ton

Meaning

Noun

• A unit of weight (mass) equal to 2240 pounds (a long ton) or 2000 pounds (a short ton) or 1000 kilograms (a metric ton).
• A unit of volume; register ton.
• In refrigeration and air conditioning, a unit of thermal power defined as 12,000 BTU/h (about 3.514 kW or 3024 kcal/h), originally the rate of cooling provided by uniform isothermal melting of one short ton of ice per day at 32 °F (0 °C).
• A large amount.
• A speed of 100 mph.
• One hundred pounds sterling.
• One hundred runs.
• One hundred points scored.
• Fashion, the current style, the vogue.
• Fashionable society; those in style.
• The common tunny, or horse mackerel.

Related

Similar words

• heap, load, pile
• century

Origin

• Variant of tun, influenced by Old French tonne ("ton").
• Borrowed from French ton ("manner"), from Latin tonus. tone, tune, and tonus.