ton

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈtən 

plural tons also ton

1

: any of various units of weight:

a

: short ton see Weights and Measures Table

b

: metric ton

2

: a great quantity : lot

ate tons of cookies

has tons of money

a ton of work to do

3

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

ton

2 of 2

noun (2)

ˈtōⁿ 

1

: the prevailing fashion : vogue

2

: the quality or state of being smart or fashionable

Synonyms of ton

Noun (1)

• loads
• plenty
• dozen
• lot
• slew
• bunch
• chunk
• pile
• deal
• quantity

Noun (2)

• latest
• trend
• craze
• enthusiasm
• rage
• vogue
• style
• buzz

Examples of ton in a Sentence

Noun (1)

I received a ton of advice on the problem—all of it unsolicited

Noun (2)

granite countertops became all the ton in kitchen decor

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

From 2002 to 2020, roughly 164 billion tons of Antarctic ice melted per year, according to NASA. —Sam McNeil, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026

Wu Tsai helped catalyze this tipping point, personally investing tons of money into a team whose toniest perk used to be an MTA pass for free subway rides. —Yohana Desta, Vanity Fair, 7 May 2026

There’s a ton of power in that. —Devon Ivie, Vulture, 7 May 2026

Weighing in at 710 tons, the sculpture was built to circulate 30,000 gallons of water but has been drained since 2024 in order to have its inner workings assessed. —News Desk, Artforum, 7 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English tunne unit of weight or capacity — more at tun

Noun (2)

borrowed from French, "pitch, tone, manner, style," going back to Old French, "sound of voices, voice quality," going back to Latin tonus "strain, tension, musical pitch, note" — more at tone entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Noun (2)

1756, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ton

• bon ton
• came down on us like a ton of bricks
• deadweight ton
• gross ton
• hit him like a ton of bricks
• like a ton of bricks
• long ton
• measurement ton
• metric ton
• register ton
• short ton
• weigh a ton

Rhymes for ton

• bun
• done
• dun
• fun
• gun
• hun
• jun
• none
• nun
• one
• pun
• run

Kids Definition

ton

noun

ˈtən

plural tons also ton

1

a

short ton

b

: long ton

2

: metric ton

3