ton Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a United States unit of weight equivalent to 2000 pounds
    net ton; short ton.
  2. noun a British unit of weight equivalent to 2240 pounds
    long ton; gross ton.

WordNet

Ton
Definitions
obs.
  1. pl. of Toe. Chaucer.
Ton noun
Etymology
Cf. Tunny.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) The common tunny, or house mackerel.
Ton noun
Etymology
F. See Tone.
Definitions
  1. The prevailing fashion or mode; vogue; as, things of ton. Byron.
    If our people of ton are selfish, at any rate they show they are selfish. Thackeray.
Ton noun
Etymology
OE. tonne, tunne, a tun, AS. tunne a tun, tub, a large vessel; akin to G. & F. tonne a ton, tun, LL. tunna a tun; all perhaps of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. tunna a tun. Cf. Tun,Tunnel.
Definitions
  1. (Com.) A measure of weight or quantity. Specifically: -- (a) The weight of twenty hundredweight. ✍ In England, the ton is 2,240 pounds. In the United States the ton is commonly estimated at 2,000 pounds, this being sometimes called the short ton, while that of 2,240 pounds is called the long ton. (b) (Naut. & Com.) Forty cubic feet of space, being the unit of measurement of the burden, or carrying capacity, of a vessel; as a vessel of 300 tons burden. See the Note under Tonnage. (c) (Naut. & Com.) A certain weight or quantity of merchandise, with reference to transportation as freight; as, six hundred weight of ship bread in casks, seven hundred weight in bags, eight hundred weight in bulk; ten bushels of potatoes; eight sacks, or ten barrels, of flour; forty cubic feet of rough, or fifty cubic feet of hewn, timber, etc. ✍ Ton and tun have the same etymology, and were formerly used interchangeably; but now ton generally designates the weight, and tun the cask. See Tun.

Webster 1913