The degree of accuracy depends on the number of significant figures or decimal places.

When a length is measured and written as 1.234 meters, the measuring device has to be capable of measuring to the nearest millimeter. Therefore, all four figures are meaningful. However, the result of the measurement can be rounded off to two decimal places (1.23 meters), to one decimal place (1.2 meters), or to the nearest integer (1 meter). The first number (1.234 meters) is more accurate than the second (1.23 meters), and the second more accurate than the third (1.2 meters), and so on.