tonnage

noun

ton·​nage ˈtə-nij 

1

a

: the cubical content of a merchant ship in units of 100 cubic feet

b

: the displacement of a warship

2

a

: total weight in tons shipped, carried, or produced

b

: impressively large amount or weight

3

: a duty formerly levied on every tun of wine imported into England

4

a

: a duty or impost on vessels based on cargo capacity

b

: a duty on goods per ton transported

5

: ships in terms of the total number of tons registered or carried or of their carrying capacity

Examples of tonnage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Please note that this is a subjective list, although hard metrics such as total launches, tonnage to orbit, success rate, and more were all important factors in our decisions. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 7 Jan. 2025

The sheer tonnage of commercial inventory created by that decision put pressure on streaming ad rates — and is likely to have an effect on the sales process in 2025. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 6 Jan. 2025

This food amounted to over 13 percent of total lend-lease tonnage. —Carlisle Ford Runge, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2022

The tonnage figures are a little more pronounced, 35% to 24% in favor of MIA. —Ken Roberts, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

in sense 3, from Middle English, from Anglo-French, from tonne tun; in other senses, from ton entry 1 — more at tunnel

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

tonnage

noun

ton·​nage ˈtən-ij 

1

: a tax on ships based on tons carried

2

: ships in terms of the total number of tons that are or can be carried

3

: total weight in tons shipped, carried, or mined