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Difference between Length and Height

Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025

Length measures how long something is while Height measures how tall something is. Length is measured from one end to the other end in a horizontal direction while height is measured in a vertical direction.

Let's understand the key difference between length and height.

Difference between Length and Height

What is Length?

Length is defined as the horizontal distance between two points in any direction.

Length refers to the size of an entity, irrespective of the dimensions. It is the horizontal extent, that is measured along the X-plane on a graph and gauges the distance between two ends.

The measurement units of length are the meter, centimeter, kilometer, inches, foot, miles, etc.

What is Height?

Height refers to the measurement of an object or a person vertically from its base or bottom to its top or uppermost point.

Suppose we have to find the height of a human, then we measure the distance between the bottom of his foot and the top of his head, the measured distance is known as the height of that person.

The measurement units of length are centimeters, meters, and feet.

Difference between Length and Height

The difference between Length and Height is tabulated below:

Length and Height Comparison
Aspect	Length	Height
Definition	Length is the measurement of the distance from one end of an object to the other end.	Height is the measurement from the base to the top of an object.
Orientation	Horizontal; measured along the longest axis.	Vertical; measured from bottom to top.
Common Usage	Used to describe how long something is, such as the length of a room, a piece of fabric, or a road.	Used to indicate how tall something is, like the height of a person, a building, or a tree.
Measurement Axis	Often measured along the x-axis in a coordinate system.	Often measured along the y-axis in a coordinate system.
Units	Meters, centimeters, kilometers, inches, feet, miles, etc.	Centimeters, meters, feet, etc.
Examples	Length of a table, length of a car, length of a piece of cloth, etc.	Height of a person, height of a mountain, height of a building, etc.
Dimensional Context	Can be used in one, two, or three-dimensional contexts.	Primarily used in three-dimensional contexts to indicate depth.
Use in Geometry	Refers to the longest side of rectangles, squares, and other shapes.	Refers to the vertical side of objects, or the altitude in triangles.

Length vs Height Example

Let us consider the cuboidal box given below. In this box, the distance between one point to another in base surface is its length. We can observe from the figure that length is the longest dimension of box.

The distance which is measured along vertical axis which is not the longest side is called its height.

Length vs Height Comparison Diagram — Illustration of Length vs Height

Similarities between Length and Height

Some similarities between Length and Height are :

Length and height both are used to measure the distance.
Length and height both use same units for measurement.
Units used for measuring the length and height are centimeter and meter.

Related:

Difference Between Long and Tall
Measurement Units in Mathematics
Length Measurement
Basic Geometry Concepts

What are Numbers?

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Mathematics, often referred to as "math" for short. It is the study of numbers, quantities, shapes, structures, patterns, and relationships. It is a fundamental subject that explores the logical reasoning and systematic approach to solving problems. Mathematics is used extensively in various fields