ton

¹

[ tuhn ]

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 ( def ).
4. displacement ton ( def ).
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. Often tons. Informal. a great quantity; a lot:

   a ton of jokes;

   tons of wedding presents.

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

ton

²

[ ton, French tawn ]

noun

1. high fashion; stylishness.
2. the current fashion, style, or vogue.
3. the ton, (used with a singular or plural verb) fashionable society.

-ton

³

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

   simpleton; singleton.

ton

¹

/ tʌn /

noun

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

ton

²

/ tɔ̃ /

noun

1. style, fashion, or distinction

ton

³

/ tʌn /

noun

1. Also calledlong ton a unit of weight equal to 2240 pounds or 1016.046909 kilograms
2. Also calledshort tonnet ton a unit of weight equal to 2000 pounds or 907.184 kilograms
3. Also calledmetric tontonne a unit of weight equal to 1000 kilograms
4. Also calledfreight 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 calledmeasurement tonshipping ton a unit of volume used in shipping freight, equal to 40 cubic feet, irrespective of the commodity shipped
6. Also calleddisplacement ton a unit used for measuring the displacement of a ship, equal to 35 cubic feet of sea water or 2240 pounds
7. Also calledregister ton a unit of internal capacity of ships equal to 100 cubic feet

ton

/ 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

Other Words From

• ton·ish ton·nish [ton, -ish], adjective
• ton·ish·ly ton·nish·ly adverb
• ton·ish·ness ton·nish·ness noun

Word History and Origins

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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of ton¹

C20: special use of ton ¹applied to quantities of one hundred

Origin of ton²

C18: from French, from Latin tonus tone

Origin of ton³

C14: variant of tun

Idioms and Phrases

see like a ton of bricks .

Example Sentences

Unfortunately, there are not a ton of studies to support the idea that BCAA supplementation improves athletic performance in the short term, meaning that drinking BCAAs before your workout likely won’t make you squat more weight or swim faster.

From Popular-Science

While there’s not a ton tech can do to make people feel safe at crowded polling stations or up the Postal Service’s budget, tech can help with disinformation, and Microsoft is trying to do so.

From Singularity Hub 

You can afford to make those big acquisitions when you’ve got a ton of cash on hand, when you’re one of just two companies sharing a huge market.

From Freakonomics

They’ll also know exactly what supplies they need and won’t want to grapple with the tons of items that well-intentioned people send to the area.

From Popular-Science

In terms of search, buyers may still have tons of questions about using, or troubleshooting, your product or service.

From Search Engine Land

But there's a ton of value for me in my background and my history, and losing it would be a shame.

From The Daily Beast

Some of the things that Jay lied about to the cops actually make a ton of sense.

From The Daily Beast

For those in the resource world, every ton of junk that goes into a landfill represents wasted energy.

From The Daily Beast

Red squirrels cache the pinecones (saving the bears a ton of work).

From The Daily Beast

So I went in, met Michael Bay, and did the video, and it won an MTV Video Music Award and got me a ton of work.

From The Daily Beast

The price of salt at one period of the long Peninsular war rose to £30 per ton, being retailed in Birmingham at 4l.

From Project Gutenberg

If you think the fly-wheel is not sufficiently heavy for his engine, add half a ton more to the ring.

From Project Gutenberg

At Thetford the cost may be put at from $20 to $25 per ton, the latter probably being nearer the average.

From Project Gutenberg

Bergin dug a big hole behind that ole vacant shack of hisn, and buried about a ton of tin cans.

From Project Gutenberg

A ton of silk goods is worth from ten to fifteen thousand dollars.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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