Meter to Kilometer Converter

About this conversion

The meter (m) is a unit of length in the metric (SI), commonly used for room and building dimensions and swimming pool lengths. The kilometer (km) belongs to the metric (SI) and is typically found in measurements related to road and highway distances and geographic measurements. By definition, one meter is the base unit of length in the International System of Units, defined as the distance light travels in 1/299,792,458 of a second. One kilometer is one thousand meters. The conversion factor between these two units is 0.001: multiplying any value in m by this number gives the equivalent in km. For example, 10 m equals 0.0100 km. Going the other direction, 1 km equals 1000 m. The meter was originally defined in 1793 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole. Adopted alongside the metric system, the kilometer became the standard unit for land distance in most countries by the 20th century.