A meter is about the size of the width of a doorway, or the distance from the floor to the doorknob on most doors. An average 5 year old is about a meter tall, and it is about the height of the waist on an average adult. A guitar is about a meter from one end to the other, and half a bed is about a meter.
The other metric units of measuring length are all based on the meter. A millimeter is 0.001 meters, while a centimeter is 0.01 meters. This means there are 1,000 millimeters or 100 centimeters in 1 meter. A larger unit of measurement is a kilometer, which is 1,000 meters.
The abbreviations used for measurements are standard and case sensitive. They are also always used in the singular (in other words, 5 meters would be written as 5 m with no "s" added.) The abbreviation for meters is "m." The abbreviation for millimeters is "mm," centimeters is "cm" and kilometers is "km."
A meter is about 3 inches more than a yard, at about 39 inches. A centimeter is about 2.5 inches. A kilometer is about 3,280 feet, which is about 10 yards or half a mile.