I.
obsolete
variant of tun
II. ˈtən noun
( plural tons also ton )
Etymology: Middle English tonne, toun tun, unit of ship capacity or of weight — more at tun
1. : any of various units of weight:
a. : a unit equal to 20 long hundredweight or 2240 pounds used chiefly in England — called also long ton ; see measure table
b. : a unit equal to 20 short hundredweight or 2000 pounds used chiefly in the U.S., Canada, and So. Africa — called also short ton
c. : metric ton
2.
a. : a unit of internal capacity for ships equal to 100 cubic feet — called also register ton ; see tonnage
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 — called also displacement ton
c. : a unit of volume for cargo freight usually reckoned at 40 cubic feet — called also freight ton, measurement ton
3. : a European unit of quantity for timber equal to 480 board feet
4. : a unit of cooling capacity equal to the cooling effect of a ton of ice melting in 24 hours
5. : a great quantity : a large supply : lot , heap — used chiefly in plural
tons of propaganda flooding the country
he's got tons of money, so they say
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: French thon — more at tunny
: tunny
IV. ˈtōⁿ noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, literally, tone, from Latin tonus — more at tone
1.
a. : the prevailing fashion or mode : vogue
b. : smartness , style
conversation as the evidence of ton , and the attribute of rank — E.G.Bulwer-Lytton
2. : the world of fashion : smart set
the world of ton which shook its head over a ruined friend — Times Literary Supplement
V. noun
1. also ton-up ˈ ̷ ̷ ¦ ̷ ̷ Britain : a speed of 100 miles per hour — often used in the phrase do the ton or do a ton
the first cars were doing the ton barely ten years after Victoria's Diamond Jubilee — London Times
2. Brit : a score of 100 runs in cricket : century
•
- a ton