tonne

American

[tuhn] / tʌn /

noun

metric ton.

tonne British

/ tʌn /

noun

Also called (not in technical use): metric ton. a unit of mass equal to 1000 kg or 2204.6 pounds

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tonne

From French, dating back to 1900–05; ton ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It left Russia in late December and just days after the BBC reported on the UK's legal advice it entered the Channel carrying about 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude, Russia's flagship oil grade.

From BBC

In Gloucestershire, tens of thousands of tonnes of waste has been dumped at land in Over.

From BBC

Olga Cherevko from the UN aid coordination office said that the delivery of tonnes aid and fixed roads in the months since a ceasefire came into effect were a "band aid" rather than a solution.

From BBC

So far, humans have produced more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic.

From Science Daily

The Chicago Bears' renaissance has been nothing short of remarkable and Ben Johnson deserves a tonne of credit for it.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023