A centigram is a unit of measurement for weight that equals one hundredth of a gram. The prefix centi- means “one hundredth,” just like a cent is one hundredth of a dollar or a centimeter is one hundredth of a meter.

Centigrams are tiny measurements. A single raisin weighs about 50 centigrams, and a standard paperclip weighs roughly 100 centigrams (which equals one gram). Scientists and pharmacists use centigrams when they need to measure very small amounts of substances precisely, like ingredients in medicine or chemicals in an experiment.

In most everyday situations, people use grams instead of centigrams because grams are more convenient. But understanding centigrams helps you see how the metric system works: each unit connects to others by powers of ten, making conversions straightforward. If you know something weighs 500 centigrams, you can quickly figure out that it weighs 5 grams.

The abbreviation for centigram is cg. So when you see a measurement like “250 cg,” that means 250 centigrams, or 2.5 grams.