A hectometer is a unit of measurement equal to 100 meters, or about 328 feet. The prefix hecto- means “hundred,” so a hectometer is literally a hundred meters grouped together as one unit.

Hectometers aren't commonly used in everyday conversation, at least not in the United States. You're much more likely to hear someone say “100 meters” than “one hectometer.” However, hectometers do appear in some contexts, particularly in countries that use the metric system extensively. For example, European topographic maps sometimes mark distances in hectometers.

To picture a hectometer, imagine the length of a football field (which is about 91 meters) plus another 9 meters: that's roughly one hectometer. Ten hectometers lined up equal one kilometer, which is a distance measurement you probably hear much more often.

The abbreviation for hectometer is hm, though you might occasionally see it written as Hm. While hectometers rarely show up in daily life, understanding them helps you navigate the metric system, where prefixes create a logical pattern for measuring everything from tiny distances to vast ones.