length of 60 inches is equal to 1.524 meters because 60 multiplied by 0.0254 is 1.524.

Conversion table of meters to inches:

A handy reference. For any intermediate values you can multiply the value by 39.370079 and check the results in the Feet & Inches column to confirm your conversion.

Sizes are expressed in meters and inches.

Converting meters to inches is a common reason for giving heights. Below are tables of the most common adult heights converted into inches and feet and inches.

What is a meter?

The metre is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), the modern form of metric system. It is defined as the distance travelled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second, thus relating it to a fundamental constant of nature rather than a physical object. When originally introduced in 1793, the metre was intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole.

As a SI unit, the meter is used worldwide to measure distances, heights, widths and depths in science, technology and everyday life. One meter equals 100 centimeters, 3.28084 feet or 39.37 inches.

What is an inch?

An inch is a unit of length equal to 1/12th of a foot or 1/36th of a yard. Since 1959, it has been defined as exactly 25.4 millimeters, which is also 2.54 centimeters. The name derives from the Latin word "uncia", meaning "twelfth". In older definitions, an inch was associated with the length of three grains of barley laid side by side or the width of a thumb.

The inch is often abbreviated as "in" or represented by the double prime symbol ("). Five inches can be written as "5 in" or "5"". The keyboard usually uses the double prime symbol (") as a substitute. The inch is used to measure screen and tire sizes, rainfall amounts, small parts dimensions, and also with feet for measuring height.

The reason for the conversion factor is 39.370079.

Since an inch is exactly 0.0254 meters by definition, a meter will always be the number of inches divided by 0.0254, which is 1. The result of that division is 39.3700787401..., which is not an integer. Even if rounded to 39.3701, the error per meter would be less than a thousandth of an inch. However, since calculation tools use numbers with full precision, the results remain correct.

Here's how to use this calculator.

• Enter length in the input field.

• Select the length unit you want to convert from in the drop-down menu. Meter is the default unit for "meters to inches" conversion. You can select other units of measure as input such as inch, centimeter, foot, yard, millimeter, kilometer and mile.

• Check out the results shown above in inches, with corresponding values in meters listed next to them.

• Scroll down to see the results in feet, and conversions from feet into inches, yards, centimeters, and millimeters. For larger distances, kilometers and miles are also shown.

Please note that the conversion results are for general reference only. For work in engineering, legal and safety fields where exact values and precision is required, please verify numbers against recognized standards.