Meaning & use
centiliters
Last updated
“centiliters” is a form of “centiliter”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nouncountable
A unit of volume equal to one hundredth of a liter, used for measuring liquids.
Grammar: Countable noun; usually used in the plural when talking about amounts, e.g., 'Add 20 centiliters of water.'
Patterns
- X centiliters of something
- a few centiliters
The recipe calls for 15 centiliters of milk.
This bottle contains 75 centiliters of wine.
Word forms
| singular | centiliter |
|---|
Common combinations
- centiliters of water
- Add 10 centiliters of water to the mixture.
- a few centiliters
- A few centiliters of lemon juice will brighten the flavor.
- measure in centiliters
- In some countries, bartenders measure spirits in centiliters.
Synonyms and how they differ
- milliliters
- Milliliters are smaller (1/1000 of a liter) and more commonly used in everyday American English; centiliters are larger (1/100 of a liter).
Word family
- liter noun
- The base unit of volume in the metric system.
- centiliter noun
- Singular form of centiliters.
Commonly confused: centiliters or milliliters?
centiliters vs milliliters
Milliliters are 10 times smaller than centiliters. Don't mix them up: 1 centiliter = 10 milliliters.
Practice
The recipe says to add 20 ______ of olive oil.
Choose one answer.
The plural 'centiliters' is correct because it follows a number greater than one. 'Centiliter' is singular and would be used with 'one' (e.g., 'one centiliter').
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “centiliters”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.