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Ton

//tʌn// noun, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of various units of mass, originally notionally equal to the contents of a tun; The short ton of 2000 pounds (about 907 kg), 20 hundredweights of 100 pounds avoirdupois each.
  2. 2
    Fashion, the current style, the vogue. uncountable

    "A clergyman cannot be high in state or fashion. He must not head mobs, or set the ton in dress."

  3. 3
    Synonym of tunny, particularly the common tunny or horse mackerel.
  4. 4
    Initialism of threshold odor number. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
  5. 5
    a British unit of weight equivalent to 2240 pounds wordnet
Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    Any of various units of mass, originally notionally equal to the contents of a tun; The long ton of 2240 pounds (about 1016 kg), 20 hundredweights of 112 pounds avoirdupois each.
  2. 7
    Fashionable society; those in style. uncountable

    "[S]he thought herself incapable of being flattered by the attentions of a man she despised, because he was the reigning idol of the ton […]."

  3. 8
    a United States unit of weight equivalent to 2000 pounds wordnet
  4. 9
    Any of various units of mass, originally notionally equal to the contents of a tun; The metric ton of 1000 kilograms (about 2205 lb), 10 quintals of 100 kilograms each.
  5. 10
    Any of various units of volume, originally notionally equal to the contents of a tun; The measurement ton of (US) 40 or (UK) 42 cubic feet (about 1.1 or 1.2 m³).
  6. 11
    Any of various units of volume, originally notionally equal to the contents of a tun; The register ton of 100 cubic feet (about 2.83 m³).
  7. 12
    Any large, excessive, or overwhelming amount of anything. figuratively

    "I’ve got a ton of work to do."

  8. 13
    A unit of thermal power equal to 12,000 BTU/h (about 3.5 kW), approximating the idealized rate of cooling provided by uniform isothermal melting of 1 short ton of ice per day at 0°C.

    "Their main problem is that they somehow believe that a 12-ton unit can handle this entire building."

  9. 14
    Synonym of hundred; 100 pounds sterling. UK, colloquial
  10. 15
    Synonym of hundred; 100 points. UK, colloquial, usually
  11. 16
    Synonym of hundred; 100 runs. UK, colloquial
  12. 17
    Synonym of hundred; A speed of 100 mph. UK, colloquial

    "Speed along the lane / Do a ton or a ton and twenty-five"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Variant of tun (“cask”), influenced by Old French tonne (“ton”).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French ton (“manner”), from Latin tonus. Doublet of tone, tune, and tonus.

See also for "ton"

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