Adjacent Words

Ton definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TON, the termination of names of places,is town.
TON, n. The prevailing fashion.
TON, n. The weight of twenty hundred gross. [See Tun.] This is false orthography. The word is from the Saxon tunna, a cask, and the sense of weight is taken from that of a cask or butt.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a United States unit of weight equivalent to 2000 pounds [syn: short ton, ton, net ton]
2: a British unit of weight equivalent to 2240 pounds [syn: long ton, ton, gross ton]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural tons; also ton) Etymology: Middle English tunne unit of weight or capacity — more at tun Date: 14th century 1. a. a unit of internal capacity for ships equal to 100 cubic feet — called also register ton b. a unit approximately equal to the volume of a long ton weight of seawater used in reckoning the displacement of ships and equal to 35 cubic feet c. a unit of volume for cargo freight usually reckoned at 40 cubic feet — called also measurement ton 2. any of various units of weight: a. — see weight table b. metric ton 3. a great quantity ; lot <ate tons of cookies> <has tons of money> <a ton of work to do> II. noun Etymology: French, literally, tone, from Old French, from Latin tonus Date: 1756 1. the prevailing fashion ; vogue 2. the quality or state of being smart or fashionable

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 (in full long ton) a unit of weight equal to 2,240 lb. avoirdupois (1016.05 kg). 2 (in full short ton) a unit of weight equal to 2,000 lb. avoirdupois (907.19 kg). 3 (in full metric ton) = TONNE. 4 a (in full displacement ton) a unit of measurement of a ship's weight or volume in terms of its displacement of water with the loadline just immersed, equal to 2,240 lb. or 35 cu. ft. (0.99 cubic metres). b (in full freight ton) a unit of weight or volume of cargo, equal to a metric ton (1,000 kg) or 40 cu. ft. 5 a (in full gross ton) a unit of gross internal capacity, equal to 100 cu. ft. (2.83 cubic metres). b (in full net or register ton) an equivalent unit of net internal capacity. 6 a unit of refrigerating power able to freeze 2,000 lb. of ice at 0°C in 24 hours. 7 a measure of capacity for various materials, esp. 40 cu. ft. of timber. 8 (usu. in pl.) colloq. a large number or amount (tons of money). 9 esp. Brit. sl. a a speed of 100 m.p.h. b a sum of £100. c a score of 100. Phrases and idioms: ton-mile one ton of goods carried one mile, as a unit of traffic. ton-up Brit. sl. n. a speed of 100 m.p.h. --attrib.adj. 1 (of a motor cyclist) achieving this, esp. habitually and recklessly (ton-up kid). 2 fond or capable of travelling at high speed. weigh a ton colloq. be very heavy. Etymology: orig. the same word as TUN: differentiated in the 17th c. 2. n. 1 a prevailing mode or fashion. 2 fashionable society. Etymology: F

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ton Ton, n. [Cf. Tunny.] (Zo["o]l.) The common tunny, or house mackerel.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ton Ton, obs. pl. of Toe. --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ton Ton, n. [F. See Tone.] 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. Bon ton. See in the Vocabulary.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ton Ton, n. [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.] (Com.) A measure of weight or quantity. Specifically: (a) The weight of twenty hundredweight. Note: 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. Note: 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tons) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A ton is a unit of weight that is equal to 2240 pounds in Britain and to 2000 pounds in the United States. Hundreds of tons of oil spilled into the sea... Getting rid of rubbish can cost $100 a ton. N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n 2. A ton is the same as a tonne. N-COUNT 3. If someone comes down on you like a ton of bricks, they are extremely angry with you and tell you off because of something wrong that you have done. (INFORMAL) If you do something awful they all come down on you like a ton of bricks. PHRASE: V inflects 4. If you say that something weighs a ton, you mean that it is extremely heavy. (INFORMAL) PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. [Fr.] Fashion, mode, vogue. II. n. (Com.) 1. Twenty hundred gross, 2,240 pounds. 2. Forty cubic feet. 3. Forty solid feet (round), fifty-four feet (square). 4. Eight sacks or ten barrels of flour. 5. Ten bushels of potatoes.