Inches to Meters
Convert inches (in) to meters (m). Both measure distance and dimension, and the conversion comes up in construction, navigation, sports work.
The Formula
``
meters = inches × 0.0254
inches = meters × 39.3700787402
`
One inch is 0.0254 meters, and one meter is 39.3701 inches.
Conversion Table
| Inches | Meters |
|---|---|
| 1 in | 0.0254 m |
| 2 in | 0.0508 m |
| 5 in | 0.127 m |
| 10 in | 0.254 m |
| 25 in | 0.635 m |
| 50 in | 1.27 m |
| 100 in | 2.54 m |
| 500 in | 12.7 m |
| 1,000 in | 25.4 m |
The Other Direction
| Meters | Inches |
|---|---|
| 1 m | 39.3701 in |
| 2 m | 78.7402 in |
| 5 m | 196.8504 in |
| 10 m | 393.7008 in |
| 25 m | 984.252 in |
| 50 m | 1,968.5 in |
| 100 m | 3,937.01 in |
| 500 m | 19,685.04 in |
| 1,000 m | 39,370.08 in |
What Each Unit Is
Inches (in) — exactly 2.54 centimetres — an exact figure, not a rounded one. From the Latin uncia, one twelfth (of a foot); the exact metric value was agreed in 1959.
Meters (m) — the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second — the SI base unit of length. Defined in 1793 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole, then by a platinum bar, and since 1983 by the speed of light.
A Sense of Scale
A thumb is about an inch wide- Screens are measured diagonally in inches
- US rainfall is in inches
- A doorway is about 2 m tall
- An Olympic pool is 50 m
- A city block is 80–120 m
Precision
The factor 0.0254 is rounded. For engineering work carry more digits than the table above, and round only at the end — rounding at each step compounds.
Watch Out For
- Because the inch is exactly 2.54 cm, inch↔cm conversions are exact and any rounding you see comes from your own input precision, not the factor.
In Code
`javascript
const inchToMeter = (value) => value * 0.0254;
``
Where This Conversion Comes Up
- Construction
- Navigation
- Sports
- Sewing
- Mapping
How Many Decimals Do You Need?
Rounding the factor costs accuracy, and how much depends on the factor. Converting 137 in with the factor truncated at each decimal place:
| Decimals kept | Factor | 137 in becomes | Error |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.0000% |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0000% |
| 2 | 0.03 | 4.11 | 18.1102% |
| 3 | 0.025 | 3.425 | 1.5748% |
| 4 | 0.0254 | 3.4798 | — |
The right number of significant figures is set by your input, not by the converter. If you measured inches to three significant figures, the answer in meters is only good to three — writing more digits claims precision the measurement never had.