A cubic metre of pure water at the temperature of maximum density (3.98 °C) and standard atmospheric pressure (101.325 kPa) has a mass of 1000 kg, or one tonne. At 0 °C, the freezing point of water, it is slightly less, 999.972 kg.
It is sometimes abbreviated cu m, m3, M3, m^3, m**3, when superscriptcharacters or markup are not available/accessible (i.e. in some typewritten documents and postings in Usenet newsgroups).
Abbreviated CBM in the freight business and MTQ (or numeric code 49) in international trade.
Multiples and submultiples
Multiples
Cubic decametre
the volume of a cube of side length one decametre (10 m)
equal to a megalitre
1 dam3 = 1,000 m3 = 1 ML
Cubic hectometre
the volume of a cube of side length one hectometre (100 m)
equal to a gigalitre
1 hm3 = 1,000,000 m3 = 1 GL
Cubic kilometre
the volume of a cube of side length one kilometre (1,000 m)
equal to a teralitre
1 km3 = 1,000,000,000 m3 = 1 TL
Submultiples
Cubic decimetre
the volume of a cube of side length one decimetre (0.1 m)
equal to a litre
1 dm3 = 0.001 m3 = 1 L
Cubic centimetre
the volume of a cube of side length one centimetre (0.01 m)
equal to a millilitre
1 cm3 = 0.000001 m3 = 10-6 m3 = 1 mL
Cubic millimetre
the volume of a cube of side length one millimetre (0.001 m)