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ton

noun

Simple meaning

Any of different units of mass, originally notionally equal to the contents of a tun.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tuhn
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtʌn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The short ton of 2000 pounds (about 907 kg), 20 hundredweights of 100 pounds avoirdupois each.

  2. Any of various units of mass, originally notionally equal to the contents of a tun, particularly

  3. The metric ton of 1000 kilograms (about 2205 lb), 10 quintals of 100 kilograms each.

  4. 100 pounds sterling.

  5. The measurement ton of (US) 40 or (UK) 42 cubic feet (about 1.1 or 1.2 m³).

  6. Fashion, the current style, the vogue.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Any of various units of mass, originally notionally equal to the contents of a tun, particularly

Used this way, ton is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • long ton , rarer, so it draws attention
  • short ton , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use ton

  • “That old truck weighs a ton, so it is hard to move.”

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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: short ton of 2000 pounds (about 907 kg)

long tonRareshort tonRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.