ton

¹ American  

[tuhn] / tʌn /

noun

1. a unit of weight, equivalent to 2000 pounds (0.907 metric ton) avoirdupois short ton, or net ton in the United States and 2240 pounds (1.016 metric tons) avoirdupois long ton in Great Britain.

2. Also called freight ton.  a unit of volume for freight that weighs one ton, varying with the type of freight measured, as 40 cubic feet of oak timber or 20 bushels of wheat.

3. metric ton.

4. displacement ton.

5. a unit of volume used in transportation by sea, commonly equal to 40 cubic feet (1.13 cu. m) shipping ton, or measurement ton.

6. a unit of internal capacity of ships, equal to 100 cubic feet (2.83 cu. m) register ton.

7. Informal. Often tons a great quantity; a lot.

   a ton of jokes;

   tons of wedding presents.

8. British Informal. a speed of 100 miles per hour.

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ton ² American  

[ton, tawn] / tɒn, tɔ̃ /

noun

1. high fashion; stylishness.

2. the current fashion, style, or vogue.

3. (used with a singular or plural verb) the ton, fashionable society.

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-ton ³ American  

1. a suffix formerly used to form nouns from adjectives.

   simpleton; singleton.

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ton ¹ British  

/ tʌn /

noun

1. slang a score or achievement of a hundred, esp a hundred miles per hour, as on a motorcycle

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ton ² British  

/ tʌn /

noun

1. Also called: long ton.  a unit of weight equal to 2240 pounds or 1016.046909 kilograms

2. Also called: short ton.   net ton.  a unit of weight equal to 2000 pounds or 907.184 kilograms

3. Also called: metric ton.   tonne.  a unit of weight equal to 1000 kilograms

4. Also called: freight ton.  a unit of volume or weight used for charging or measuring freight in shipping. It depends on the type of material being shipped but is often taken as 40 cubic feet, 1 cubic metre, or 1000 kilograms

   freight is charged at £40 per ton of 1 cubic metre

5. Also called: measurement ton.   shipping ton.  a unit of volume used in shipping freight, equal to 40 cubic feet, irrespective of the commodity shipped

6. Also called: displacement ton.  a unit used for measuring the displacement of a ship, equal to 35 cubic feet of sea water or 2240 pounds

7. Also called: register ton.  a unit of internal capacity of ships equal to 100 cubic feet

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ton ³ British  

/ tɔ̃ /

noun

1. style, fashion, or distinction

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ton Scientific  

/ tŭn /

1. A unit of weight in the US Customary System equal to 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms).

2. Also called short ton

3. See Table at measurement

4. A unit of weight in the US Customary System equal to 2,240 pounds (1,008 kilograms).

5. Also called long ton

6. See Table at measurement

7. See metric ton

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ton Idioms  

1. see like a ton of bricks.

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Other Word Forms

• tonish adjective
• tonishly adverb
• tonishness noun
• tonnish adjective
• tonnishly adverb
• tonnishness noun

Etymology

Origin of ton¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; variant of tun

Origin of ton²

First recorded in 1760–70; from French, from Latin tonus tone

Origin of -ton³

Variant of dial. tone one ( tother )

Explanation

The ton is a unit of measurement. In North America, a ton is 2,000 pounds. Elephants weigh several tons — and blue whales can weigh up to 200 tons! Although a ton is a specific way to measure weight, the word is often used more generally to mean "a whole bunch" or "a lot." So if your friend promises that her dad made a ton of cupcakes, don't be disappointed when you get to her house and discover only a few dozen. The original ton, spelled tun, was "enough to fill a tun (or cask) of wine."

Example Sentences

Because you go from not knowing anyone to having to hug each other…and more than just embrace, because to form the pinya you need a ton of physical contact,” said Sambuceti.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

“He’s such a nice man but at the same time he’s got a ton of character,” Robitaille said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Jet fuel, which cost around $830 a ton before the war erupted, surpassed $1,800 a ton in early April, and was still at $1,786 on Wednesday.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

One metric ton is equal to about 7.15 barrels, so that was close to 21.5 million barrels in total.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

“Stacy has a ton of friends, so it was nice feeling popular too.”

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

Related Words

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• volcano