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 )

Example Sentences

Even in the face of the war in the Middle East and the slowdown of the global economy, the price remains high at about 12,000 dollars per ton.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

“He brings a ton of energy to our team,” Stafford said last season.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

A single kilogram is about one-thousandth of a metric ton, and each kilogram of helium-3 costs about $20 million, according to Interlune.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

The most-traded iron-ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is up 0.5% at 816.5 yuan a ton.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

My bag is empty, but it feels like a ton of stones weighing down my shoulders.

From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender

Related Words

• alp
• bluff
• butte
• cliff
• crag
• elevation
• eminence
• height
• mesa
• mount
• palisade
• peak
• pike
• precipice
• range
• ridge
• sierra
• tor
• volcano